c.1940 Penn-Magee Co., Ye Olde Town Pump with Frogs in Original Box
I had never heard of the Penn-Magee Company before finding this unusual "Ye Olde Town Pump" with Frogs. It's never been played with and comes complete with original box. The toy is all metal, but of an unusual combination. The green section of the pump separates from the tub and practically seals itself when inserted into the basin. It would probably actually pump water. The toy isn't marked in any way. Without the box it would be impossible to identify. I found only one reference to this toy from a 2011 sale. It was this exact same example. (It's possible that it's the only one capable of being identified since it has the box). The reference I found incorrectly identified it as a combination of pot metal and cast iron. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was also guessed that it may have to do with Hubley in some way, which is also probably wrong. In actuality the top third of the pump (except for the metal rod) including the handle is cast aluminum. The lower tube section is pressed aluminum sheet metal. To complete the seal at the base of the tube cast aluminum was used again as a sort of plug. The basin is also pressed aluminum sheet metal. It has a price sticker on the underside which may have been placed there intentionally. The three little frogs were beautifully painted to resemble the actual animal. They look very authentic. All three are identical. From their weight I originally thought they were cast iron, but they're not. Each weighs approximately 10 grams. but are only ½" tall. This makes them way too heavy to be aluminum. Most likely they're painted lead. The box has a simple two color illustration of the pump at work. The frogs are not shown or mentioned in the title. The manufacturer name, address, and slogan were printed on the side panels. The rear panel is blank. Size: Pump assembled is only 5" tall. Basin is 3¼" diameter at the top. Frogs are in scale to the pump making them very small (½" tall as mentioned).
Price Sold: $ 85
