c.1946 Wolverine No. 32 Ski Jumper In Original Box
The Wolverine Supply & Mfg. Company produced this classic gravity powered "Ski Jumper" just after WWII. Complete with its original jump figure and rare obstacle ski lodge. It also comes with its seldom seen original box. It grades excellent++ to near mint. It's the best grade example I've seen of this toy. The toy is all steel litho except for the pressed wood and paper figure. It's a simple working toy; place the skier at the top of the graded hill, he rolls down the hill, strikes the spring released lever hidden in the lower part of the base, and catapults over the obstacle ski lodge. The "lodge" is a double sided, glossy, thick stock paper attached attached to an L-shaped bracket. The bracket is connected to the lower end of the hill. The spring mechanism works great on this toy, but I didn't want to try it out using the skier. He's in such pristine unused condition that it definitely would've damaged the fragile paper lithography. The metal litho illustrations are fantastic. Both sides show period skiers "shushing" down the slopes. The ski lodge, several ski watchers, and even a horse drawn sleigh are shown in the background. The top working section of the hill depicts the initial jump, a #7 skier in mid air, and another skier who has already landed. The spring mechanism with lever is solid white. The underside of the toy is all brass finished. The actual ski jumper is dress in the latest apparel (double buttoned coat, tucked-in ski pants, cap with sun visor, and heavy mittens. The rear of the figure, which is also illustrated, shows more of the ankle area. The boots would've been only ankle high. Long socks stretched over the pants cuffs was appropriate for the time. The skis are red, steel litho riding on pressed rubber wheels. His poles (although as a jumper he wouldn't be using them) are chrome plated metal rods with loops at the ends. The box is plain cardboard printed with a simple black-lined illustration of the toy. A dotted line indicates the jumpers intended somersault. It's complete with all eight original endflaps. A pre-war version of this toy was also advertised by Wolverine called "Ski-Scouts". It was actually an early WWII toy with the jumper dressed in military garb. The obstacle, which was a separate part, not connected to the hill consisted of "enemies in ambush". Apparently the idea was for the Scout to evade the enemy by somersaulting over them. I've never seen this version. There's a good chance that it was never produced. Size: 26" long, (nearly 31" if you include the obstacle). Date Sold: Feb. 2011
Price Sold: $ 284
