1912 Gibbs Mfg. Co., No. 53 Pony Circus Wagon
Fabulous chromolithographed Pony Circus Wagon manufactured by The Gibbs Mfg. Co., Canton, OH. This particular toy was their most elaborate pre-WWI horse drawn toy. Produced for only one year because of its complexity and fragility it is, by far, the best example I've seen of this very scarce toy. It easily grades excellent+ to near mint. The elaborate design represents the horse drawn monkey cage flanked by two children trapeze artists. It's pulled by a team of two horses. The horse's legs are "animated" through a series of rods connected to the front axle which move in realistic alternate directions. The toy is a combination of metal, wood, and chromolithographed paper. The wagon has metal sides with wooden front, rear, and bottom panels. The chromolithographed paper surrounds the exterior blending it into a three dimensional wagon. The interior is hand painted ocher. A wooden dowel keeps the metal sides straight and upright. Just above the dowel, in the wagon interior, are two small holed metal supports. These originally held a small metal pennant which I've never seen. The eight spoke wheels are silver painted cast iron with metal axles and metal axle supports. The horses are wooden with chromolithographed paper sides and hand painted metal legs. The rods connecting the horse and the J-hooks underneath them are all metal as well. The toy was originally sold through the 1912 Sears-Roebuck catalog with a suggested retail price of 39¢. However, this example still has it's original 50¢ price hand written onto the underside of the wagon. Size: 13½" Date Sold: Jun. 2009
Price Sold: $ 634
