1954 Sutcliffe 20,000 Leagues Nautilus Sub in Original Box
Sutcliffe Pressings Ltd., Horsforth, Leeds, England produced this high quality accurate representation from the Jules Verne classic to coincide with release of the Walt Disney film "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea". Although the toy does turn up occasionally true mint in box examples are difficult to find. Well, here's one that turned up! Perfect mint in box without a single post-factory blemish! The toy was designed with utmost attention to detail. Joints, seams, and weld marks are practically non-existent. The paint is high gloss ultramarine and water resistant. Gold highlights, also water resistant, were hand painted. The Sutcliffe name is embossed into the keel fin. The moving parts, that is the rudder and propeller, turn with ease. It has its original ballast rubber cork and metal tube periscope. Three Sutcliffe nautical "flower-like" decals were applied as well as two Nautilus decals that include title and copyright information. It's powered by a strong clockwork motor designed to run for an extended length of time and comes with its original key. Each submarine was also individually tested before it left the factory. Directions for operation and maintenance were clearly printed on the box. The box illustrations were beautifully drawn to represent actual movie scenes. Dream-like illustrations showing significant events from the film were printed using only a single peach-color. Instructions and information for service repairs were included on the front and rear narrow panels. A complex die cut insert holds the toy in precisely the right position so it won't move around inside the box. It's ironic that although this version of the Nautilus was adapted from one of the most iconic Hollywood films the toy was neither produced, or sold originally in the U.S. It's also ironic that most were acquired by collector's and never touched a drop of water. However, despite this the majority of examples I've seen grade below near mint due to excessive handling. Size: 9½" long. Sold: Feb. 2012
Price Sold: $ 327
