"LOOK WHAT I GOT" ....first Christmas post for 2013

The glee of Christmas morning is captured in all the following photos some provided by my friend Roger Rickards who actually stars in the first 4...the first 3 from 1950 and the last (cowboy) from 1955.

Here is Roger with his Marx service station....and identical one to the one I still own today shown in the next photo.  I also love Roger's Frosty the Snowman sweater too....what a handsome tyke and what an incredible gift....but wait, Roger was a very lucky kid back in 1950 as you will see.

Here is the Marx toy service station with "Sky View Parking" from my personal collection, actually the exact one that Roger got from Santa above as noted.

 

To the right is the catalog advertisement for the real thing.....an incredible amount of fun for only $4.69 ....a pretty huge amount of cash for a boy child's toy in 1950.  Check out some of the other cool toys on this catalog page.  Sorry the quality isn't the greatest.

The next photograph is the Sears later 1958 version of the toy service station

Here is Sears version which was available in their 1958 Christmas wish book.

Now here is Roger with his Ping Pong Ball rifle, looking very proud......He could pick off those Christmas Tree Balls at 10 feet with this baby.

Roger's Ping Pong Ball Rifle was made by the Knickerbocker Toy Co back in 1950.
.....as a note...click on all the photos for enlargements and to see the detail.

 

The above photo of Roger with his toy trucks.....yes...the same 1950 Christmas as above...a lucky little guy for sure!  The truck was made by the Lincoln Toy Company producing hundreds of similar toy trucks like these in the late 1940's and early 1950's.  If you look close you will see this Coca Cola truck as one of the many in the photo above, including an extremely rare Simpson's Van, a Steam Shovel and another hauler in the background.  Most of these trucks and especially the Coca Cola one and the Simpson's one in perfect condition could fetch well over $300. each in today's antique toy market.

Gene Autry, Roy Rogers or Hopalong Cassidy .........Roger was definitely being the 1955 Christmas Cowboy we all wanted to be in 1955....That was about the same time I had gotten my Roy Rogers outfit including guns and holsters too.  Todays value is anyone's guess.  What really caught my eye was the very cool toy race car....extremely rare today, at the lower right portion of the photo. Click on!

Here is a set of guns with holsters and a vest and chaps set that you might have gotten from Santa Claus in the mid 1950s, somewhat lilke the ones Roger was wearing above and they didn't have the orange tips on the guns either.....some looked and very ...actually even too authentic in the day.  That concludes Roger's photos.  Thanks again Roger for the use of your favourite Christmas presents photographs.

 

 

Here is a photo of yours truly taken the first year we moved to Arthur Street. I was only 5 years old and was typically spoiled as the first child/grandchild in both my parents families.  I would have presents under trees at home, and at both my grand-parents homes.
In the photo, if you click on it, you will see that I am holding a rubber Mickey Mouse airplane toy, one of my favourites of the day and behind me was a shiny new pair of Bauer ice skates.....I later went on to play Elk's pee wee hockey at Tarbutt Park in West Fort William.






Below is how that Mickey Mouse toy plane looked in colour....here the propeller blades are missing from the propeller.....and to the right is pretty much how my old Bauer skates looked albeit they would have been a little smaller.

 

 

 To the right is a picture of me with my baby sister circa Christmas 1953.  My toys from this picture were probably all in my bedroom by this time and likely wrecked already...but here is a similar toy to the one my little sister is playing with made by Brio in Sweden....a company who made quality wooden toys.

The above photo is of myself and my little sister Daryle circa Christmas 1957.  By then Santa was giving me mostly clothes (YUCK) and likely new skis and boots to head out to Fort William Ski Club......my passion in those days.  Looking at the photograph you will see the rest of these toys such as the wind-up whistling boy, the metal toy phone and the miniature (little girls size) vacuum cleaner....yup, they started those little girls early to learn the future house-wife trade....

 

One last black and white photo of my sister and myself......I'm still looking for one with my brother Corey in it.....Corey if you have one send it over and I'll put it in the post!!  This photo is actually taken at the same time as the colour one above by my dads good friend Norris Badanai.  Norris ran a photo studio at the time.

 

The following photos are not family or friends but show you the excitement of Christmas day when you would receive your favourite toy of all time.  How wonderful it would be to experience that same feeling you had when you were that young and opening those wonderful toys Christmas Day.  We were so fortunate then as we are now......count your blessings, and have a Wonderful Christmas Holiday with your family and friends.

Hair Dressing Set.

How it might look today if he had
kept it.

Finally look at this excited kid as he sees his Jet Flow Station Wagon Pedal Car for the very first time....I'll bet he's a car guy now, aka Gearhead!