WWII toy aeroplane bought in Bristol fetches £10,000
From the West Country comes this story featuring a dashing tinplate toy which, thanks to its rarity value, has recently made £10,000 at auction. It's certainly a splendid model, but I'd rather pay 9/6 for it myself...
One of only 3 known to exist in the particular camouflage paintwork, this model monoplane has a potentially bittersweet story attached to it. Its mint condition, including its original box marked with the name of the Bristol shop that sold it (and which still exists today as a sporting goods store), proves that it has had little use and so enhances its value. However the accompanying newspaper in which the toy was wrapped features an ominous headline - a bombing raid on Bristol - that possibly hints at why the model had never been played with.
The story behind this little tinplate may never be fully known but it adds in its own small way to the history of Bristol and the family business from where it was bought. It sounds as though it is taking pride of place in some collector's display; let's hope its past history is just as appreciated and, more importantly, remembered.
A web log, an æthereal scrap-book if you will, with a somewhat vintage flavour. News items, occurrences, experiences, thoughts and opinions related to Victoriana through to Fifties Americana can all be found here.
I hope that the little boy it was intended for didn't die in the Bristol blitz; its a very poignant piece of history and it feels wrong to add a commercial value to it. It would have been an idea to donate the airplane and the paper to a local museum or the IWM.
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