mouse-inspired toy from the 1930s – unearthed in Lichfield and found in a garden shed – is expected to soar to success at auction.
An example of a tinplate, clockwork Marx Merrymakers Mouse Band was uncovered at Hansons Auctioneers’ free weekly valuation event at The Hedgehog Inn.
It’s incomplete, hence the value of £100-£150, but should still do well, according to toy valuer Steve Fulford.
Whatever it makes will be a bonus for its owner – who found the toy in his mother’s garden shed in Minworth, near Birmingham, when she died in the late 1980s. He thinks it may have been there for decades.
The seller, a 79-year-old retired engineer who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The toy’s been sat on a shelf in my spare room ever since – that’s around 30 years.
“I was having a good clear out and decide it was time to part with it. I don’t know how my mother came to own it – or how it ended up in her shed. I took it along to the Lichfield valuation event to see if it was worth anything.”
Mr Fulford said: “Despite the fact some pieces are missing, this toy is still of value and I’m so glad he brought it to us. We shouldn’t be too surprised one has turned up Lichfield because, in the 1930s, this toy was manufactured in the Midlands.
“Louis Marx and Company were an American toy manufacturer from 1919 to 1980 and had their headquarters in New York but they also had a base in Dudley.
“I love to see classic tinplate toys like this. The mice move when you set off the clockwork mechanism. It should spark interest among collectors when it goes under the hammer in our June 20 toy specialist toy sale.”
Hansons holds free valuations every Monday (except bank holidays), 10.30am-12.30pm, at the Hedgehog Inn, Stafford Road, Lichfield, WS13 7AD. Free valuations in the privacy of your home, house clearance and downsizing can also be arranged. Email [email protected] or call 01283 733988.
