Tag: Aaron Schroeder

Oct. 14 sale continued Schroeders’ philanthropic legacy, with proceeds from 100 lots of “Abby’s Attic Finds” benefiting The Entertainment Community FundVINELAND, N.J. – After the toy community had the excitement of bidding on treasures from the 60-year Aaron and Abby Schroeder collection in March and September 2021, only one question lingered: was there more? Indeed, there was. With a heady $5.7 million subtotal from last year’s events as its foundation, the third and final installment put the exclamation point on the series. On October 14th, Bertoia’s presented “Abby’s Attic Finds,” a 500-lot discovery selection that added another $550,000 to boost the grand total to $6.25 million.Kyser & Rex (Philadelphia) Roller Skating cast-iron mechanical bank, excellent condition retaining bright original paint colors. Sold for $24,000Proceeds from 100 of the October sale’s lots were earmarked to benefit the Entertainment Community Fund (ECF), a cause close to Abby and the late Aaron Schroeder’s hearts. The toys had been donated by the Schroeders to the American Museum of Antique Toys in the early 1980s; now they would generate a hefty contribution to a deserving nonprofit. In the spirit of charity, Bertoia’s also waived its commission so ECF could receive the full proceeds earned by the “museum” toys.More than 150 mechanical and still banks, early clockwork and paper-lithographed toys, candy containers, European tin toys, horse-drawn pieces and other rarities were offered at the auction. The top lot of the day was a Kyser & Rex cast-iron Roller Skating mechanical bank in excellent condition. It easily swept past its $12,000-$18,000 estimate to reach $24,000. Also popular, a 1950s Mark Haber second-casting of a J & E Stevens Bull & Bear mechanical bank sold for an above-estimate $7,800.Highlights from the perennially popular early American tin category included a 21-inch-long Ives clockwork alligator (patented 1875), pristine with its