Toy Garages & Gas Stations -- PART 1

Jul/Aug 2024 edition
Issue #35 AutoMobilia Resource Magazine
​By Louis Nathenshon

After more than 50 years of collecting, I have accumulated quite a variety of antique toys. Like most collectors, I enjoy looking at them. Due to space limitations, most of the toys are lined up on shelves, cheek-to-jowl. When I can, I like to combine my toys, creating tableaux – miniature environments that provide a clear glimpse of the past. Toy garages and gas stations provide an ideal environment for displaying toy cars of the appropriate size and period. All of the toys pictured here are from the Natenshon family collection.

Pinard Garage (France)
This garage, dating from 1905 to 1910, is one of the rarest and certainly the most valuable of the pieces shown in this article. It was made in France by Pinard and can be seen in their catalog from the time. Remarkably, it is still complete, with the three original race cars, all in excellent condition. Typical of Pinard, this garage was traditionally made by a labor-intensive method requiring the tin plate to be cut, formed, soldered, and carefully hand-painted. The garage measures 12"x22"x15" high, and the race cars are 10" to 11" long. The garage and cars shown here could range in value from $9,000 to $15,000. The Fiat racer ranges from $900 to $1,600 by itself. Larger, more desirable Pinard cars can exceed $10,000.

There's a reason the French produced these classic toys. Cars representing France were quite successful in early automobile races and won the first French Grand Prix in 1906. Speed, mayhem, and national pride contributed to the popularity of auto racing then, as they do now. Toymaker Pinard took advantage of this popularity and produced a variety of toy cars, including many race cars. 
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The red car parked next to the garage, made by Pinard, looks like the “Beast of Turin,” a 1910 Fiat with a huge four-cylinder motor of 28 liters. The car ultimately exceeded 132 mph. Unlike German tin toys, which were widely exported and sold in the U.S., French toys were rarely exported and can be difficult to find in America. Pinard cars occasionally show up at online auctions here but are more available at auctions and toy shows in France.

Kibri Garage (Germany)
​The toys pictured came from three different makers located in two countries, but all are from the 1930s. The tin garage, which is spray-painted and stenciled, is typical of the work of the German toymaker Kibri. Kibri began making tin toys in the late 19th century, many of which were buildings and toy train-related accessories. The garage is 10" high and rests on a base that is 18" wide and 20" deep. It is hard to put a price on it, as most of the Kibri garages I see are smaller and not as early, but I would estimate this garage to be worth $350 to $500. If it were a gas station with pumps, the price would be higher. 
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The car partially hidden in the garage is a 16" lithographed tin sedan by German maker Tipp. The 18" clockwork gas truck is of thin pressed steel and was made by French maker J.R.D., probably for Citroën, and dates from the late 1930s. I have seen these trucks representing different oil companies, but this is the only example I know of for French BP. I would estimate the value of the truck at $1,500 to $2,500, and the sedan at $800 to $1,500. 

Tri-ang Minic Garages (England)
​During the early 1930s, the British toy conglomerate Lines Brothers registered Tri-ang Toys as their brand name and introduced Minics, a line of small, high-quality painted-tin clockwork vehicles ranging from about 3" to 7" long. After a production lapse during WWII, the toys were reissued with very few changes. The rubber tires were now black, not white; luggage racks and running board-mounted Petrol cans disappeared.

 Tri-ang Minic garages, however, were entirely new after the war. Pre-war garages were made of flat panels, with muted paint colors, and covered with paper labels advertising gasoline and auto parts. After the war, the paper labels were gone, and the garage walls were now curved and colorful, with plastic windows. These garages can be bought today for $200 to $600. 
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 Other than four pre-war vehicles parked on the right side of the roof, all the vehicles here are post-war, including some of the same models shown on the billboard. The private-label snub-nose delivery van for the Canadian department store Simpsons is by far the rarest vehicle shown. Twenty-five years ago, at the Sandown Toy Show in England, Minic experts tried to convince me that Tri-Ang Minic never made this truck, but as you can see, they were wrong. The more common vehicles can usually be found for $20 to $60. Harder to find pre-war vehicles can bring up to $200, but it takes one that is quite unusual, with electric lights, for example, to reach $500. I have no idea what my apparently very rare Simpsons van is worth.  

The Consolation Prize
​At a recent Allentown Antique Toy Show, I lusted after a wonderful gas station made by Doll & Co., but I could not get myself to part with the $2,500 asked. Late in the show, I found this small pre-war Minic garage for $100 and bought it as my consolation prize. It is definitely playworn, missing some of the paper advertising signs and part of a wall. The gas pumps are post-war, and I supplied the Marx light bulbs. This 13"x13" gas station provides an appropriate environment for three small 1930s Japanese tin wind-ups. 
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 The blue 6½" Graham is very attractive and very common. Some 30 years ago a collector friend was offered a gross of these toy cars in their original boxes. Unboxed examples can usually be found on eBay for about $150. The 7" generic red car would range from $150 to $200. The orange car is identifiable as a specific make of car, which adds value, as do deluxe features such as plated headlights, bumpers and grill, as well as rubber tires, making this 7½" Plymouth quite desirable. It would bring $250 to $500, depending on condition. The Graham and Plymouth were both made by CK.

Going Large with a Minic Garage
​This is the second-largest pre-war Minic garage that was available, in very good condition. Its paper advertising signs remain intact, and the pre-war gas pumps are appropriate. It is 12" high to the top of the sign; the base is 24"x16". When I made a platform to create a centerpiece for our open house for car collectors, I added flags, a Marklin walkway, and all the Marx midget race cars I owned. It may look as though I over-collected the racers, but I have been fond of these since I got one as a child – my first metal toy after World War II ended. 
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 I came under considerable pressure to get this road race setup off the dining room table, but I could not get myself to take it apart, so I just keep moving it around the house. These wind-up cars were the same syle and construction for both pre-and post-war versions; only the lithography was changed, something the Marx company did quite well. The cars generally range in value from $50 to $100, with pre-war examples being the most valuable. The garage itself can range in value from $500 to $800. 

Pressed-Board Garage (France)
​This pressed-board and plastic garage was made in France during the 1950s or 1960s and resembles other pressed-board garages made in England and America at that time. All the cars shown are French Dinky toys and, other than the Buick and Chrysler, are models of French cars. Unlike most other French toy companies, which sold only to the home market, French Dinky toys were widely exported, as were the English Dinky toys. The production of Dinky toys began in England in the early 1930s, and in France soon thereafter. Dinky toys are very widely collected in the U.S., and even more so in Europe. Prices range from $10 to $30 for common ones, to several thousands of dollars for rare pre-war examples. The garage seen here ranges in value from $200 to $400 and is 12"x20"x14" high.

Rich Toys Garage (U.S.A.)
​Rich Toys was part of a company that made a variety of wooden products. The company was located in Clinton, Iowa, from the early 1930s to 1963, when it closed. This garage was made during that period. The post that holds the Texaco sign was probably added by a former owner. The building is 9" high, on a 13"x16" base, with fences protruding 3" on either side. Rich Toys made several versions of Texaco stations. This station should be worth $300 to $500. 
 The 12" lithographed tin wind-up roadster with electric headlights was made in Japan by H. Yamada, and closely resembles a 1931 Stutz Roadster owned by a friend of mine; the highly animated female passenger reminds me of his wife. I consider this one of the most desirable pre-war Japanese cars, and it can hold its own with German tin cars of the same size and period. I would value it at $1,800 to $3,000. 

Tabatha Chovanetz ​

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