I was up and out of the house bright and early this morning. So early that I was at the Port Authority by 7:30. Today was the annual Hackensack toy soldier show. I only began getting into toy soldiers when I started going to Gettysburg regularly 6-7 years ago. The Hackensack show has always had a special meaning for me; the first time I went was five years ago as my father was dying. I remember him calling me a few days prior to the show to say he wouldn’t be able to see me in Florida in early January 2010. I understood instinctively that “wouldn’t be able to see me in Florida” meant he would be gone. Indeed, he died ten days later. I remember calling him in the hospital from the courtyard outside the Fairleigh Dickinson University gym. Five years ago this weekend.

Going back year after year since then has made me keenly aware of the passage of time.

Imagine my surprise when I came across A.P. Hill. In another part of the gym was a living historian playing Queen Victoria. I spoke to her and her friends for about ten minutes.

It is not just toy soldiers. There are vendors who sell vintage toys.

I wanted to get a better photo of this one, but it was behind the counter. I didn’t want to get behind the vendor table and so leaned in and stuck the camera out. I love this for about ten reasons. I always wonder what kids were thinking when they played these old board games and things like that. Could they have known it would someday be a piece of cultural history? Probably not.

Perhaps I am just more aware of it because I am getting involved in the Great War Centennial, but there seemed to be much more WW1 merchandise this year. The toy soldier market skews heavily toward the American Civil War and WW2. This is a neat old piece.

My gosh, just look at the camouflage on this German zeppelin. The level of detail is impressive all the way around. The purpose of such camouflage was to throw off the depth perception of ground artillerymen and fighter pilots who might target the dirigible.

These four came home with me. I love the doctor and nurse because they remind me of Ethel and Richard Derby, Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter and son-in-law. Dr. and Mrs. Derby served in France during the Great War. He was a surgeon and she a nurse. These four figures were made by a retired gentleman who lives in Baltimore. I bought a doughboy from him last year. My g.i. has stood at the ready on my office bookshelf for the past 52 weeks. Now he will have some company. One thing I liked about the vendor and his wife was that they emphasized that they make toys, not collectibles. It is something to enjoy and have fun with. The marine with his carrier pigeons is a unique figure. The toy soldier maker undoubtedly knows the story of cher ami.

I love the poilu. You don’t see these WW1 figures too much, though again I think this may change during the Centennial. Among other things the dealer had some cool  WW1 French zouave figures too. That is just one reason to mark my calendar for next year.

Yours truly was up and out of the house early yesterday on his Sunday morning for the annual Hackensack Toy Soldier show. Getting there is indeed half the fun. It involves a subway to 42nd Street followed by a walk across an all-but-deserted Times Square, to the Port Authority for the 8:30 bus to New Jersey. What I love about these shows is that you never know what you are going to see, or what it might be even if you bring it home. Here are Exhibits A, B, and C.

When I was looking through a case of pins and whatnot, the lady said I could choose any three for ten bucks. So, I chose these.

The first is from the 1931 American Legion convention held in Detroit in September 1931. I am not sure what purpose it served, but the hole is part of the original. This is common in such tokens. Surfing the internet, I learned that President Hoover himself addressed the legionnaires. Here is a photo from the convention. I love the sign for the Cadillac Hotel. Who brought the token home from Detroit, and how did it eventually find its way to a vendor table in Hackensack, New Jersey? I’m just glad he held onto it.

1931 American Legion gathering, Detroit, Michigan

I have always been a big tchotchke guy. In these years of the sesquicentennial I have been making certain to pick up brochures, handouts, tokens, and other small things wherever the Hayfoot and have traveled. They will never be worth millions, but they are tomorrow’s pieces of Americana. The Hayfoot even bought me a box just for this kind of thing.

I assumed that the United War Work Campaign pin was from one of the Alphabet Soup agencies during the New Deal/WW2 Era, with the 7 representing a union chapter. The blue star seemed further evidence of WW2 provenance. As it turns out, this UWWC pin was from the First World War. The 7 represents that number of organizations who pooled their resources for the war effort. Click here for some cool ass pics. I am not sure who would have worn such a pin. If it was for workers on an assembly line or something along those lines I don’t know.

That brings us to the third item.

I was hoping this was Civil War-related–and maybe it is–but no matter how much I search I cannot find anything about it. It is a little hard to make out, but it seems to say it is the 56th annual meeting of the Jr. O.U.M.M.  What that is I have no idea. If anyone does, I would love to know more.

So, into the box these will go, to be forgotten until pulled out on a winter’s night for an hour or so of perusing over a cup of coffee.

Remember, you are making history right now. Make sure to save a little part of it.

(middle image/Donald Harrison)

I woke up bright and early to go to the Secaucus toy solider show this morning. Few things can get me up at 6:30 on a Sunday morning to get myself to, of all places, the New York Port Authority, but this is one of them. It’s neat walking through an all but empty Times Square on a Sunday morning. There’s a thrill that comes from having the city to yourself, if just for a few fleeting moments. This is known as the Cabin Fever show because it falls in early March toward the end of winter. The crowds seemed bigger than usual because the big Hackensack show was cancelled last year due to Hurricane Sandy. I took these quick pics on my cellphone. The first is a public service announcement posted to the Port Authority stairwell. It caught my eye going up the escalator, and I of course had to back track to see what it said. The latter is the Manhattan skyline taken from across the Hudson. I was on the #129 bus at the time.

Abe says, “Take the GWB.”

New York skyline, 8:45 am, March 3, 2013

Enjoy.

Hey everybody, it is Saturday night. The Hayfoot went to the U.N. to do some work this morning which left yours truly on his own. I went to a smallish toy soldier in far out Queens. As you might imagine the city was loaded with crowds two weeks before Christmas Eve. Here are a few pics.

I love these old gloss sets. The story of these miniatures is as fascinating as the history they represent.

Santa was there in his red coupe.

Playsets from the 1950s and 1960s

The battleship Missouri was built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where the ironclad U.S.S. Monitor had been constructed eighty years earlier. I have not yet had a chance to visit the Building 92 Museum, which  opened on Veterans Day. We’ll probably visit this winter. Expect a full report.

It’s all a great excuse to go to my favorite, if out of the way, bakery.

Finally it was back on the train and the city. Overall, not a bad way to spend a Saturday. Now if you’ll excuse us we’re going to cut into that apple crumb pie.

It’s Sunday morning.  I just got back from a walk in Green-Wood. Instead of working on the encyclopedia article soon coming due, I’m dawdling and watching toy soldiers videos online.  The first time I walked into one of the shops on Steinwehr Avenue a few years ago I was hooked.  Much to the Hayfoot’s chagrin the regiments are expanding into 54mm brigades at Our Old Campground.  Here’s a great one.

Now back to my article.  Enjoy your Sunday.