Is your family attic crammed with old and forgotten memories? Redolent with the musty odor of mildewed boxes and moth-eaten fabrics? Are there, perhaps, buried toys from a long-forgotten childhood? Some battered, some broken, some repainted; all rekindling deep, strong feelings of childhood love, innocence and stirring memories of an America long gone. Such toys represent markers in the history of time and recapture the past better than the actual objects they imitate. And, as every savvy tooth fairy knows, there maybe more than nostalgic value in those toys!

If you are new to toy collecting our strongest advice is for you not to attempt to clean up the toys you unearth. Finishes become delicate with age and can be rubbed off or damaged by inexpert handling. Of all the factors that help determine the value of a given toy condition is right on top. The toy rarity probably would be the first, but condition follows right on its heels. Toys in mint condition do command prices far above that of toys in average condition. Any restoration that might be desirable is best left to experts.

Toys in their original boxes sell for a premium price. If you find the original box, however tatty it may appear, you will be fortunate. It doesn't matter that it is torn and incomplete. It may still bear the original patent number, year of copyright and other information to enhance the value of your find. Such boxes have a strong graphic appeal and serious collectors value the lithography.

Even when only one or two panels of an original box remain intact, collectors will be eager to salvage them and some will frame these portions to preserve their comic art. Like the toys they contain, the graphic designs are valued for their combinations of color, often bright and contrasting, sometimes subtle and ethereal. Their cartoony shapes and forms illustrate the genesis of much contemporary art.

Toy collecting is progressive and addictive. The great excitement is in searching attics, basements, garages and other darkened hiding places. This is where forgotten old toys might be cast-off and waiting in the dust to once again become the prized possession of a proud new owner.

When you hit such buried treasures, we invite you to complete our appraisal form and return it to us by email for an approximate evaluation. The minimum cost of an appraisal is $25 but can go as high as $100 depending on research time. If you sell the toy through us, we will waive the appraisal fee.