Dayton Toys Hill Climber Friction Van Private Label Rochester New York *SOLD*

Dayton Toys Hill Climber friction van- Private Label- Rochester New York

Length: 11″

Circa 1912

From time to time we enjoy the crusty and dusty and completely original find.  Our Dayton Toys early American van toy is a beauty as-is.  we simply dusted it and added a light oil to seal out oxygen.

See the two photos below from a book on these friction toys.  You will find an example from the catalog, and then another on these private label toys.

Underneath you can see the entirely inadequate attempt at a robust friction mechanism.  It uses a solid lead flywheel and then two entirely too small rollers to power rear wheels.  In this case, the mechanism slides out of place from play wear.  Still, it is all there.  The theory was that you get enough flywheel energy to climb hills.  One wheel had a tin tab break, and so the mechanism won’t always engage.  We could have easily nailed, bolted, or fixed the mechanism in place but have left it as-is.

Then likewise, the outside of the van has quite  a bit of play wear, denting, and tin ripples.  We’ve left it as-is and don’t want to muss with a relic.  The driver is a period cast iron replacement.

Based on the fresh paint on the bottom and little flywheel wear, our example was likely left in a single place for ages and not used that much.  Unfortunately time and 105 years tends to take the luster out of paint, loosen it for chipping, and leave it susceptible to the elements.

Finally, we have to emphasize the rarity of this toy with a private label.  It was produced in the mid-1910’s in a regional Ohio area by Dayton Toys.  Some of them, a small number, were sold with custom paint jobs for companies.  Our Rochester New York company is likely a moving company and this toy belongs to a batch that was likely less than 100.  We have not seen another survivor, and likely this is it.

Great history; crusty toy; beautiful relic; fantastic rarity.