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Ives Tugboat King Antique Tin Windup *SOLD*

Ives Tugboat King tin windup for sale- Antique toy boat **Sold**

Ives and boat collectors recognize that this toy offering is a rare treat.  The King tugboat offered here comes near new old stock with its original box.  The toy doesn’t appear to be used.

The original key is still attached with a string and the box still has the delicate paper label.  Colors are vibrant red, maroon, and red with black and gold highlights.  There is paint chipping on the hull bottom due to no primer being used on this antique toy boat.

This is the most outstanding example of the antique King tugboat we have seen.  Believe it or not less than 50% paint is common and most sunk in use so are rusted.

The seasonal nature of train sales continued to cause concern for Ives, and Harry Ives, Edward Ives’ son and successor, sought one last time to diversify by selling toy boats, which he hoped would support the company through strong summer sales. The first boats, released in 1917, were powered by a clockwork engine from an Ives O gauge locomotive. However, the designs were somewhat simplified, lacking the costly detail that was the highlight of competing German designs, and had a tendency to sink easily. Additionally, since Ives did not use a primer when painting the boats, the paint flaked off easily. Ives had difficulty adapting its methods for designing and building trains to work for boats. Despite the problems, Ives continued producing the boats until 1928. Few Ives boats exist today, but it is unclear whether this was due to lack of popularity or their propensity to sink.

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