Antique toys

Hornby and Bassett Lowke O gauge models were produced for over 40 years and many have survived.  Always seen as quality toys at the time, they continue to be prized by collectors.  The selection of castings here are the most vulnerable and have spigots designed to fit existing apertures in the tinplate.  These reproduction parts should enable many play-worn toys to be restored.  They may be fixed by riveting, solder or epoxy glue as desired.

Vast numbers of cast iron toys were made in the period 1870-1900.  A particularly prolific and long lived manufacturer was J & E Stevens of Cromwell, Connecticut, USA.  This company had its origins in the 1840s and was one of the earliest toy manufacturers in the USA.  Many of these were imported into the UK and some designs were directly copied by British manufacturers.  As these were played with by many generations of children, most are incomplete, with wheels being the most common fault.  Remarkably, the patterns for many toys, money boxes and cap guns remained stored in the factory after general toy manufacture ceased in the 1920s and these were rescued by employees when the factory was finally closed in 1959.  
We have been fortunate to acquire a number of patterns recently and offer parts cast from them to assist collectors in restoration.  The following replacement parts are all cast from those original nineteenth century patterns, and so keep all the detail and correct size of the original parts.  Pieces can be cast using sand or lost wax according to purchaser's preferences.
As these are made to order, prices vary according to prevailing foundry costs.  Please email for a specific estimate.

In addition to the above, we have a large number of smaller patterns that we have yet to identify.  If you are missing a part for your toy stove, mechanical bank or money box, please get in touch as we may be able to help.  Alternatively, if you would like a challenge, please click on the thumbnail for a small selection of J&E Stevens' patterns we would like you to identify.

We are also interested in purchasing patterns and other tooling for any antique toys, especially stationary engines (such as Frisbee's steam engine) and floor toy trains like the J&E Stevens Big 6 or similar toys from Arcade, Hubley, Ives, etc.