(FOX NEWS) – The oldest toy store in San Francisco announced
this week that it is shutting down due to the rampant crime and
violence in the city’s streets, and because of inflation.
Jeffrey’s Toys, the downtown San Francisco toy store that
inspired Pixar’s classic "Toy Story," announced on Friday
that it will be closing permanently at the end of February.
1995
Battery-operated Toy car, Dick Tracy Squad Car No.1, c.1949,
by Marx Toys.
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally
Plainclothes Tracya tough and intelligent police detective
created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday,
October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror, and was distributed
by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate.
Chester Gould (November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985)
The purple Princess Diana beanie baby was created shortly
after her death in 1997 to raise money for the Princess of
Wales Memorial Fund.
As with everything that has the lady’s name attached to it, it
caused a massive frenzy and they have been collecting dust
in people’s attics ever since, waiting for them to rise in value.
The question of what the Ty beanie babies are actually worth
is disputed. Some say they aren’t worth more than $5-$7 while
others speculate there are some valued at over $500,000.
The deciding factor is allegedly the stuffing, with the first
edition filled with PVC pellets, therefore, getting a higher
valuation.
Diana, Princess of Wales
(born Diana Frances Spencer)
(1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997)
The Tinkertoy Construction Set is a toy for children. It was
designed in 1914—six years after the Frank Hornby‘s
Meccano sets—by Charles H. Pajeau, who formed the Toy
Tinker Company in Evanston, Illinois to manufacture them.
Pajeau, a stonemason, designed the toy after seeing children
play with sticks and empty spools of thread. Pajeau partnered
with Robert Pettit and Gordon Tinker to market a toy that would
allow and inspire children to use their imaginations. After an
initially-slow start, over a million were sold.
Hasbro bought the Tinkertoy brand and currently produces
both Tinkertoy Plastic and Tinkertoy Classic (wood) sets
and parts. The US rights are now owned by Basic Fun!.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Charles H. Pajeau in his workshop, December 1918.
Robert Pettit, vice president and general
manager, Toy Tinkers Inc.
The Cabbage Patch Kids doll brand set every toy industry sales
record for three years running, and was one of the most popular
lines of children’s licensed products in the 1980s and has
become one of the longest-running doll franchises in the
United States.
Cabbage Patch creator Xavier Roberts, below, copyrighted his
design in 1976 and sold the rights to company Giant Coleco in
1982. Dolls that were made prior to the Coleco handover are
worth the most.
