Sotheby's Sale of 27000 Antique Toys
Sotheby's auction house is offering the entire collection of 27000 antique toys as a single lot in a private sale. This collection is estimated to bring 10 million dollars, if not more, as some appraisers believe. Jerry Greene, the 67 year old owner, began collecting at the age of 18 and went on to acquire more than 1,600 sets of trains, 10,000 figures and 700 stations, buying at fairs, auctions and flea markets.
This collection is called "The Jerni Collection" and consists of antique toy trains and railroad stations. Now, what I find most interesting is that the collection has never been seen by the public and only part of these stations and trains are currently on display at Sotheby's. Also, only 20 percent of the collection has covered an entire floor of Sotheby's headquarters in York avenue, New York.
I could only imagine that this collection is beyond breathtaking and can't help but wonder if we all kept our childhood toy collections, barbies, cars, etc., we would have had nothing short of collections similar to this one... well, I guess our collections would be smaller but I'm sure the memories our toys would bring of our childhood dreams and innocence would definitely be comparable to those of Jerry Greene.
I'm constantly challenged by the thought that maybe I shouldn't have given away almost all of my toy collection. It might not have been as big as Greene's but at some point, I realized that these toys should fulfill their life's purpose and instead of remaining in my grown-up closet, they should keep on bringing joy for children. I thought that memories are carved in my brain and I will never forget the good times I had with my barbies and their little shoes.
But, sometimes I'm so caught up in the daily life and its preoccupations that I forget about the fancy world I had as a child. Maybe I should have kept my toys, put them on display (well perhaps Sotheby's wouldn't agree to do that for me) and kept them as reminders of the beautiful surreal world I had once created...
This collection is called "The Jerni Collection" and consists of antique toy trains and railroad stations. Now, what I find most interesting is that the collection has never been seen by the public and only part of these stations and trains are currently on display at Sotheby's. Also, only 20 percent of the collection has covered an entire floor of Sotheby's headquarters in York avenue, New York.
I could only imagine that this collection is beyond breathtaking and can't help but wonder if we all kept our childhood toy collections, barbies, cars, etc., we would have had nothing short of collections similar to this one... well, I guess our collections would be smaller but I'm sure the memories our toys would bring of our childhood dreams and innocence would definitely be comparable to those of Jerry Greene.
I'm constantly challenged by the thought that maybe I shouldn't have given away almost all of my toy collection. It might not have been as big as Greene's but at some point, I realized that these toys should fulfill their life's purpose and instead of remaining in my grown-up closet, they should keep on bringing joy for children. I thought that memories are carved in my brain and I will never forget the good times I had with my barbies and their little shoes.
But, sometimes I'm so caught up in the daily life and its preoccupations that I forget about the fancy world I had as a child. Maybe I should have kept my toys, put them on display (well perhaps Sotheby's wouldn't agree to do that for me) and kept them as reminders of the beautiful surreal world I had once created...
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