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News Article
Slip sliding away on vintage sleds
By Lis King

If you happen to see an old sled languishing among the junk by the curb or on the porch at an estate sale, don’t pass it by. Grab it, and at least find out something about it. It might be worth a pretty penny. Antique sleds are gaining attention among collectors, with the fancy ones grabbing sky-high prices at auction.

“I paid $7,500 for my first, hand-painted sled,” says Paul Cote, owner of Pa’s Antique Attic in Oxford, Maine. “It was a Snow Fairy design from Paris Manufacturing, a company right here in Maine. Now I have four of these designs which were top-of-the-line sleds back in the 1870s and went for $60 – a dozen.”

Leon Weiss of Gemini Antiques, Oldwick, N.J., sold one sled with a full-bodied tiger painting for $4,500, and a miniature 8in sled, perhaps produced as a patent model, for $13,000.

But the most famous sled of all time has got to be Rosebud, one of three balsa-wood props used in the Orson Welles movie classic Citizen Kane. A Paris clipper design, it sold at auction in 1982 to film producer Steven Spielberg for $55,000 - plus a 10 percent buyer’s fee. Rosebud’s pine prototype, prettily red-painted, sold to another collector in 1996 for $233,500

So what is it about sleds that attract collectors? Joan Palicia, author of the definitive sled guide, Great Sleds & Wagons published by Schiffer Books, says that, of course, it’s the aesthetics and great craftsmanship that appeal to collectors, but nostalgia also plays a huge role.

“A sled evokes such happy memories,” says Palicia. “It makes us think of lots of fun on sunny winter afternoons, racing down snowy hills, and then coming home to hot cocoa. One of my fondest memories is of racing down Sandy Hill Road in Totowa in Northern New Jersey.

“Every new sled I add to my collection rekindles my memories of that sledding hill, which was transformed nightly into a fairyland. Lanterns flickered and moonlight glistened on the new-fallen snow. Children clad in stocking hats and snowsuits towed their sleds up the hill for that one last thrilling ride before heading home. In fact, I still go sledding. I love getting out there in the hills and sled with the kids. One of my sleds is 8½ ft long and can seat six kids. It’s the Cadillac of Flexible Flyers, and what fun it is to take it down a hill, everyone yelping with joy.”

She says that it was these memories that set her off on a half a century journey of studying and collecting sleds, finally authoring her first book on the topic in 1997.

“It took me 20 years to collect all the material and write the first book, Flexible Flyer and Other Great Sleds for Collectors and Value Guide, Palicia said. “It took me 10 years to research and write the second one.”

She only collects Flexible Flyers made prior to 1968, and her collection is huge. There are sleds in her barn and all over her house. “I probably have 25 to 35 on display in the rec room,” she says. “There are six leaning against the wall in my bedroom.”

Her collection doesn’t end with the sleds. Her home also brims over with catalogs, posters, ads and brochures from early sled manufacturers.

No one knows when sledding started, but lore has it that the Romans used their shields as sleds in battle. It’s known for sure that when French trackers arrived in Canada in the 17th century, they discovered that Cree and Innui tribes used wooden sleds for transportation, and the earliest American sleds were hard-working farm implements used to haul timber, stones, hay, and such.

Toward the middle of the 19th century, farm equipment manufacturers such as Hunt, Helm & Ferris of Illinois began making recreational sleds in order to keep factories busy during slow months, and before long sled racing became a popular sport.

In 1861, Henry Franklin Morton of West Sumner, Maine, in true rags-to-riches fashion, became the first large-scale sled manufacturer in the country. A serious eye malady made it difficult for him to make a living, so he started making rakes and sleds for extra money. His wife, Lucilla, painted them in their kitchen. This enterprise was so successful that he hired staff the following year, moved a bit south, and formed the Paris Manufacturing Co. The firm’s coasting sleds, ice sleds and sleighs were made of oak and had fixed runners of wood or iron. They were hand-painted or stenciled by local artisans. The company became the largest sled manufacturer in the nation’s history, and wound up with branch stores throughout the country.

The Paris sleds were well-crafted and uniquely painted, and they are in high demand by today’s collectors. Henry Morton designed his sleds to be gender-specific. The Clipper, with runners forming a V-shaped point, was the boys’ version. On this sled, daredevil boys could belly-flop head first down the snow-clad hills. For girls, beauty and poise, was of the essence. They were expected to sit up straight on Cutters, which often had curled runners and wing-shaped finials. The boards were hand-painted, usually with horses and dogs for boys and birds, cherubs and flowers for girls.

Paris sleds were given names to evoke images of speed and beauty, and often, these names were part of the painted decorations. The elegant Snow Fairy and Black Beauty, which had small bells attached to the curled runners, were two of the company’s top designs.

“It’s the aesthetic of the Paris sleds that drives today’s market,” notes Leon Weiss. “The sleds produced in the period from1860 to 1890 are especially charming. The unique painted motifs that sometimes fill the entire board have elevated them into the ever-growing category of American folk art.”

“The fancier the decoration the better,” he advises, “and look for vibrant colors and normal wear, but no peeling and cracking.”

Paris had the longest run of all the American sled companies, but inevitably competition moved in. During the mid-1880s, Samuel L. Allen designed three sleds, the “Phantom,” the “Fleetwing,” and the “Aerial,” that could seat six to eight adults. They never went into commercial production, but they established the principles that became central to the Flexible Flyer. In 1888, he began manufacturing the “Fairy Coaster,” which came in two models, a deluxe version featuring a fabric-padded seat and a basic one. It didn’t sell in significant numbers.

Then in 1889, he patented the Flexible Flyer, a sled featuring T-shaped runners that could be moved by hands or feet for turning. At first it didn’t sell well, and for a few years Allen stopped sled manufacturing. When he reintroduced the sled, it did a lot better.

By 1915, nearly 2,000 Flexible Flyers were sold in one day, and the expected sales total for the year was 120,000. By the 1920s, the steerable sleds had swept the market and made the old-fashioned coaster-type sleds obsolete.

The centerboards of the early Flexible Flyers were decorated with flowers, but they were never as decorative as the Paris sleds, and by 1915, their logo became their trademark eagle, shield and ribbon. That ended the days of hand-painted motifs.

Carol Simmers, a dealer at the Old Sled Works in Duncannon, Pa., goes to auctions, estate and yard sales to look for sledding treasures. “I always have four or five old sleds available,” she says. “My best find was a Lightning Guider sled made by the Standard Novelty Works right here in Duncannon.”

The Old Sled Works, a mall of antiques dealers, is housed in the historic Duncannon factory and features a sled museum, highlighting the 86-year history of the Standard Novelty Works.

1/7/2011
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