The first day will feature dolls, miniatures, room boxes, soft toys, advertising and related materials. The second day will focus on trains, clockwork toys, steam toys, et cetera.

The sale’s collection of steam toys are the result of the lifelong passion of Morton A. Hirschberg, former president of the Antique Toy Collectors of America and author of the definitive book on the subject: Steam Toys: A Symphony in Motion (Schiffer, 1996). Steam toys, often referred to as steam engine accessory toys are designed to be operated by drive wheels attached to stationary steam engines but can also be operated by hand. The variety in Hirschberg’s collection is astounding. A number of the toys illustrated in Hirschberg’s book will be included in December’s sale, many hitting the market for the first time in decades.

For those who enjoy games, the auction will offer what is considered the rarest and most sought after 19th century board game: the McLoughlin Brothers masterpiece Bulls and Bears - The Great Wall Street Game. Patented 1883, the colorful game board features portraits of three major players from stock market shenanigans of the 1870s — Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Horace Greeley. The artwork, executed by famed political cartoonist Frederick Opper, includes a clever cautionary vignette in which a bull and a bear join forces in “fleecing” a sheep. The game retains its vibrant lithograph box lid, the original folding board, play money and purchase contracts, as well as the original instruction booklet. It is estimated to sell in the $10,000-$15,000 range.

Early American toys include several Ives clockwork pieces, the rarest being the Boy with Mallet, one of only three or so known ($8,000-$12,000). Other clockwork pieces include a near-mint example of a three-man bicycle race from a French manufacturer. An assortment of European and American tin windups helps round out the Saturday session, a number of which feature comic characters.

Other items of note include more than 50 fire fighting toys from a private collection. These toys are primarily tin and include American, French, German, and Japanese examples.

Contact: (610) 269-4040,

www.pookandpook.com