The Yorkton Farm Toy and Collectors Show and Sale had another successful year, bringing out approximately 1,000 people over the two day event. Those attendees were able to see approximately 50 booths with a wide spectrum of toys and collectables on display and for purchase.
One of those displays was by Neil Isley of Deslisle, SK who is a collector of Lincoln toys. The short-lived Canadian brand sold metal cars, trucks and tractors from 1946 to 1959.
The collection began with one toy, Isley says, a tractor which he played with as a boy at his grandparents' house. After he found out a bit more about the history and the brand, he began to seek out different models. He says it's really the style that sets them apart, a slightly primitive art deco influenced look that is tied to the era when they were made.
Isley has around 200 different toys, 50 of which he brought to display. He says that the internet has made it possible to find different toys, as well as old brochures that show the complete line from when the toys were current.
While his collection is extensive, Isley says that there are models that are elusive, in particular trucks tied to specific brands. He notes that there is a Woodward's-branded truck which is hard to find and not advertised in Lincoln's own catalog, which is one of the most prized models in the Lincoln line.
"It's one of those ones where they made only a small percentage, just for that company to sell," Isley says.
No matter what models he finds, Isley says that his favorite model will always be the one that started the collection, and the one model that he played with as a child, the Massey 44 from his grandparents' house.
"To me that one that is worth more than anything just because it was my uncle's, it was at my grandparents' house, and that's the one I played with. That's where it started, you can blame it on the one toy, and it has a special place."
The Lincoln collector market has expanded from even when Isley started, and he says that values are steadily shooting up across the board.
"When I started it was $50-70, but now I can't touch one for under $100."
He expects that it's because as the toys age, they deteriorate. Isley knows that he has a rare tractor that he rebuilt which is now worth around $500, which is so rare that his part source had never sold anything for it before.
This is the first time that Isley has been in the Yorkton show, and he says he's impressed by the show overall. He says that it was a busy two days, and the reaction of the crowd has been connected with the age of the attendees, with the toys being something younger people have never seen, but older people get excited by because they recognise them.
All money raised by the event, including a pedal tractor raffle, went to support Leif Maier, who is currently fighting brain cancer.
