Submitted by aarAdmin on Mon, 03/23/2020 - 00:00
Despite the constant coronavirus threat, collectors bid enthusiastically at Leski Auctions Melbourne sale of toys, trains and models on March 22 – so much so that auctioneer Charles Leski kept reminding them to keep the recommended government ordered distance from each other to minimise the risk of infection.
By the end of the sale, about 75 per cent of lots had been sold – most within the catalogue estimates.
A circa 1958 Yonezawa Atom Jet Racer (lot 353) was the top selling item going under the hammer for $5500, followed by a 1960s Masudaya Batmobile (lot 162) that changed hands for $3800.
An early Marklin composite steam plant with boiler and engine (lot 75) was the best selling item among late Queenslander Brian Telfer’s collection, selling for $2200.
Lot 97, a circa 1925 colour lithograph poster with the words “Xmas Presents”, another valued possession within the Telfer collection, sold for $1400.
Railway models belonging to fellow collector the late Frank Kelly, a much admired builder of scale models from the ground up, featured prominently among the top prices with an 1880s B class steam locomotive (lot 9) bringing $1100 – the same price as an 1889 A class steam locomotive (lot 12), 1890 Y class tender locomotive (lot 31) and 1909 Tasmanian Garratt K class compound steam locomotive (lot 50) also in the collection.
Two more of his collection, a circa 1907 AA class steam locomotive (lot 21) introduced that year to be used on express/premier services hauling the heavier E type passenger carriages that came into service in 1906, and a circa 1947 K class branch line steam locomotive (lot 26) built post World War II at the Newport workshops, each brought $1000.
