Bertoia’s spring toy auction highlights rare Maloy and Gallagher collections

By AI, Created 7:03 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Bertoia’s will hold its Annual Spring Auction on May 29-30 in Vineland, New Jersey, with 1,000 lots from Part 2 of the Martin and Deborah Maloy collection and the Bill Gallagher collection. The sale features rare toys, trains, banks and automata, led by a Marklin Jupiter luxury liner and a Schoenner live steam locomotive.

Why it matters: - The sale brings together two well-known collections with rare European and American toys that can draw serious competition from advanced collectors. - The auction’s top pieces carry five-figure estimates and include museum-grade examples that are hard to replace. - Part 1 of the Maloy collection sold at Bertoia’s on Dec. 13 for more than $1.6 million, setting a benchmark for this follow-up sale.

What happened: - Bertoia’s will hold its Annual Spring Auction on May 29-30, 2026, at its gallery at 2141 DeMarco Drive in Vineland, New Jersey. - The two-day sale starts at 10 a.m. ET both days. - The auction includes Part 2 of the Martin and Deborah Maloy toy collection and high-quality material from the Bill Gallagher collection. - The catalog also includes German wind-ups, pressed steel toys, banks, trains, robots and pre-war Japanese toys. - The sale totals 1,000 choice lots.

The details: - The Martin and Deborah Maloy collection was assembled over 60 years and includes European tin toys, autos, boats, biscuit tins, Märklin trains, early American Ives trains and accessories, airplanes and wind-up toys. - Bill Gallagher and his wife Jean Ann built multiple collections over many years, including vintage Japanese tin toys, N-Gauge, LGB and Z-Gauge trains, Howdy Doody collectibles, amusement park toys, toy buses, boats and wooden toys. - A Märklin clockwork Jupiter luxury liner ship leads the sale with an estimate of $12,000-$20,000. - The 27-inch ship is in excellent to pristine condition and is described as a rare example of fine German workmanship. - A Schoenner 4-4-0 80mm toy locomotive for the American market carries a $10,000-$16,000 estimate. - The 17-inch locomotive is a scarce live steam train with a rare reverse feature, one of only a handful known to exist. - The locomotive is hand-painted and professionally restored, with a replica balloon smokestack made to exact scale. - A J & E Stevens cast-iron mechanical Horse Race bank is estimated at $6,000-$10,000. - The 6-inch straight-base bank shows two horses racing in a circle with a ticket collector and is in excellent to pristine condition. - A Nomura battery-operated walking Batman has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate. - The 12-inch figure lights up at the face and moves its arms and legs when activated, and it includes its original cape and a replica box. - An Ives boy on horse perambulator, patented in 1873, carries a $5,000-$8,000 estimate. - The all-original toy is a scarce three-wheel velocipede cart with a tin figural horse head and clockwork motor. - A 1/4-inch-scale salesman’s sample of a 1922 Autocar rotary dump truck is estimated at $5,000-$8,000. - The 52-inch truck is reportedly one of five known, with an electric motor, brass construction, cast aluminum wheels and leather window covers. - A circa-1910 Roullet et Descamps Le Paol Marchant walking peacock automaton carries a $5,000-$7,500 estimate. - The 18½-inch automaton walks forward, pauses to fan its tail feathers and is in excellent to pristine condition. - A 2-inch gauge Voltamp Pacific Fruit Express car, No. 6719, is estimated at $4,000-$7,000. - Voltamp made only 30 of the cars for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Expo in San Francisco. - A circa-1907 Martin Le Petit Diabolo sticks player has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. - The toy comes in an ultra-rare box and is in pristine near-mint condition. - A circa-1920 Gunthermann wind-up motorcycle with driver is estimated at $3,000-$5,000. - The 7-inch motorcycle is complete, all-original and in pristine to near-mint condition.

Between the lines: - The mix of European tin, American cast iron and early Japanese toys underscores how global the collecting market has become. - Strong estimates on the rarest lots suggest bidders are paying for condition, completeness, provenance and scarcity as much as for age. - The Maloy and Gallagher names signal established collections, which often adds confidence for buyers looking for premium examples.

What’s next: - Preview is by appointment only during the week before the auction. - Remote bidding will be available by absentee, phone and live online through Bertoia Live, LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable. - Additional information, absentee bidding and preview appointments are available at 856-692-1881, by email at toys@bertoiaauctions.com, or through the company’s announcement at Bertoia Auctions.