Tippco Santa Car
- DALLAS, TX, October 16, 2007 - Children around the world may be
eagerly awaiting Santa's arrival on December 24, but at
DFW Elite Toy Museum.com, the jolly old man has already arrived. Whether they've been naughty or nice, visitors to the museum can enjoy a rare glimpse of
Santa Claus behind the wheel instead of at the reins.
"One of the things that is unique about this toy is that Santa is driving," comments
Rodney Ross, curator of DFW Elite Toy Museum.com. "You never see him driving anything but a sleigh, so this
Tippco Santa car is certainly unusual."
But that's not all that's unusual about this foot-long tin car, which was produced in 1928 by German toy giant Tippco. A leader in tin cars, Tippco - or
Tipp & Co., as it is sometimes called - manufactured the
clockwork-driven Christmas car from 1925 until 1935. True to the times and the culture, the Santa portrayed in the car is a
slimmer and more serious Saint Nick than our contemporary American incarnations. The antique Santa car's makers added such details as spoked wheels,
Dunlop Cord tires, and black mudguards and running boards.
The lithographed finish on both sides of the vehicle depicts a parade of toys, and the Christmas tree mounted on the back was designed to light up.
"That made it quite a luxurious toy back in 1928," notes
Ron Sturgeon, owner of DFW Elite Toy Museum.com. "They also had versions of the
Santa car that allowed the Christmas tree to rotate as the car moved, so this really was quite a toy for its time."
Sturgeon has owned the exceedingly rare car for about 10 years. It's one of about 3,000 pieces in the museum, which began as a personal collection and just kept growing. "With Christmas on the way and toys on the brain, there's never been a better time to visit the toy museum," Ross says.
"Everyone who comes in, young and old, gets a big kick out of visiting our
Fort Worth toy museum," he says. "Parents get especially excited - we hear, 'Man, I wanted that car when I was a kid...' or 'I used to have that one, but my mom threw it away...' It makes people remember the toys they had growing up. It's very cool to see how people respond to seeing all these vintage
toys."
The
Tippco Santa car can be seen along with the other rare and
antique toy cars in the Toy Museum inside DFW Elite Auto Rental at 5940 Eden in
Fort Worth. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with weekend hours by appointment. In Fort Worth, call 817.838.RENT (7368); in Dallas call 214.247.4700. For more information, visit them online at
http://www.dfweliteautorental.com.
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