Who knows how many unknown treasures lays undiscovered in some lofts and garages? One such case occurred with a toy airplane, bought during WWII, which lay in a loft in Bristol for seven decades. But this toy aeroplane, with very touching story behind, sold for a whopping £10,000 ($15,950) to an American collector at auctioneers Vectis in Thornaby, Yorkshire.
This W. Britain-made US style monoplane was purchased in Bristol, UK in 1941, as a Christmas present for one youngster, who unfortunately didn’t have a chance to play with it. The plane, still in its original box and in pristine condition, was found in a loft, wrapped in newspaper in which some articles tells how two days earlier Bristol had joined the list of British cities bombed by Nazis. One possible theory was that the child who was due to receive the gift, died during the bombing.
The tiny plane was originally bought 72 years ago, from Gyles Brothers of Bristol, for 9s 6d, or $18.30 in today’s money. Its rarity has contributed to the price, since this camouflaged monoplane is one of only three made by iconic British toy manufacturers W. Britain.
“Although they produced thousands of aircraft, W. Britain only produced a very small number just prior to ceasing production during the war with a camouflage finish. It was quite a good price – I was over the moon. It’s not unusual to achieve those types of prices for W. Britain toys – they’re sought after all over the world,” the auction house’s spokesperson, Simon Clarke said.
