Toy Ice Wagon

Period1909 - 1920

Place MadeLancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Dateca. 1870-1890

MediumCast iron

Dimensions5.25 × 3 × 11 in. (13.3 × 7.6 × 27.9 cm)

ClassificationsToys & Games

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1941

Object number1664

DescriptionA child's cast iron horse and wagon toy, consisting of a green painted wagon with canted side panels, a curved roof, rear step, and front wagon seat, with "ICE" in molded florid lettering on both sides, picked out in gold. The large rear wheels are painted red and are permanently attached to the underside of the wagon box. The toy's small red-painted front wheels are fixed to a singletree to which a pair of horses - one brown and one black - are fastened. This separate section attaches to the wagon with a small tabbed pin and socket and allow the front wheels to turn and pivot.
Curatorial RemarksThis sturdy cast iron toy was produced by the Hubley Manufacturing Company. Begun by John Hubley in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at the end of the nineteenth century, the company began making cast iron toys in about 1909. Hubley also offered doorstops and bookends. The firm's toys included cast iron wagons, animals, tractors, cap guns, and stoves. After the introduction of automobiles, Hubley introduced a wide range of racing cars, buses, fire engines, trains, steam shovels and other vehicles. By the late 1930s the company shifted from cast iron to a cast zinc alloy (sometimes referred to as "zamak" or "mazac.") By the 1960s, the company was struggling to keep up with the fast-changing toy industry and changing technologies, offering detailed cast metal and plastic model kits in addition to its toy line. The Hubley company was sold in the early 1980s to CBS Toys, while many of the firm's original molds were sold off to other companies.NotesAlthough Margaret Riker (Mrs. J. Amory) Haskell (1864 - 1942) is recognized as one of the early twentieth century's premiere American antique collectors, many people do not realize that Margaret Haskell also had a whimsical and quirky side to her collecting scope. Haskell often purchased items related to children and childhood life, from portraits by Monmouth County and New Jersey artists to toys and games. This sturdy cast iron ice wagon, with its pair of horses, was one such amusing item that appealed to Mrs. Haskell.

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