Sue Richardson Bücher

Cherished childhood playthings of yesteryear, vintage toy cars are now highly coveted collectibles. Illustrated with over a hundred colorful photographs, Wheels is a delightful history of toy motor vehicles from the 1890s up to the present. Authors Mike and Sue Richardson, both avid collectors, trace the history of these popular toys from early cast-iron models to state-of-the-art vehicles made from modern materials. The renowned Christie's collection provides wonderful examples of vintage fire trucks, delivery vans, coupes, hot rods, roadsters, and motorcycles manufactured by famous toy makers from around the world, exhibiting the fine craftsmanship and ingenuity of more than a century of toy making. Wheels is a rare treat for anyone who admires vintage toys or spent childhood days happily "driving" toy cars around the neighborhood. Christie's, established over 200 years ago, is among the world's preeminent auction houses for fine art and collectibles. The Christie's collection of automotive toys is recognized internationally.

The name 'Dinky Toys' belongs to the world famous range of toy cars produced by one of the world's most famous toy manufacturers, Meccano Ltd. The factory in Binns Road, Liverpool, made high quality metal construction sets, model railways in 0 and 00 gauges, clockwork boats, chemistry sets and many other educational toys. The toy cars were first produced as lineside effects for the Hornby Trains and were added to the Modelled Miniatures' range of figure sets. By 1934 the vehicles had taken over and the range was renamed to reflect this. Dinky Toys were the most prolific and diversified range of toy vehicles ever made, so much that the name 'Dinky' has been taken into common usage to denote any small toy car much as we often refer to the vacuum cleaner as a 'Hoover'. Dinky Toys have the greatest number of aficionados of any make of toy and are collected throughout the world. In 1981, Mike and Sue Richardson's world-renowned book on the subject of Dinky Toys and Modelled Miniatures was published by N