Public Garden

[marko]

Wow these are quite big sets and very charming.  One could have quite a display immediately with a set of this size.


Mark 

[errant49]

Second post

[errant49]

More pictures of old "Public Garden" sets (as the uploader does not want to take them all in one post, I make two posts, hoping it works)
Two are from Allgeyer and similar with the one I show in my first post; they could be combined to make a nice diorama (pictures in this post)
Two others are from Heinrichsen, engraved before 1900 (pictures in the second post)
The issue and painting dates are more difficult to determine because Heinrichsen figures are still in production mowadays; but it is possible to judge according the way and quality of painting
I think that the smallest set is around 1920-1930
The other one (with the sitting people) is before 1914 because it comes with a "cheese box" (see picture) with a russian sticker which means it was for export; and Heinrichsen stopped export to Russia before 1914

"Public Garden" was a very popular theme
In a future  post I will show an other popular theme : Markets

[nmrocks]

looks like the older sets were much more extensive in numbers and variety of content, lets see more!!!
Ray

[marko]

These remind me quite a bit of the old Heyde 3 dimensional figures.  They are charming.


Mark 

[Roger]

I will post a picture when I find the box

  That made me smile, glad it's not just me.

[errant49]

Yes Nick, the paint is chipped and this kind of figures is not to be repaint
The value depends on the rarity and the condition ; I have quite the same set in better condition ; I will post a picture when I find the box
This is one of the interest of collecting old flats; like old books (I also collect) you have to be a true seeker
The paint was oil directly on the metal which explains the chips
The modern painting way started around 1920 the improvement following the one of the engraving
Before that flats were considered as toys but they already had this historical interest
I agree with Roger and I am fascinate by those little things; but mind your wallet, it's more expensive than modern unpainted flats !!! (but less expensive than women )
Eric

[Roger]

This is a very interesting first post and I hope it sets the standard for other contributors to show us their collections and tell us a bit about the history of them. I find this stuff fascinating.

[Nicholas Ball]

That's a pretty little set Eric.

So, I notice that the paint is fairly chipped, are they worth more in that condition or could you repaint them ?

Do you know when it became the fashion to start painting them ? as I presume in the 1800's  these were just childrens toys and would have remained unpainted.

When they did start painting them what medium would have been used, and what primer ( if any )

[errant49]

First pictures to introcuce this new section about collecting flats
This is a very old set, around 1860, issued by the firm ALLGEYER in FURTH
Allgeyer was one of the biggest manufacturer of flats of the XIX° century
They stopped the production around 1905 and the moulds were spread among other manufacturers including Heinrichsen
ALLGEYER figures are seeked for because of the great thinness and delicacy of the figures especially civilians
Their range was mainly 20 and 28 mm
They are now very rare and hard to find