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Published in Delaware Beach Life Beyond the Pail Collectors revive childhood memories long buried in the sand by Karen M. Jones "Be warned before you read on further - collecting sand pails is very addictive!" So says the first sentence of "Pails by Comparison," a guide for vintage tin sand pail collectors by Carole and Richard Smyth. By the time I read it, of course, it was too late. I was a slave to the E-bay page that routinely listed 10 to 20 or more of the colorful, shiny tin treasures of my childhood, all up for bid, just a few competitive clicks away from arriving in my mailbox, mine for the remembering. You remember, too, I bet, if you were alive and pint-size before 1970, and lucky enough to spend family vacations by the shore. Maybe your beach bucket re-told the story of Peter Rabbit, cast Treasure Island in vivid detail, or made Mickey Mouse your best castle-building buddy. If you were lucky, it came with a matching shovel. If you were luckier, you had a separate, jumbo shovel painted with the "Happy Sandman." The heartbreak of rust overtaking your sand toy was relieved only by choosing a new one each summer from the piled-high shelves of the seaside "Five & Ten." What cost less than 50 cents then is worth, on average, $50 and up today. Those from the Victorian era, if still intact, fetch prices starting around $800. But it's not unusual to find pails from the 1940s or '50s on E-bay going for $100 to $200. Why so valuable? For one thing, sand, saltwater and sea air destroyed most of them. (For this reason, pails in the Midwest, used mostly near freshwater lakes or in backyard sandboxes, are often in the best condition.) For another, their depictions of Disney characters, old television heroes, cowboys and American flags make them popular with collectors of similarly themed items. Then there is the simple fact of age: the last ones made, before practical plastic snuffed out tin artistry in the '70s, are more than 30 years old now, and the oldest have seen a full century pass. Since my collection is composed mostly of pails from the '50s and '60s, it's not the most valuable in terms of dollars. But it's priceless in its power to transport me back to those days of moat-digging and burying my brother in a mountain of sand. Take the advice of Carole and Richard Smyth: "Just close your eyes, hold a sand pail to your ear, and you will hear the distant sea reminding you of happy, simple times." [captions:] Most pails were made by one of four primary U.S. manufacturers: Ohio Art Company (makers of the Etch-a-Sketch), J. Chein & Co., T. Cohn Inc. and U.S. Metal Toy Manufacturing Co. While only some sand pails carry the name of the manufacturer, many have a recognizable logo or other stylistic trademark, such as rolled handle edges, or a pattern of dots or rings pressed into the bottom. This J. Chein pail echoes the "transportation" theme common among a group of Chein pails, but its square shape is unusual. Most pails aren't dated, which makes determining their age tricky. The artwork is often revealing: single colors and simple stencils were the rule before 1900; radio and film stars turned up from 1920 to 1940; television icons and "wild West" themes emerged in the '50s; and space exploration and metallics heralded the '60s. Nearly every era's buckets featured children playing in gardens, on farms and on beaches, and the kids' clothing styles can reveal when they were made. This shovel's "Hollywood bathing beauty" character, inflatable sea horse and blunt handle date it to an earlier era. One of this trio of J. Chein pails still has its price sticker of 48 cents. Current value is determined by age (the first pails were made in the mid-1800s), condition (not only rust, but dents, major scratches and missing parts can reduce value dramatically), subject matter (patriotic themes and historic themes, for instance, fetch higher prices), availability (some pail designs appear frequently on E-bay while others are rare), and purchase venue (bargains, or even "steals," are more common at country yard sales than at urban antique dealers). Two price guides, "Pails by Comparison" and the recently published "Sand Pail Encyclopedia" by Karen Horman and Polly Minick are not only helpful advisors, but also wistful trips back in time. These three J. Chein pails represent different eras (from smallest to tallest, the '40s, '50s and early '70s). Sand pails sizes range from about three inches to seven-and-a-half inches tall (without the handle). Shovels can be tiny accessories to miniature pails (the one pictured here is just over 5 inches), or as long as 14 inches with their own vibrant designs. Back in the '50s, an entire fairytale could unfold around the curve of a J.Chein sand pail. Today, reproductions are available from toy producers such as Schylling, whose revival of Curious George, Felix the Cat and other cartoon favorites is delightfully affordable at about $6 per pail; and Cape Cod Pails, in East Dennis, which specializes in pastel beach and underwater scenes. This pail, in near-mint condition with matching shovel, is not in "Pails by Comparison," and it rarely appears on E-bay. Could it be worth a fortune? With its cowboys and Indians theme, it looks like a pail my brother would have owned, so it's a prize to me. This Ohio Art charmer from the 1960s was an early addition to my collection. I bought it from a collector in Iowa, which might explain its near-mint condition. Can you dig it? The mermaid shovel on the right is not as commonly available as others by J. Chein, while the Ohio Art "Toot Toot" shovel in the center is more frequently in online auctions. In its day, the "Happy Sandman" Ohio Art shovel sold for 25 cents; now price guides put it at $75 to $100. While it's nice to find pieces in great condition, collectors like to imagine the child who used a well-worn toy like this shovel. It's amazing that the Ohio Art logo - and vibrant colors -- survived. [sidebar:] For More Information
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