Our newest catalogue might be a surprise for some of you. A pleasant one, we hope because although it’s very different from our usual catalogues, we think you’ll have a lot of fun leafing through the pages of one of the best collections of toys, model trains and other childhood delights ever offered in Australia.

The catalogue is constructed in three sections: The first 55 lots provide an opportunity for you to acquire an example of the remarkable work of one of the master railway modellers, the late Frank Kelly. Every lot is unique and Frank’s scratch-built models of Victorian and South Australian locomotives and rolling-stock are truly astonishing. Even if you are not an enthusiast, you can’t help but be in awe of these miniature miracles, fashioned completely by hand in Frank’s tiny home workshop. For example, (Lot 1) his 1872 No 100 Steam Locomotive model, based on the loco built at the temporary Williamstown Workshops and destined to haul the Commissioner’s Train, hand-painted in its’ dark green livery with gold trim. Or (Lot 10) Frank’s 1880 W Class (W153) Steam Locomotive model in black, dark green & brown livery with gold trim, based on the loco built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (Philadelphia). Many of Frank’s creations can be found in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and even in the Smithsonian Museum in the U.S.A.

N.B: Lots 1 – 52: Frank Kelly adopted 4mm scale with 20mm gauge track because the motors that were available at the time were a little large to fit into HO scale models of Australian prototype locomotives. He continued to model in this scale until he finished his last locomotive. All his scratch-built models offered in this auction are in 4mm scale.

The second section of the catalogue (Lots 56 – 129) contains the property of several vendors but features the collection of Stationary Steam Engines formed by the late Brian Telfer of Tambourine Mountain, Queensland. You’ve seen examples of these, of course, but never so many and such variety in one place. Check out (Lot 57) an early 1900s Falk Overtype stationary Steam Engine Type JF521 or (Lot 69) a mid-1920s Bing Steam Traction Engine, with fixed cylinder, burnished brass boiler, 8cm flywheel, complete with burner, to see what we mean.

The third section (Lots 130 – 363) is all consigned by one collector, a passionate and enthusiastic student of early toy manufacture, tinplate racers, and fantastical models. We loved researching the early Japanese race cars (see Lot 137), the early robots (see Lot 148), the spectacular Batman in his early Batmobile (Lot 162), and the 1950s “Atom Star” Space Car with following Cop on Motorcycle, by Yonezawa of Japan (Lot 179). Other special items include the all silver “SPEED” racer with driver; friction powered in original box by Kohno Kakuzo, Japan; circa 1930s (Lot 191), the Astroboy Robot Speed Racer (Lot 202), the tin lithographed ”MERRYMAKERS” mouse band by Marx (Lot 208) and a tinplate Überlacker river boat, from Germany (Lot 218).

We had many more favourites and had way too much fun producing this catalogue. We hope you’ll enjoying learning about these fascinating collectables and we look forward to hearing from many of you with your bids and enquiries.

Important Notice: COVID-19

We would like to assure our clients that we are taking the unprecedented crisis that is COVID-19 seriously and looking at how we can protect you and our staff while, at the same time, offering the best service we can. We are closely monitoring the situation and taking heed of all advice and instructions given by the state and federal governments.

At this time, it is more-or-less business as usual for Leski Auctions.

The viewing and live auction scheduled for this weekend will go ahead as planned. We will be carefully monitoring the number of people in our premises and will establish viewing stations that are well spaced throughout the building. Fortunately, we anticipate that the majority of bidding will be done online for this particular auction and as such, are expecting a reduced presence of in-room bidders, who will also be seated at safe distances from each other.

In line with current advice, if you or anyone close to you is unwell or has recently re-entered Australia, we kindly ask that you do not attend the viewing or auction in person. If you are elderly or otherwise considered to be in a high risk category, please reconsider your need to attend in person.

Instead, please get in touch with us to see how we can help you best participate in the auction from home. We are able to provide you with additional images or condition reports on any items of interest. We can arrange telephone bidding for you on the day or we can set you up with an online account which will allow you to participate in real-time as the auction progresses. We are here to help and would like to see as many people as possible utilise these services. This will assist in attempting to keep our community safe.

The health and safety of our clients and staff is paramount and will be prioritized above all else.

We wish you as well as your friends and families all the best.

The Leski Auctions team.

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