Kenton Toys ca. 1930s Cast Iron Buckeye Ditcher Deluxe 12″ *SOLD*

Kenton Toys ca. 1930s Cast Iron Buckeye Ditcher Deluxe 12″

Our cast iron toy is a tour-de-force of cast iron prowess.  Kenton Toys produced this Buckeye brand ditching machine circa 1931, during the Great Depression.  This excellent condition deluxe toy just wasn’t sold much.

The castings are fine and exceptionally detailed, with sculpted rivets, raised Buckeye brand lettering, and numerous cross braces.  Our toy is original and it is a miracle it survived the 90+ years.  Chains look great and buckets still retail the galvanized dip.

Crank the toy’s winch, and you can raise the digging bucket-laden arm.  Pull the lever and it releases this raised arm to the ground and below.  It does not have a sheet metal pan, where the buckets would empty.

Chain-driven wheels work, as does the crank for digging dirt.  Each of these mechanisms uses a piano-style chain, and is a great nod to early American toy-making- do it in metal with style!

This Kenton Buckeye Ditcher is the large deluxe version– approximately 12″ Long!

We emphasize that this is only the third time we have had this toy for sale, and it’s the best condition one! Depression-era toys in large sizes just didn’t sell well, and most were used up.  Cast iron was then recycled for World War II & countless toys were melted down.

 

 

A brief history of Kenton Toys/ Kenton Hardware Co. of Kenton, Ohio:       

Kenton Hardware Co. of Kenton, Ohio was founded by F.M. Perkins (Patented line of refrigerator hardware). They operated from about 1890 to 1952.       

Their specialty was toy production which began in 1894 with a line of horse-drawn fire equipment, banks, and toy stoves. The company was renamed Kenton Hardware in 1900 and then it became part of the Mammoth National Novelty Corporation merger in 1903 which continued its toy line under the name Wing Mfg. Co. Kenton was involved in several unsuccessful takeovers until it eventually emerged as a separate unit, the Kenton Hardware Co., and again produced toys successfully from 1920 to 1935.       

Kenton ceased production in 1952 and the assets were sold in 1953. The Littlestown Hardware & Foundry acquired many Kenton toy designs and marketed them under the brand “Utexiqual”. Littlestown eventually folded in 1982.       

Modern collectors have to thank Kenton collector Robert Saylor and all of his tireless research on Kenton toys; his cataloging has immeasurably helped our hobby.