CKO Tin Windup Military Motorcycle With Sidecar

Up for auction is a very nice C.K.O. German motorcycle with a sidecar that has a windup mechanism. It's all original with German soldiers. The windup mechanism was tested and appears to function as designed.

An identical CKO motorcycle with sidecar sold for $948 back in 2014.

This particular motorbike in this condition isn't an easy find and would be an exquisite addition to any enthusiast's collection.

Founded by Georg Kellermann in 1910, Nuremberg, Germany. Kellermann manufactured clockwork tin motorcycles and other penny toys under the trademark: C.K.O.

Penny toys is a name used for inexpensive tin toys mostly manufactured in Germany between the 1880s and 1914 that were sold in the UK, Europe and America in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Penny toys, also known as tin toys, were made of tin metal with painted surfaces that typically included excellent detail. Most penny toys were manufactured in Germany and were originally sold to wholesalers by the gross for eight (8) shillings allowing the seller, often street peddlers to sell them for a substantial profit. Typically the toys were miniature, that is; under ten (10) centimeters and often included elements that facilitated movement, adding to their charm. In the United Kingdom, the toys were sold for one (1) penny, hence the popular name of penny toys.

The advent of penny toys broadened the market for children's toys, by making them accessible and affordable for working-class families. Although penny toys were manufactured into the first decades of the 20th century, the period 1885 -1914 is the peak period for their production. Today, penny toys are highly collectible. Publicly accessible examples can be found in museums in England, North America, Scandinavia, and across Europe; including Birmingham Science Museum in England, Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, Plassenburg Zinnfiguren Museum in Germany and Museo des Soldados de Iberica in Valencia, Spain.

Offset color lithography enabled fine detail and color to be applied to sheets of tin plate quickly and economically. Shapes were machine-cut and stamped and then assembled by unskilled workers, sometimes in cottage industries. Many were manufactured by the Johann Philip Meier company of Nurenberg.

The founder of Kellermann C.K.O., Georg Kellermann (1881–1931), spent his apprenticeship and journeyman years in Nuremberg at the manufacturer of tin toys Karl Bub, where he found employment as a foreman after his journeyman's examination. Here he trained Johann Einfalt , who later founded the company "Gebrüder Einfalt Nürnberg (GEN) - Technofix" together with his brother. Soon after, Kellermann moved to the up-and-coming company Johann Distlers , the "Distler KG", where he was promoted to production manager.

In 1910 he founded his own company, in which he manufactured tin toys with all kinds of trick functions. The first series were simple printed tin toys, so-called Penny Toys ( German penny toys ). Kellermann's products mostly came into circulation as promotional items, initially with simple small trains, fire brigades and pin-on figures. The company expanded into larger premises in 1914 (Bauerngasse 33, Nuremberg). In 1920 the "C.K.O." logo was introduced, which from now on all Kellermann articles were to wear. In addition to the small, cheap toy cars and locomotives, Kellermann C.K.O. also produced cartoon characters such as the billiard player until the mid-1920s. The United States and the United Kingdom were the main buyers of Kellermann's export production . In 1926 the company expanded again and moved to the new production facility in Nuremberg's Hessestrasse. In the mid-1920s, Kellermann also began manufacturing movement toys with winding mechanisms or spring mechanisms. This includes the “kicking goalie” with the number 231 or the “radio announcer” with the number 266, but also cars and military toys such as the tank with the number 292 from the second half of the 1920s. In 1935 the company produced the steam locomotive with the number 333. From that year on, Kellermann CKO focused on the production of military toys until 1939, so the production numbers from 338 to around 360 consisted mainly of tanks, uniformed motorcyclists, war planes or warships. The model of the KdF car comes from this time . KdF stands for Kraft durch Freude (German translation: "Strength through Joy") which was a state-operated leisure organization in Nazi Germany.

After studying engineering at the Mittweida technical center , Georg Kellermann's son, Wilhelm "Willi" Kellermann, joined the company in 1929 as the person responsible for quality. After Georg Kellermann's death in 1931, Wilhelm "Willi" took over the chairmanship of the company's board of directors and in 1935, after the death of his father's partner, became the sole owner of the company, which soon had over 100 employees. Until 1939, the company mainly sold it's products through wholesalers such as the Fürth toy wholesaler Moses Kohnstam ( Moko ) or department stores such as Hertie or Karstadt ; however, the products could also be found at fairs or at fair stalls.

During the Second World War, Kellermann had to stop the production of tin toys and instead start manufacturing armaments. Tin toy production continued during the first two years of the war, but was discontinued from 1942. The company facilities were badly damaged during the war years and the remaining stocks of tin toys, including manufacturing molds and tools, were plundered.

In the post-war period , production started again slowly. The first tin toys produced during this period were labeled "Made in U.S. Zone Germany". Some of the prewar products could still be manufactured into the mid-1950s, including the “tractor with trailer” (number 365) or the “Komet” aircraft (number 366) as well as the KDF-Volkswagen. Up to this time the toys were almost exclusively lithographed, after which the products were coated with a varnish.

Helmut Kellermann, the son of Wilhelm Kellermann, joined the company in 1958. From 1960, the manufacturer focused exclusively on the production of model automobiles . His roller blind series (1:35 scale) driven by friction motors was one of the defining tin toys of the post-war generation and made a significant contribution to the second high phase of Kellermann CKO. However, the company missed the timely switch to plastic toys and ultimately had nothing to oppose the Japanese competing manufacturers on the market. The "Rollo Series" (roller blind series) is still very popular with today's collectors.

From the 1970s, the company ran into financial difficulties and in 1978 changed it's name to a limited partnership . When Kellermann ceased production in 1979, the company was the last manufacturer of German tin toy cars alongside Kienberger . The tools of the very last series were taken over by the Czech tin toy manufacturer KOVAP, which continues to produce the products as a C.K.O. replica with the original molds and tools. Complete series of tin toys from Kellermann C.K.O. can be seen in the Nuremberg Toy Museum.

As for the acronym "D.R.G.M." which is found on this toy, it stands for Deutsches Reichsgebrauchsmuster. It is also spelled a number of other ways including: Deutsches Reich Gebrauchsmuster, Deutsches Reichs Gebrauchs Muster, Deutsches Reichs-Gebrauchsmuster, and Reichs Gebrauchmuster. The acronym is often mistaken for a brand, but is actually a type of 'copyright' patent protection mark, like a Utility Model. It is very similar to the patent, but usually has a shorter term -often 6 to 15 years- and less stringent patentability requirements. It was a way for inventors to register a product’s design or function in all states within Germany.

From 1891 to 1952, products manufactured in Germany might have been stamped with this "D.R.G.M." or "DRGM" designation, if the manufacturer opted not to pay the outrageous patent fees that Germany was charging, but instead chose to copyright their product’s intended way of use, or design. This copyright was initially for a period of 3 years, with an option to extend it for another 3. This gave the copyright owner a maximum of 6 years protection.

As already noted, German patents were outrageously expensive, and many manufacturers could not afford the fees to register a full patent (fees for German patents were 36 times more than American patent fees). Those that could afford a German patent, had their products stamped with "D.R.P." or "DRP", which stands for Deutsches Reichspatent (Translated: German imperial patent). Such a patent granted the patent holder a full 15 years protection.

***Please look at the attached photos for size and condition. Photos are part of the description representing the condition report and can be used for authentication prior to the sale date. We urge bidder's to view all attached photos in detail. All items are sold "AS IS". Thank you for your interest and good luck bidding.

Notes: Please inspect all photos carefully before bidding. Thank you for your interest and good luck bidding.

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Vincenza Marsullo | (860) 997-3332 | fil14fy@gmail.com

Pickup Details

Private Residence

Torrington, CT 06790

When to Pickup

Sunday, 7/25, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm

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