I have been collecting antique toys for more than forty-five years. I started hunting for old toys at yard sales and antique shops with my grandmother in Pennsylvania during the seventies. There weren’t any department stores close so this is where I found my “new” toys each summer. Before I knew it I was looking for specific types of toys and older was always better. All of those early toy acquisitions are long gone but the collecting continues on. I bought my first Keystone ship when I was ten, which I still own today. Curious, I did some research at the library to learn more about the cool little rocket ship that I found. My research came up empty and so did every conversation I had with any dealers or collectors that I talked to. So an obsession was born. It would be another ten years before I found my next Keystone ship, this time a B-8 Battleship. From then on I would find another Keystone toy every year or two. My Keystone collection grew slowly but I was busy collecting toy soldiers at the time.
In the late 90’s I started to seriously hunt down anything Keystone. I decided to focus on just Keystone wooden toys because I was still finding little information about anything other than Keystone metal ride on toys. In fact I ran into several collectors and dealers of the ride on toys that did not even know Keystone produced wooden toys. My collection grew quickly, due primarily to the internet, over the next several years but I was still plagued by a lack of information. So I started to track every online auction, ask the sellers questions and buy every catalog and piece of ephemera that I could find. This lead to compiling lists and spreadsheets of information. A picture of Keystone started to emerge but there were and still are many gaps.
So here I am with this site to share the Keystone toys and information that I have collected over the years, to ask for information that others may have collected and hopefully find other Keystone toy collectors. I hope you will enjoy what I have put together.
Happy hunting,
Derrick
Hi, Derrick! This site is very informative, but I’m having trouble identifying a Keystone solid hull boat. I’m hoping to pin down a.p model number, age of the boat, and with any luck, a photo of a complete example to guide restoration. My boat has sadly been stripped of all but its wooden hull, and unweighted steel keel. The unweighted hull is 15 and 3/4” long, bow to stern, with no deck lines or identifying marks.
It is unpainted and had 3 deck staples (one at the bow, one in front of the mast, and one at the stern – see photo), and loks like a sheet horse, and wheel and rudder when new. but I’m wondering:
1) what years did they produce these unpainted hulls?
2) what should the measurements be for the mast and booms, and what are the dimensions of the sails? Are there appropriate patters available?
3) would this model have had a cockpit?
4). What shape was the rudder?
I presume it was Bermuda a rigged, but I can’t find a keystone boat that is the same size and layout to compare. I’d like to find a photo of a complete example of this boat so I have an accurate reference before I look into restoration.
I’ve been told its age could range anywhere from the mid 1930s or 1940s, up to the 1960s, but I’m told Keystone stopped making boats after 1958.
I can send photos if needed, thanks!
Hello Scott,
I was expecting you to contact me. Please send multiple photos to collectingkeystone@gmail.com. Out of curiosity where do you live, city and state. I have a thought that your location might shed light on.
Derrick