Antique Salesman Samples
Shop Models / Model & Toy Steam Engines
We can help you sell your Antique
Patent Models and Salesman Samples!!
Introduction
We
buy, sell, and deal in antique salesman samples, and detailed
antique models related to
tools & technology. Vintage models or salesman samples from a host of categories of
other antiques
are of interest and many of those have their own pages on this site.
We are one of the largest and most visible sources for
information about and actual sales of salesman samples and patent models on the internet.
We conduct our internet sales from our
sister site
www.Patented-Antiques.com
Please visit that site if you are in the market to buy, or want to see how
we conduct our consignment sales of antiques. If you want to learn
more about our consignment sales program, please read the
FAQ page as
well.
On this page, we will show you some examples of the types of antique
inventor built shop models and manufactured salesman samples that we are interested in, have sold in the past
and currently have for sale on our sales website.
The picture on the left is of a 16" tall model of a coffee bean
dryer or other drying
machine that would probably date from the later part of the 19th
century. The idea was that the beans were
cooled in a device like this to prevent them from overcooking after the roasting
process. Cool air
was fed into this device from the bottom, and by blowing
cool air through the material as you stirred it with the paddle and operated the
up and down mechanism at the top, you evenly cooled and dried the product
after roasting it. You
can still see similar machines in use at your favorite coffee
roasting house if they perform this process in view for their customers.
This example stands approx 16" tall and appears to be a manufactured
piece but is unmarked.
We are also interested in, and buy and sell small table top coffee grinders or
mills as well as wall mount coffee grinders. I
have another page under the Americana Heading to cover
Coffee Mills.
If you have any similar antique coffee related pieces for sale,
please contact us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com.
The term salesman sample is often misused and I try to explain this in
more detail on the Stove
Wanted Page. We are
interested in buying both toy and salesman samples of stoves, washers, and
other pieces, but there
is such a huge difference in values between the two that it is oftentimes difficult.
Many sellers wrongly assume their stove, washer, sewing machine or other
object is a salesman sample when in fact it is just a toy and then proceed
to grossly overvalue /overprice their mass produced toy.
This same dilemma also arises with early steam toys. It is
oftentimes hard to differentiate 
between
what are obviously toys by such outfits a Jensen, Weyden, Plank, Marklin
and others, and what are obviously shop built machinist made models of
steam engines. These toys are often found in shops with tags
mistakenly identifying them as salesman samples. The Germans made
some very detailed and exacting toy steam engines that look just like full
size steam engines, but they are still toys. Then there are the
detailed models of actual steam engines that have been made ever since the
engines were made, right up to the ones being made today and being sold in
the large auctions houses as contemporary art. They are
models, not salesman samples. They are neat, and well done, and can
be quite expensive, but are still just models. Lastly there is the
class of small steam engines like the Creator steam engines used in
popcorn machines and to drive other small machines. These are a
favorite with collectors and even though steam engines can be as big as
houses, the little ones found are just that small steam engines. . 
Another type of antique oftentimes identified as salesman samples are
models of or toy washers from the last quarter of the 19th century.
We have a page devoted exclusively to these interesting
washing machines
that you should visit if you have one of those to sell or want to
see other examples and learn more about them.
In general salesman samples can come in all shapes and sizes. We are
primarily concerned with mechanical examples dating from the late 1800's
and in some cases extending into the 1900's.
Many
people argue that in order for an object to be properly called a salesman
sample it must have a case or box that it would be carried in that the
door-to-door salesman would utilize. I do not think this
is always true. It might be an indication, or be useful as a
negotiation ploy if what you have is in one, but the fact is many salesman samples never had a box
and were not intended to.
Think about the models you see on retail
counters of stores acting as salesman samples today They do not have
boxes, and there have been store / countertop displays as long as there
have been general or country stores. That is the problem with making
blanket statements.
Another antique that we deal in in a big way and are oftentimes
misidentified as salesman samples are toy sewing machines or TSM's.
I have never seen a salesman sample sewing machine, from any era, but half
or more of all toy machines listed for sale on eBay are identified as
salesman samples especially Singer toy sewing machines. We deal with
sewing machines
on their own separate page.
Examples of
Vintage & Antique Salesman Samples Previously Sold
The
examples below are of the
caliber, condition and quality of farm related antiques that we are primarily interested in.
*****Click The Links
Below*****
We are active and
serious buyers, sellers and dealers in antique salesman samples and many
objects that are identified as them. If you have salesmen samples or
models, miniature toys, or or other science & technology related items,
that you want to sell please let us know by
contacting us at
LCM@AntiqBuyer.com
If you have additional questions about our consignment
sales program please see the
FAQ page
To see many other examples of antiques
that I currently have for sale please go to our sister site
at
www.Patented-Antiques.com.and
visit the sale pages you will find there.
Thank You!!
