Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

This 7-inch high serious-looking Easter Bunny sold for $127 at a recent Conestoga auction. It was made by the Ohio Art Co. in the 1920s. The bunny store display originally held two little buckets for goodies—one for each hand. The poem on the front reads:

Says Little Mister Rabbit
While sitting on his tail
I lay fresh eggs each morning
And sell them by the pail.

The Ohio Art Co. was founded in Bryan, Ohio, in 1908 to make metal picture frames. In 1915 the company began to use lithography equipment to make wood-grained metal sheets for their frames and in 1918, they began making the lithographed metal sand pails, cars, wagons, trains, windmills, spinning tops, and drum sets that would be popular throughout the 20th century. The company still makes toys and other lithographed metal products.

Find prices of other tin toys here and in our latest book, Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2011.