Timeless Toys with Out of this World Prices
Timeless Toys with Out of this World Prices
By Elizabeth Talbot
Denys Fisher (1918 – 2002) was an English engineer who, amongst many other things, invented the spirograph toy and created the company Denys Fisher Toys.
Having been sold to rival Palitoy (the makers of Action Man) in 1970, the firm enjoyed significant growth during the 1970’s by benefitting from the development of television as the prime source of home entertainment. Television inspired them to create a prolific number of family games based upon popular series of the time, including “Dad’s Army”, “It’s a Knockout”, “Generation Game”, and “Morecambe & Wise”. Co-existing with the broadcasting of gentle humour, and fun and games, was more experimental, dynamic drama, and evolving popular culture. Children’s toys and associated merchandise quickly followed.One of the most enduring titles which has achieved cult status over several subsequent generations is “Doctor Who”. The first episode was aired in 1963. In 1975, Denys Fisher Toys produced a “Doctor Who” board game featuring Tom Baker, the fourth actor to have portrayed the character. From 1976 some exciting toys were launched by them, too: Doctor Who (Tom Baker), Leela, the Tardis, a Giant Robot, a Cyberman, a Dalek and K9. The original television commercial advertised “Action toys from £3.49 to around £4.25” and “Tardis around £5.89”. According to the Bank of England inflation calculator, £5 in 1976 would be the equivalent to £32.70 today. In other words, they were not cheap acquisitions.
However, the immense following enjoyed by Doctor Who from all around the world means that the values of these toys have healthily outstripped inflation. A search online will reveal examples being offered for sale and this is quite enlightening. For example, depending on condition, Tom Baker is priced from £125 – 400, K9 is found from £150 - £500 and someone is asking £800 for a Dalek. An important factor in the higher ticket prices is the presence of the original boxes. Such is the value of these toys, especially if in original packaging, that reproduction boxes are now in circulation. So, buyers beware. Provenance and knowledge of the piece’s history is important prior to purchase.
As Doctor Who (Tom Baker) aptly said in “Robot”, “There’s no point in being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes”. Therefore, TW Gaze specialist toy valuer, Rupert Willows, is delighted to invite Doctor Who fans and collectors to his next Toy Sale at Diss Auction Rooms on Tuesday 13 August, where he has some serious toys for grown-ups.
A private consignment of the full range of seven Denys Fisher “Doctor Who” figural toys has landed in the auction room, complete with original bespoke boxes/ packaging. They are being sold by a lifelong fan of Doctor Who and Rupert is very enthusiastic about having these iconic toys in his auction. “To see an individual piece from this range is rare enough, but to be instructed to market the full set is quite extraordinary. They have all been kept very carefully for over 40 years; the characters are so familiar to everyone, it’s incredible to think they are already so old. We are selling each as an individual lot and I expect competition between bidders to be strong.” Illustrated catalogues, auction estimates, and viewing/ bidding instructions are available online twgaze.co.uk.
