Stephen Mooser tin toy collection, 1955

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Summary

Creators:
Mooser, Stephen and Herkelrath, Dana
Abstract:
A small collection of antique tin toys from the late 1950s collected by children's author Stephen Mooser.
Extent:
43 Items 2 cartons 1 large flat box
Language:
English , Chinese , Czech , Russian .
Preferred citation:

Stephen Mooser Tin Toy Collection, 2024-003, Special Collections, Dennis and Leslie Power Library, Laguna College of Art + Design.

Background

Scope and content:

43 tin toys. Dates unknown but approximately 1955-1965.

  1. 1. Lumberjack, Tin, Green, Wind-up, Unknown,
  2. 2. Truck, Tin/Styrene, Blue, Wind-Up, Unknown,
  3. 3. Noise Maker, Tin/Plastic, Blue, Handheld, Unknown,
  4. 4. Mini Cars, Tin/Plastic, Blue, Handheld, Unknown,
  5. 5. Union Station, Tin, Red, Static, U.S.A.
  6. 6. Circus Elephant, Tin/Plastic, Red, Battery-Operated, U.S.A.
  7. 7. Tractor, Tin/Plastic, Green, Handheld, Czechoslovakia
  8. 8. Space Tank, Tin/Plastic, Cyan, Battery-Operated, China
  9. 9. #5 Racer, Tin/Plastic, Teal, Wind-Up, China
  10. 10. MF 710 Tank, Tin/Plastic, Blue, Wind-Up, China
  11. 11. Universe Car, Tin/Plastic, Teal, Battery-Operated, China
  12. 12. Fire Tank, Tin/Plastic, Green, Wind-Up, China
  13. 13. Bus, Tin/Plastic, Red, Battery-Operated, China
  14. 14. Fire Truck, Tin/Plastic, Red, Wind-Up, China
  15. 15. Motorcycle and Buggy, Tin/Plastic, Blue, Wind-Up, China
  16. 16. Puff-Puff Loco Train, Tin/Plastic, Green, Battery-Operated, China
  17. 17. Zebra, Tin/Plastic, Grey, Wind-Up, China
  18. 18. Double Bus, Tin/Plastic, Red, Wind-Up, China
  19. 19. Lawn Mower, Tin/Plastic, Red, Wind-Up, China,
  20. 20. Train Station and Train, Tin/Plastic, Green, Wind-Up, Japan
  21. 21. Santa Vehicle, Tin/Plastic, Green, Battery-Operated, Japan
  22. 22. Cars, Tin/Plastic, Handheld, Yellow, Japan
  23. 23. Cessna Airplane, Tin/Plastic, Red, Wind-Up, Japan
  24. 24. Car, Tin/Plastic, Red, Wind-Up, Japan
  25. 25. Army Car, Tin/Plastic, Army Green, Battery-Operated, Japan
  26. 26. Fire Chief Car, Tin/Plastic, Red, Wind-Up, Japan,
  27. 27. Train, Tin/Plastic, Red, Wind-Up, Japan,
  28. 28. Police Motorcycle, Tin, Blue, Wind-Up, Japan
  29. 29. Boat Racer, Tin, Red, Handheld, Japan
  30. 30. Police Motorcycle, Tin, Blue, Wind-Up, Korea
  31. 31. Train Track, Tin, Green, Static, India
  32. 32. Motorcycle, Tin/Plastic, Yellow, Wind-Up, India
  33. 33. Lion, Tin/Plastic, Orange, Wind-Up, China
  34. 34. #4 Lion, Tin, Green, Handheld, Japan
  35. 35. ST-1 Train, Tin/Plastic, Blue, Wind-Up, China
  36. 36. Circus Car, Tin, Yellow, Wind-Up, Japan
  37. 37. Car, Tin/Plastic, Light Blue, Wind-Up, USSR
  38. 38. #43 Race Car, Tin, Yellow, Wind-Up, Korea
  39. 39. Hoop-O-Loop Board, Tin, Yellow, Handheld, U.S.A.
  40. 40. Magic Circus Merry-Go-Round, Tin/Plastic, Yellow, Wind-Up, Japan
  41. 41. The Milky Way Boat, Tin/Plastic, Blue, Wind-Up, China
  42. 42. Spot Shot Board, Tin, Red, Handheld, U.S.A.
  43. 43. Merry-Go-Round, Tin/Plastic, Red, Wind-Up, Western Germany

Biographical / historical:

Stephen Mooser grew up in Fresno, California and later attended UCLA where he received a BA in Motion Pictures and later a Masters in Journalism. Steve even got into politics and was President of the UCLA Senior Class in 1963. After graduating he spent some time looking for treasure. Steve searched for pirate gold hidden an Island in the Gulf of Panama, and spent nearly a year searching the Utah desert for bars of silver stolen by the Outlaw Butch Cassidy and his partner, The Sundance Kid.

Needless to say, Steve didn't find much treasure, but many of his personal adventures have found their way into his books. Steve Mooser's first book for children, 101 Black Cats (Scholastic) revolved around a treasure as did Orphan Jeb at the Massacree (Knopf) and Shadows on the Graveyard Trail (Dell Yearling). Among series books Steve has written are The Treasure Hounds (Troll), The Creepy Creature Club (Dell), The All-Star Meatballs (Dell) and Goofball Malone, Ace Detective (Penguin). In all Steve has written over 60 books for children. In addition to adventure stories, he has written a number of nonfiction books about the Weird and Strange. Those include Into The Unknown: Nine Astounding Stories (Lippincott) and The Man Who Ate A Car and Tons of Other Weird True Stories (Dell).

In 1971, with Lin Oliver, Stephen Mooser co-founded the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Today, the SCBWI has nearly 25,000 members around the world with chapters everywhere from Montana to Mongolia and Indiana to India. -- from author's website.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Preferred citation:

Stephen Mooser Tin Toy Collection, 2024-003, Special Collections, Dennis and Leslie Power Library, Laguna College of Art + Design.

Location of this collection:
2222 Laguna Canyon Road
Laguna Beach, CA 92651, US
Contact:
(949) 376-6000
rboyd@lcad.edu
Website