Originally from Canada and now living in Coventry, dealer Nancy Niziolonski, whose speciality is tinplate toys, mainly German and Japanese, is a regular at BP Toy Fairs including the event at the Stafford Showground on December 10. The motorcyle she is holding is Japanese, and like many similar toys from Japan, it was made in the late 1940s or early ‘50s for the European and American markets.
Barry Potter is surely the king of toy fairs: he and his sons Ellis and Simon run toy, train and model collectors’ fairs in seven venues across the country – in Surrey, Bolton, Coventry, Doncaster, Birmingham, Stafford and Rugby.
Most weeks of the year they have more than four events to organise between the three of them. The range of vintage toys on offer at these fairs is huge. Looking online at the details of just one, the 250-dealer event at the Stafford Showground, on Sunday December 10, gives an idea of items on offer.