My Buddy L

On my way to Monroeville Friday I stopped at a favorite antiquing jaunt in Opelika called Angel's.  If you follow me on facebook then you probably saw some of the goodies I saw....and some of the uglies I saw too!  I love a good antique mall...and since this one also has a "flea market" vibe, you are definitely going to see a bit of it all.  Anyhoo....for some reason I am drawn to old trucks, big and small.  In one booth I found an amazing red truck door complete with side mirror.  I thought how cool to hang in our bonus room with the Jeep front we already have hanging (yes, I will show pics soon...).  I've also got my eye out for vintage toy campers and trucks.  I found the one above in Portland in a junk shop for $18.oo.  Yep, scooped that baby up!  And could have sold it 100 times at the Country Living Fair.  Note to self, do not take cool orange truck for display ever again!  In one booth at Angel's there was a Buddy L truck very similar to mine, but not cool orange for $85.oo!!  No way!!  So then I decided to look it up.  Here's what I found:

"The maker of the highly collectible Buddy “L” toy cars and trucks did just that in the 1921. The Moline Pressed Steel Company in East Moline, Ill., started out making regular automobile fenders and truck parts.

Then they branched out to sturdy toy trucks, cars, steam shovels, tugboats, passenger buses, ambulances and moving vans that had real working parts.
These incredibly fun vehicles became a rite of passage for the next generation of car and truck buyers.
Like a lot of inventions the Buddy “L” line started out simple. The company’s owner, Fred Lundhal, wanted to build a toy for his son Arthur that was new, unusual and tough.
He came up with an all-steel miniature truck, reportedly a model of an International Harvester. The kids in the neighborhood so loved Arthur’s truck they convinced their parents to have Lundhal make similar ones for them.
Being the good hearted dad he was, Lundhal designed and made 3 all-steel sample toys under the name Buddy “L”. The name came from his son who was known to neighborhood kids as Buddy "L". It was the kids’ way of distinguishing his son from another Buddy in the neighborhood.
Pleased with the outcome, Lundhal took his toys to the 1922 New York Toy Fair and received halfhearted interest. Toy buyers liked the size and quality but balked at the price.
Never one to be discouraged, Lundhal went ahead and launched the first large American pressed-steel toys anyway. Buddy “L” was born. "  taken from Live Auction Talk.

In other words...Buddy is staying in this house for a spell!!  I can't wait to see how much it's worth.  There are several sights that will give you an idea.  Woohoo!!  And here I was thinking what a cool display for my artsy booths.  hehehe.......

UPDATE:  Well, all be...lookey what I found here.  Yep, that's my truck.  Worth a lot more than I ever thought.  Gotta like that happy news, right?