Donald Kaufman antique toy collection profiled in New York Times article The New York Times has run a full-length feature about KB Toys co-founder Donald Kaufman and his remarkable assemblage of antique toys that are being auctioned by Bertoia's.
News-Antique.com - Jun 29,2009 - VINELAND, N.J. – The Donald Kaufman collection, which realized record-setting prices in Bertoia Auctions’ March 2009 sale, inspired the New York Times to run a full-length feature about the collector and his remarkable assemblage of antique toys earlier this month.
The lavishly illustrated profile, which appeared in the Automobiles section of the Sunday, June 7, 2009, edition was written by reporter Richard S. Chang, who had spent a day interviewing Kaufman and his wife Sally at their Massachusetts home. There, the writer learned about Kaufman’s business background as co-founder of the KB Toys empire, and toured the Ft. Knox-style annex where toys to be offered in future Bertoia sales are parked, bumper to bumper and wall to wall.
Chang’s report provides an exciting introspective into the passion behind Don Kaufman's 59-year pursuit of the finest antique automotive and other toys. The writer likened the news of Kaufman’s 7,000-piece collection heading to auction as being on par with the Getty Trust announcing it was “getting out of the art business.” Yet Chang did not miss what lies at the heart of Don Kaufman, collector, quoting him as saying repeatedly: “These aren’t my toys. I am just taking care of them for now.”
Titled “After a Life Selling Toys, It’s Time to Sell His Own,” the Times article comments on not only the vastness of the collection but also the number of rare variations it contains. “Some of the variations were so slight that it was difficult to see the differences,” Chang writes.
But collectors know how to spot those minute differences, and they’ll pay whatever it takes to own such rarities. Bertoia’s debut auction sessions featuring the Donald Kaufman collection, held March 19-21, set a house record for the New Jersey company, grossing $4.2 million. The next offering from the Kaufman trove will be auctioned at Bertoia’s gallery on Sept. 25-26, 2009, with subsequent semiannual sales slated for 2010 and possibly even 2011.
Richard S. Chang’s article may be viewed through the New York Times online archive, at www.newyorktimes.com.
For additional information on upcoming sales of toys from the Donald Kaufman collection, visit Bertoia Auctions online at www.bertoiaauctions.com or call 856-692-1881.
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CAPTION FOR IMAGE AT TOP: Don and Sally Kaufman at their country home in Massachusetts.
