This toy refrigerator can be dated by the square section that held a block of ice, an early type used from the 1840s. It sold at auction in “unplayed with” condition with a pristine box for more than $1,000.
Children’s toys are often miniature copies of full-sized objects in the house. They like to imitate Mom and Dad’s work. A recent Bertoia auction sold the toy icebox with its original pristine box for $1,440. The Gurney toy refrigerator made by Arcade is only 5 1/2 inches high. It is a copy of a 1840s icebox. Although the first refrigeration method was patented in 1809, the icebox for home use date…
