Tom Newell visits the Toy Soldiers Gallery
at Connell House Museum
Not all readers may be aware of the three impressive historical exhibits currently on view at Connell House: a fine collection of antique musical instruments, a whole room about the Woodstock writer, photographer and adventurer Edward Tappan Adney as well as one devoted to an exceptional display of toy soldiers.
The latter collection of perhaps 1500 pieces, some of which are shown in a battlefield recreation, is likely to be of particular interest to “boomers” who will well remember receiving, as children, toy soldiers as Christmas presents. Today’s youngsters may also appreciate these toys as the forerunners of contemporary action hero figures.
Tom Newell of Florenceville has collected toy soldiers for the last decade and amassed a personal collection of more than 400 pieces. He recently enjoyed a personal tour of the Toy Soldiers Gallery at Connell House Museum in Woodstock with Kellie Blue-McQuade who manages the museum for the Carleton County Historical Society.
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Tom Newell at Connell House.
The collection, displayed in
showcases and in a diorama,
probably numbers at least 1500 pieces.
The cavalry pieces on the second shelf are
worth twice as much as regular soldiers.
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It's gorgeous! Significantly, this is one family's collection but what's most impressive is its tremendous scope and size. I've never seen a better one outside of a military museum so this collection would be nearly impossible to duplicate.
Kellie, how did Connell House happen to acquire such a unique collection?
The soldiers, donated by the Vince family of Woodstock, were Christmas gifts from Colonel Edward Vince, who passed away in 1955, to his son Donald. I’m told that Colonel Vince took his oath of allegiance to five sovereigns during his military service.
What's your favourite piece here, Tom?
I like the Egyptian Camels but the ambulance wagon has caught my eye as well because of its value, about $130 today.
There must be hundreds of pieces in this room, Tom. What do you figure they’re all worth?
I'd say that you could easily look at a value of $15,000, perhaps much more, for the collection. Some of the pieces would be quite expensive to replace and others, like the ordinary soldiers, can be bought for under $10 apiece. Even at that rather low price, they're quite realistic and colourful and can depict well-known regiments such as the Grenadier Guards.
Given that you're also an antique dealer, what’s the attraction here?
The real enjoyment for me is having a beautiful yet inexpensive piece of art. I tell new collectors that you don't need to buy a lot of these figures but you do have to make up your mind what you want to collect ─ pick one area of interest and build around that. For example, in the Vince collection here, most of the figures are about the same size with large numbers from the same regiment.
How and why did you start collecting?
I always received toy soldiers at Christmas but, over time, they all got broken. I figure that you have to collect something so this was just a natural for me. Now I collect only lead and composite pieces that were made before 1950 ─ in other words, no plastic. Believe me, collecting toy soldiers can grow on you ─ I’ve got hundreds of them!
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In this photo, showing only a small portion of the battlefield diorama that measures about 4-by-8 feet, note the corpse in the wagon. “Ambulance wagons like this are among the most valuable of the specimens prized by collectors,” Mr Newell says.
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The exhibits at Connell House can be viewed Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 128 Connell Street, Woodstock NB. Admission is $5 but there is no charge for children under 12 years old. The museum is closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.