Dan Fern Sold at Auction Prices

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        • Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Toys That Go"
          Feb. 11, 2024

          Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Toys That Go"

          Est: $100 - $1,000

          Dan Fern (British, B. 1945) "Board Games" Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the Great Britain 19p Toys and Games stamp issued May 16, 1989. Zipping round and round with dazzling speed, new toy trains and racing cars are always a source of excitement -- and by time honored tradition sometimes more so to the father than his son. Still, when dad steps in and takes over, he can claim a certain amount of historical precedent. Originally, a "toy" was a pretty trifle made for adults, not children. Only in the 19th century did the word "toy" come to specifically mean a child's plaything -- and that was a long time after the first toy train had brought enjoyment. In fact, the earliest toy trains actually preceded the invention of the "Iron Horse" itself, with a line of wheeled playthings pulled along by hand. After the steam engine was invented, mechanical power gradually entered the toy box, too. Water-filled boilers were heated by methylated spirit burners, and the old toy pull trains were soon transformed into shiny lines of railroad cars hauled on miniature rails by chugging toy steam locomotives. Toy electric locomotives ensued in due course. Then, after the automobile was invented, toy "Tin Lizzies" also soon were delighting children of all ages. And it wasn't just the children's cars and racing car sets that became popular -- though America's fascination with the automobile is amply reflected in its toy boxes. Finely crafted precision miniature automobiles, some with intricate moving parts and costing hundreds of dollars, have become favorites with adult collectors. Image Size: 17.5 x 18.25 in. Overall Size: 21 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B12017)

          Helmuth Stone
        • Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Toys That Go"
          Aug. 23, 2020

          Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Toys That Go"

          Est: $300 - $600

          Dan Fern (British, B. 1945) "Board Games" Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the Great Britain 19p Toys and Games stamp issued May 16, 1989. Zipping round and round with dazzling speed, new toy trains and racing cars are always a source of excitement -- and by time honored tradition sometimes more so to the father than his son. Still, when dad steps in and takes over, he can claim a certain amount of historical precedent. Originally, a "toy" was a pretty trifle made for adults, not children. Only in the 19th century did the word "toy" come to specifically mean a child's plaything -- and that was a long time after the first toy train had brought enjoyment. In fact, the earliest toy trains actually preceded the invention of the "Iron Horse" itself, with a line of wheeled playthings pulled along by hand. After the steam engine was invented, mechanical power gradually entered the toy box, too. Water-filled boilers were heated by methylated spirit burners, and the old toy pull trains were soon transformed into shiny lines of railroad cars hauled on miniature rails by chugging toy steam locomotives. Toy electric locomotives ensued in due course. Then, after the automobile was invented, toy "Tin Lizzies" also soon were delighting children of all ages. And it wasn't just the children's cars and racing car sets that became popular -- though America's fascination with the automobile is amply reflected in its toy boxes. Finely crafted precision miniature automobiles, some with intricate moving parts and costing hundreds of dollars, have become favorites with adult collectors. Image Size: 17.5 x 18.25 in. Overall Size: 21 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B12017)

          Helmuth Stone
        • Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Children's Playthings"
          Jul. 05, 2020

          Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Children's Playthings"

          Est: $250 - $500

          Dan Fern (British, B. 1945) "Children's Playthings" Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the Great Britain 35p Toys and Games stamp issued May 16, 1989. Child's play is sometimes much more than that. It's partly fun but many of the activities of children also help them learn as they grow and prepare for adult life. Toys and play have even earned a role in formal education. Toward the end of the 17th century, primers began to appear under such alluring titles as The Child's Delight (1671) -- though by today's standards it is difficult to imagine a child finding much joy in this book. Then, in 1742, Mary Cooper published the much more amusing The Child's New Play-thing, which presented a folding sheet of letters, each backed by a clever alphabet-based verse. The letters were designed "to be cut into single Square for Children to play with," hence giving the child something to shuffle and arrange while savoring such lines as "A was an Archer and shot at a Frog." The steps from Mary Cooper's ingenious book to alphabetic flash cards and building blocks were very short ones indeed, and manufacturers soon were producing both in large quantities -- along with a host of other inventive educational toys intended to instruct as well as entertain. In time, books were even written to give children ideas for pure amusement. William Clarke's The Boy's Own Book, first published in 1828, went through more than twenty editions in Great Britain and the United States. In 1832, The Girls's Own Book by American author L.M. Child was almost equally successful. Image Size: 17.5 x 18.25 in. Overall Size: 21 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B12021)

          Helmuth Stone
        • Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Toy Building Blocks"
          Jul. 05, 2020

          Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Toy Building Blocks"

          Est: $200 - $400

          Dan Fern (British, B. 1945) "Toy Building Blocks" Original First Day Cover mixed media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the Great Britain 27p Toys and Games stamp issued May 16, 1989. A simple child-sized block of wood. Sometimes square, sometimes rectangular. Other times shaped like an arch or pillar. Or decorated with the letters of the alphabet. No one knows when toy building blocks were first enjoyed by children. But we definitely know when they became popular with adults. In the 19th century, revolutionary educational methods such as those of Montessori and Froebel, with their precepts of learning by doing, taught that an interested child is a happy child. Formal, planned educational methods -- especially kindergarten methods -- began influencing the pattern of toys. These methods popularized building blocks and their more modern development, the constructor set, because they helped build motor skills and depth perception, while allowing children to imaginatively interact with their environment. Soon, the humble toy building block grew more complex. As adults became involved, children found themselves playing with magnificently ornamented building blocks of wood and stone from Germany, and cabin logs from the United States. On both sides of the Atlantic, clever construction games were patented. Later, so were structural metal engineering sets. The toy building block might or might not have gotten better, but it had certainly become more elaborate. Image Size: 16.75 x 20.75 in. Overall Size: 20.75 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B12018)

          Helmuth Stone
        • Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Toy Building Blocks"
          Apr. 05, 2020

          Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Toy Building Blocks"

          Est: $300 - $600

          Dan Fern (British, B. 1945) "Toy Building Blocks" Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting originally appeared on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the Great Britain 27p Toys and Games stamp issued May 16, 1989. A simple child-sized block of wood. Sometimes square, sometimes rectangular. Other times shaped like an arch or pillar. Or decorated with the letters of the alphabet. No one knows when toy building blocks were first enjoyed by children. But we definitely know when they became popular with adults. In the 19th century, revolutionary educational methods such as those of Montessori and Froebel, with their precepts of learning by doing, taught that an interested child is a happy child. Formal, planned educational methods -- especially kindergarten methods -- began influencing the pattern of toys. These methods popularized building blocks and their more modern development, the constructor set, because they helped build motor skills and depth perception, while allowing children to imaginatively interact with their environment. Soon, the humble toy building block grew more complex. As adults became involved, children found themselves playing with magnificently ornamented building blocks of wood and stone from Germany, and cabin logs from the United States. On both sides of the Atlantic, clever construction games were patented. Later, so were structural metal engineering sets. The toy building block might or might not have gotten better, but it had certainly become more elaborate. Image Size: 16.75 x 20.75 in. Overall Size: 20.75 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B12018)

          Helmuth Stone
        • Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Board Games"
          Apr. 05, 2020

          Dan Fern (B. 1945) "Board Games"

          Est: $300 - $600

          Dan Fern (British, B. 1945) "Board Games" Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. The history of board games goes way back, with the royal tombs of ancient Ur holding the oldest gaming boards found so far. These early board games were played with pyramidal dice about 3000 B.C., and may have been a distant ancestor to modern backgammon. But as with chess and dominos, few of the board games with long and distinguished histories were designed specifically for the amusement of children. In fact, board games for pure youthful pleasure seem to have been a late development. It all began in the 1600s, when English philospher and economist John Locke nudged the concept of "teaching through sport" into the world's general consciousness. In time, the manufacturers of Great Britain seized upon the idea, producing educational jigsaw puzzles and games in which the pieces raced across maps of the world. Soon, more general recreational children's games were developed, and today many of the popular commercially produced children's board games are already several generations old. Snakes and Ladders, patented in 1870, is still played in Great Britain and many other countries of the world. Monopoly, patented in 1933, is also played in Great Britain and America by young and old alike -- one of the most popular commercially produced board games ever. However, the British version of Monopoly uses London street names rather than those of Atlantic City, N.J., USA. Image Size: 18.25 x 21.75 in. Overall Size: 20.25 x 22.75 in. Unframed. (B12019)

          Helmuth Stone
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