- About Robert's Toys
| tnttoytrucks.com |
in the toy making business during the late 1940’s and early 50’s. Among their toy line they included a large, but rather ungainly looking, dump truck which had a big scoop attached to the front that could be raised over the cab to deposit its load of dirt directly into the bed of the truck. These rather improbable trucks never really caught on in the toy collector market, but are often associated with the Robert's name.
These were truly spectacular toys. They were sturdy and large enough (22” long) for a small child to comfortably ride and easily control with their raised steering wheels. Today’s collectors value these vans primarily for their wonderful advertising logos. The huge flat side panels of the Robert’s vans made them ideal for displaying colorful graphics and intricate decal work. Robert’s vans featured many well-known products. See the list on this page. There may be more out there! Production dates for these vans are uncertain, but they were marketed from at least 1948 through 1955. McElwee’s Collector’s Guide #10, published in 1994, has a good overview of the Robert’s vans. Reprints of these booklets can be found on Ebay. The most distinguishing characteristic between the very earliest of the vans and later models was the style of the grille. The early van grille was a separate piece of sheet metal which was lithographed with horizontal bars and then inserted behind a large gaping hole above the front bumper. A metal plate was used for the Roberts name badge just above the grille opening. Later vans did away with the separate grille and replaced it with a simple decal. Grille decal designs and colors changed over the years. The metal "Robert’s" name badge was also eliminated in favor of a decal above the windshield. At first the decal read simply, “Robert’s” and later it read, “Robert’s U-Ride-It.” Two types of steering wheels are also used. The early vans featured a simple one-piece bent rod wheel and column assembly with no bell attached - a bell was added later. The steering wheel design was changed to a stamped metal shape attached to the steering column with spot welding. These later design steering wheels had bells. In addition, the early vans used two-piece spot welded wheels with rubber tires and came with painted steel front bumpers. Later versions were covered by a rubber channel stapled in place over the steel bumper. As an added extra, some of the Robert’s vans came equipped with ladders mounted on both sides through slots cut in the body. The TV repair trucks had these ladders as did the Rescue Squad van. However, many other ladder-less vans were produced with these slots still in place, leading to some confusion as to their purpose. You just can’t beat the Robert’s vans for pure eye-appeal! They really stand out as excellent examples of advertising toys of that era. |
Known Robert's Vans
Canteen Service
Dumont Television
DyDee Diaper Service
Golden Dawn Fine Foods
Jewel Tea Co., Inc.
Kaufmann's
Keiber's
Kraft Quality Foods
Lipton Tea
Minute Maid
Nabisco
Philco Television
Rescue Squad
Sealtest Milk
Tom's Toasted Peanuts
Wonder Bread
Canteen Service
Dumont Television
DyDee Diaper Service
Golden Dawn Fine Foods
Jewel Tea Co., Inc.
Kaufmann's
Keiber's
Kraft Quality Foods
Lipton Tea
Minute Maid
Nabisco
Philco Television
Rescue Squad
Sealtest Milk
Tom's Toasted Peanuts
Wonder Bread
This page
requires
JavaScript to
display
properly.
requires
JavaScript to
display
properly.
This page
requires
JavaScript to
display
properly.
requires
JavaScript to
display
properly.