Each lot shall be the buyer’s sole risk from the fall of the hammer and shall be sold with any faults and imperfections, the auctioneers NOT being responsible for the correct description or authenticity of any lot, and making no warranty whatsoever. The buyer is deemed to have inspected the lots and satisfied him or herself as to their condition and authenticity. We will happily accept commission and phone bids, however we cannot be held responsible for missed/wrong bids – if there is a problem the auctioneers decision is final The S.L. Allen factory closed its doors for good in 1968, and the Flexible Flyer name was sold to a California conglomerate, Leisure Group, ending production of the sled in Philadelphia. Production shifted to Medina, Ohio and then to Mississippi in 1973. The Flexible Flyer line was sold once again in 1993 and production moved to Olney, Illinois, then to China in 1998. The Flexible Flyer name was bought by Paricon of Maine in 2005, formerly the Paris Manufacturing Co. which, ironically, had once manufactured the “Speedway” line of sleds, Flexible Flyers’ primary competitor.

Samuel Allen passed way on March 28, 1918, but his company continued to grow. The popularity of the Flexible Flyer brand grew steadily in the 1920s and the product’s design was improved with changes like steerable bumpers in 1928 and rounded rears for the runners in 1935 to help prevent sledders from accidentally impaling themselves on sleds ahead of them. The toy was offered in all sizes, from 38” long for children to 101” models capable of carrying six grown adults. In the 1930s, the company diversified its product line even further when it introduced skis and the Flexy Racer, a sled with wheels for use on city streets (unlikely to pass safety standards today). Buyers premium is applicable on all lots at the rate of 21.00% + VAT (25.20%) for Home Interior & Collectables Sales, Militria & Sporting Sales and 21.66% + VAT (26%) for Country House and Specialist Printed Catalogue Sales.

PLAY SETS

Agricultural implements were a seasonal product and every winter the factory would churn out Planet Junior products only to lay off staff during the slow summer months. Allen began manufacturing sleds at his factory as a way to keep business and production steady year round. His ultimate vision was to make farm supplies in the winter and shift to sleds in the summer, keeping his trained employees working full time. But the Flexible Flyer was not an instant success. The product was rejected by retailers for years and his sales staff advised him to give up the toy line. The Goettners use only a small fraction of the factory and wish to find a buyer. They rent the eastern portion of the property to two separate auto salvage yards. “It is not the cost of the property, but the cost to renovate,” said Mr. Rothenburg as he explained the difficulty involved in repurposing an industrial structure on his own. For now, the S.L. Allen & Co. factory patiently awaits it’s next chapter, perhaps ideally to be reused as a community center or affordable housing similar to the New Kensington Community Development Corporation’s project at Orinoka Mills. In the meantime, the building stands as a reminder of the “Workshop of the World,” with the words “Flexible Flyer” and “S.L. Allen”–the names that made sledding a common winter activity for children across the country–in large letters still adorning the roof. By the 1950s the Flexible Flyer was as popular as ever as suburban expansion boomed and American postwar optimism fueled the consumer market. However, S.L. Allen’s agricultural business was ailing. The company had begun manufacturing walk-behind tractors, but its market was shrinking. Small-scale agriculture that once thrived around U.S. cities evaporated as suburbs replaced farmland. As more rural farms grew in size the need for walk-behind implements diminished, and the firm switched to large tractors and equipment manufacturing.