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Bing from Europe - Does the trademark date it?
Posted by
komet163b
on 25 Apr, 2020 10:32
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I was hi-bidder for a Bing engine in Germany.
The auction was hosted by Invaluable.
I'll pay right away but I think I may have a
long wait due to the virus.
The trademark badge is a silver oval with the
letters 'J B' along the top, a sideways 'B' in the
middle, and a wide 'W' along the bottom.
I'm trying to gather whatever info I can on
its history.
Thanks,
Wayne
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#1 Reply
Posted by
komet163b
on 25 Apr, 2020 10:34
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Here's the badge. Can't seem to get more than
one photo in. Badge below.
Wayne
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#2 Reply
Posted by
Stoker
on 25 Apr, 2020 11:05
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That is not "JB" but rather "JF" for Josef Falk, so that your tag actually reads ..... Josef Falk / Bing Works, as they did join forces for a time during the 1920's or thereabouts.
Beautiful acquisition by the way .... well done!
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#3 Reply
Posted by
Woe is me
on 25 Apr, 2020 11:34
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That is very nice looking. Love the smoked base. Almost looks there is a little Fleischmann in the blood line. Like Stoker said,
there was a lot of collaboration that took place back then between companies.
As far as delays, I gotta say yeah. My order on Ebay from Austria was made on March 17th, shipped on the 18th, arrived and
processed Through ISC New York, NY. on March 30th. It's still there today. Sorry!
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#4 Reply
Posted by
komet163b
on 25 Apr, 2020 11:49
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I noticed the 'J F' and first thought Falk. Then the
sideways 'B' and wide 'W' reminded me of the trademark
section in 'Toy Steam Engines' by Bob Gordon, specifically
page 28 trademark 6 (Bing Werke?) listed for yrs 1924-32.
I'll take it as another example of blurred lines between
the companies but I'd still like the exact story of the
collaboration. I have a Bing-Wolf twin (photo below) and
now a cousin. What kind of a cousin (no, not kissin) is the
$64,000 question.
Delayed shipping? - 6 weeks in transit for 5lbs of Nova Scotia
agate (our next-door neighbor - I think DJT annoyed the Canadians
as it was held up on their side). Just as long from Eastern Europe.
We're all in quarantine anyhow and I have current projects so I
can wait...a bit.
Happy Steaming,
Wayne
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#5 Reply
Posted by
Woe is me
on 25 Apr, 2020 16:00
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A Bing Wolf? Are you sure it's not Bing Works?
Wait a minute, look at that paint job. That's not a Bing it's a Doll.
No I'm just messing with you on that.
It's definitely a keeper, but then I'm a sucker for twins.
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Looks like a nice example from the short-lived Falk-Bing collaboration. Stoker is right about the years, but I'd have to consult a book to narrow it down to exact dates. Congrats on the new buy. I hope you get it soon. I've seemed to notice a bit of a snag in a domestic shipment this week myself- went MIA in MI for 4 days. Perhaps USPS is feeling a bit of a pinch.
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#7 Reply
Posted by
komet163b
on 26 Apr, 2020 11:22
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Falk-Bing, Bing-Wolf, Frick and Frack, I'm sure there are many such
collaborations. Variety is the spice. I'm focusing on tin twins - but I'm
still in the 'If it is looks right, is cool, and the right price' category, I'm in.
Steamed up an EMPIRE B31 last night. Amazingly, the original heater
still works, thanks to the powers that be. Great runner, definite keeper.
One issue - the exterior of the boiler is problematic. The copper is
coming up thru the nickel plating, pretty evenly, everywhere, as little
greenish 'greenheads'. I'm not up for disassembly and nickel-plating
as it is a good runner, so, do I get some simichrome and try to rub it
smooth? Would the finished product look better or the same but smooth?
Till then, it stays as it is - a complete runner.
Thanks,
Wayne
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#8 Reply
Posted by
RedRyder
on 26 Apr, 2020 18:22
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It's a Falking Bing!
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#9 Reply
Posted by
classixs
on 27 Apr, 2020 04:55
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Just gotta love those smoke effect bases...Beautiful acquisition, congratulations !
It's a Falking Bing!
It is, isn´t it? 
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#10 Reply
Posted by
Stoker
on 27 Apr, 2020 09:03
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It's a Falking Bing!
Ha Ha Ha ..... I Love it !!!
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J. Falk'S company (who had had business ties with Schoenner and Carette much earlier) merged with the remains of Bing Werke in 1932 (so Bing was split up and the steam engines part was swallowed by Bing, not vice versa, as I always thought). As Falk was a "non-Arian" company in the crazy ideology of the Nazis, Falk was wise enough to sell the company in 1935, the toy production ceased then - nobody knows exactly what happened to J. Falk (some claim he could escape ani terror in time; all this information from Kaiser/Baecker's famous book on German steam engines).
So you have not only bought a nice steam engine, but an interesting witness of German history as well.
Bing-Wolf (the badge looked different from the famous "BW"-badge for Bing Werke) was based in New York, formed in 1928, if I am not mistaken, and was a kind of joined venture of Bing, Nuremberg and an American importer. Once in a while you find Bing engines, often electrically heated, with their badge (which can be traced via the internet) offered in the USA today.
The base of your engine (smoked / flamed) looks very much like the bases used for engines made by different German makers (Doll, Bing etc.) for VEDES (= Vereinigung Deutscher Spielwarenhändler / Organization of German Toy Retailers). But in that case, it should also wear the VEDES-badge. One can only speculate if JF/BW simply coxed the design or used some bases they still had in their depots.
Hope you don't have to wait too long for it!
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Two additions:
a) So yes, the badge dates this engine between 1932 and 1935
b) I wrote:J. Falk "was wise enough" to sell his company, perhaps I should put more emphasis on the fact that he was forced to do so by the anti-semitic laws and activities of the Nazi government and the German population in those days. Doll, bzw, suffered a similar fate.
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#13 Reply
Posted by
komet163b
on 29 Apr, 2020 10:43
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Well, blow me down. Love the history angle.
Mid-century history has always fascinated me
and the info provided was verrrry' interesting.
Falk merging with a troubled Bing yet retaining
the Bing name makes sense when thinking of
those dark times. I have acquired several tools
with the 'made in occupied Germany' stamp and
the auction house that is sending me the Bing
mentioned earlier is in a 1000 year-old town in
what was communist East Germany. Can't wait
to get engine and steam it and my Bing-Wolf up.
Thank you all very much for the info and giggles,
Wayne
Wayne
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#14 Reply
Posted by
komet163b
on 14 May, 2020 18:55
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Happy Day All...
I rec'd the Bing from Germany today - expensive but expedited,
only a few days to get here.
I cleaned and oiled it and intended trying it on air except...
What appeared to be a valve handle for draining the boiler
is, instead, a black, wooden plug. Bummer. So, I put the air
supply tube into the hole for draining the tank (threads nice
and clean, thankfully), the whistle hissed (sounds like it has
a congestion), and the engine took off. Throttle works, whistle
control works, weighted pressure relief valve works, the sightglass
is sound, and the pressure guage works (Surprise!).
So, I at least need to buy a plug for the drain hole n the boiler.
A proper drain-valve would be best. Does anyone know the
screw/thread dimensions? The filling plug from the top of the
boiler fits there so another one of those would be fine.
Also, the boiler is non-magnetic and appears to be brass but
seems to have a rough patina. The straps appear to be copper
and also appeared tarnished or rough. Is it possible that there
is a coating of lacquer or something else on these parts? And if
so how to clean them up, if at all possible. Also, a photo of the
proper burner would be nice. Anything else.
Finally, but most importantly.....this engine has plastic handles
on the whistle and throttle. Did Bing use plastic handles before
WWII? I'm trying to date this engine but I think it may be one
of those mongrels, making it difficult to date. It was sold as
produced between 1923 and 1933, and I like it a lot, but it does
not look pre-WWII. Plastic handles? I could be wrong.
All ideas are welcome - thankful for all the info already provided,
Wayne
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