A little over 10 years
ago an import firm known under the name "Upper Deck"
flooded both the American and European market with an
assortment of fire service themed memorabilia. These items continue to show up for sale at fire flea
markets, furniture and collectible stores, and
occasionally on eBay.
My first piece was a large late 1920’s
French style closed-cab rear mount turntable ladder.
It was complete with outward facing bench seats and the
rear mounted token hose reel, so popular with fire
apparatus from France, even to this day. It was
found in a Chicago area furniture store. It had a
rough cut of construction of wood and steel, but none
the less, it posed an impressive collectible.
In my travels I located a total of six
of these large models. They were built in an
approximate scale of the 1/6th or GI Joe
category. In addition to the Turntable Ladder Truck
mentioned earlier, they made a single horse-drawn
steamer with a mid-ship mounted hose reel and three
seated firemen figures: a combination chemical and
ladder truck with three firemen figures; another French
style open cab turntable ladder truck with the bench
seats facing forward this time; a hand-tub style pumper
with front and rear "brakes" with ladders hanging off of
each side; and the most difficult to find…an Ahrens Fox
open cab front mount piston pump of a design identical
to and like the Ertl diecast collectibles.
The models were finished in a dark red
or brownish-maroon color with heavy antique staining
splashed abundantly. Their prices ranged from just
over a $100 bill to the upper price of $300 for the
steamer, hand-tub, and Ahrens Fox respectively.
They were heavy to hold as real wood and steel
construction parts gave the weight factor a serious
consideration. The only suitable place that
I displayed my models were directly on the floor or on
the lower raised mantle of my fireplace.
While visiting another furniture store
(looking for a small curio cabinet to display more fire
collectibles) I encountered a smaller version of the
chemical/ladder truck. Of course I quickly brought out
my credit card and the little wagon was added to the
stable of its big brothers. Later I saw a small
French ladder truck being available on eBay, but I
didn’t bid on it as I was starting to fill my house with
too many fire engines again. (Darn…hate when that
happens!) To date, I have not encountered any more
of these Upper Deck styled fire apparatus models of
their design and manufacturing process. Some
do show up on eBay from time to time and don’t appear to
sell that well, and some don’t even get a small bid!
Maybe they are too large for the average fire
collector.
A few other items that Upper Deck
shipped over here were a pair of oversized Wooden Fire
Buckets in stands. They looked good, despite their
size, and were designed as plant and flower pots.
I secured three of them as I had three house plants that
needed to fit in with my fire themed interior house
plans. These buckets were finished in a green and
brown tone, and were quite pleasing to the eye.
They adapted well to their domestic surroundings.
The lettering was detailed and of a late 1700’s marking.
They had an interior plastic liner that served as the
actual plant holder. Not much different from what
one finds today regarding decorative planters and urns
for household use.
A very collectible piece was a
fireman’s helmet in red, resting upon a coiled hoseline.
It was a bank with a working music box! A coin slot
runs alongside the ridge and combs of the helmet.
When you dropped in a coin, the music box would begin
playing for approximately 30-45 seconds. It had a
rich embellishment of gold leafing that accented many of
the fine and minute features and overall details.
When other firefighters saw the helmet bank, everyone
would always ask where they could buy one. Thus,
it is still sought after.
Upper Deck also created a number of
shadowbox display cases. A very large and heavy
one appeared with several American LaFrance items
re-created in miniature. There was also a Mack
version, but it appeared to be harder to locate.
One could open up this box and place your own photos
inside adding a custom touch to its uniqueness.
There were some wall plaques that
featured a clock display. The most popular was the
hydrant design. The Wood Manufacturing Company
Hydrant advertisement was painted on the flat surface of
this item. These are still available at several
collectible stores and usually command a price around
$150.00.
Upper Deck’s work also included a
Laurel & Hardy bookend fire engine. The fire
engine was split in two and was of the 1930’s vintage.
Very true to these actors’ art form of movie popularity.
The design is quite novel and the bookends were also
very practical.
Like anything that comes along, if
it’s what you would like to have, get it! Even
though you might think you are impulsive, if you delay,
it might not be there when you return. Several
times I have turned around after driving several miles
from a store to purchase an item, and was glad that I
made that decision. Especially when you find out
later on that only a few of these existed or were even
made!
Upper Deck relied on hand work and
individual craftsmen to produce their items. Thus, I
believe that their collectibles will become more
treasured as time passes since only a limited number
were made and exported. I was fortunate to see several
of their items at the 2000 Intershutz in Augsburg,
Germany and wanted to buy one of everything. But
then I had to come to grips with the fact that I did not
have my large pickup truck with me. I carried
enough items on my body in the airplane and across my
aching shoulders with my large suitcases in tow.
Whenever the name Upper Deck is spoken, I do listen
up…just might be something special for the fire
collection!
