Having heard from a TM video that J.L. Cowen was perhaps the greatest fan of his own toy train products, I was curious if he had his own personal layout. If so, what would have been included his own collection? Anybody know? Thanks.
According to what I have read, Mr Cowen did not have trains at home.
Obviously one could ask the same question about A. C. Gilbert, I have not heard of one at his estate but that does not mean there wasn't one.
The one documented case that I know of concerns the original owner of American Flyer Trains back when the company was in Chicago, Il. That was Ogden Coleman, who had three children. In the book "American Flyer" by Gerry and Janet Souter, Coleman's daughter relates that the entire third floor of the Coleman estate in Winnetka, Il was reserved for trains. They had several layouts which were a mixture of Standard Gauge, O gauge, and even some early HO.
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Thank you both for your information. I suppose J.L. Cowen was so immersed in his business that he didn't feel the need to "bring his work home". I wonder if hobby shop owners feel the same way. The story about Coleman is fascinating.
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I wonder if hobby shop owners feel the same way.
I worked in an historic vaudeville / movie theater when I was younger. We had various live performances and the very occasional movie while I was employed there. I still don't look at movies and live performances the same way as I did before I worked there.
cwburfle I wonder if hobby shop owners feel the same way. I worked in an historic vaudeville / movie theater when I was younger. We had various live performances and the very occasional movie while I was employed there. I still don't look at movies and live performances the same way as I did before I worked there.
I have read very little about the personal lives of the Cowen family. Maybe thats because Father and Son were gone before collecting and any jornalism associated with it became a serious hobby. Back then the personal lives of company executives were kept personal. That being said it's hard to imagine neither Father or Son not having trains around the house, espessially if they had children at home.
I wonder, did Kalmbach or any of its competitors ever interview the Cowens?
I'm sure they had a few trains around the house but the question was did JLC have a layout? There is info about him and his wife/family but nothing indicates that he had a layout in his home. Actually he lived in a NYC apartment.
I have read very little about the personal lives of the Cowen family. Maybe thats because Father and Son were gone before collecting and any jornalism associated with it became a serious hobby. Back then the personal lives of company executives were kept personal. That being said it's hard to imagine neither Father or Son not having trains around the house, espessially if they had children at home. I wonder, did Kalmbach or any of its competitors ever interview the Cowens?
There certainly were people collecting trains while Mr. Cowen was alive. He passed in 1965. One of the most active writers back then had to have been Louis Hertz. I don't know whether he ever interviewed any members of the Cowen family. The book: All Aboard by Ron Holander does contain a little information about the Cowen's, but not much. I have read articles with anecdotal stories about Mr. Cowen, but I cannot recall the source at the moment. One story described his tinkering at home. Maybe a TCA magazine article?
Remember that these gentlemen were first and foremost businessmen. Just because their company happened to manufacture toy trains did not mean they were personally interested in the hobby. A. C. Gilbert turned down the offer to purchase the American Flyer company when it was originally presented to him. The Gilbert company was already quite successful making small home appliances, scientific toys like microscopes and chemistry sets, and of course his most popular item; the ERECTOR brand construction toy. It was only after his business partners convinced him that a line of trains would be a good compliment to the ERECTOR set line, that he agreed to go through with the purchase.
If memory serves, Ron Hollander in his book "All Aboard" says ol' J.L's hobbys were deep-sea fishing and 3-D photography.
Makes sense. With all those trains to play with at the factory, to say nothing of the New York showroom, why would he need a layout at home?
There's a photo caption I saw in somebody's book that says something like "Like all boys of his era, Lawrence had trains to play with. These however were for publicity." The photo shows little Lawrence holding an early standard gauge S-Type electric and may have been taken at the same time as the famous photo of him that was used on boxes. So that at least implies that there may have been trains around the Cowen household.
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cwburfle I have read very little about the personal lives of the Cowen family. Maybe thats because Father and Son were gone before collecting and any jornalism associated with it became a serious hobby. Back then the personal lives of company executives were kept personal. That being said it's hard to imagine neither Father or Son not having trains around the house, espessially if they had children at home. I wonder, did Kalmbach or any of its competitors ever interview the Cowens? There certainly were people collecting trains while Mr. Cowen was alive. He passed in 1965. One of the most active writers back then had to have been Louis Hertz. I don't know whether he ever interviewed any members of the Cowen family. The book: All Aboard by Ron Holander does contain a little information about the Cowen's, but not much. I have read articles with anecdotal stories about Mr. Cowen, but I cannot recall the source at the moment. One story described his tinkering at home. Maybe a TCA magazine article?
The book was All Aboard by Ron Holander
J Cowens second wife claimed in the book things at the home for display were lit by Lionel Lights
Also Cowen tried to buy one of his 1902 Gondola's once from someone at some point
. Hertz wrote for Model Craftsman Magazine.
Hertz was a prolific writer, and published a number of books. My personal favorite is "The Toy Collector". Another popular book is "Messrs. Ives of Bridgeport". I did a search on the internet, and did not see a site listing his books. However, a search on Amazon does show quite a few.
His writing was not limited to trains.
I recently learned that Mr. Hertz tried his hand at publishing his own magazine. I picked up a few volumes in a stack of old Model Railroading / Toy Train magazines I picked up at an antique show. There were a number of publications I had never seen before. Its my impression that Ives Trains were his favorite.
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