Dashing Through the Snow: Early Sleds and Sleighs

Early child's sled with foliate and bands decoration

In this modern era, sledding may be losing steam.  Before long, you’ll probably be able to stay inside and go for a sleigh ride with your Wii without even having to put on your snow boots!  But, at one point, sledding was a huge part of childhood, and there are so many references to it in childhood classics.  Those of us who grew up sledding know why – the cold, thrilling, all-too-short rush downhill was worth spending hours in the freezing winter air, trudging uphill over and over for another go.

While my brother’s frequent crashes cracked up our plastic sleds with startling regularity, early sleds like the one pictured here were built – and decorated – to last, and those same factors have made them popular with modern collectors.  Sleds or sleighs that retain most of their painted decoration have become folk art, as have the unique home-crafted creations made out of odd bits of metal or carved wood.  The better the decoration and the better the preservation, the better the price!  From early experimental sleds and small pony-drawn sleighs to later storebought Mickey Mouse models, there are buyers for them all.

-Hollie Davis, Senior Editor, p4A.com