Donald Lewis Kaufman (8 October 1930 – 12 October 2009) was an American toy collector amassing millions of dollars' worth of antique items in his country home in western

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Early life

Donald Lewis Kaufman was born on 8 October 1930, in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

, to Harry and Ruth Klein Kaufman. His father and uncle had previously started Kaufman Brothers, a

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

candy store, in 1922. Kaufman was educated at the

North Adams State College The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) formerly known as North Adams State College (NASC) is a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is part of the state university system of Massachusetts. It is a member of th ...

. He then did national service in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in the early 1950s. Afterwards he joined Kaufman Brothers.

KB Toys

Kaufman Brothers became a toy retailer in the 1970s, with the name Kay-Bee Toy & Hobby, later known as KB Toys. Kaufman served as vice president of the company and helped to expand the chain to shopping malls in nearly every U.S. state. Kaufman retired from his position as vice president in 1981.

Personal life

Kaufman married Faith Dichter and they had three daughters. The marriage was eventually dissolved. He then married Sally Golden, who had two children from her previous marriage. Throughout his adult life he spent vacations touring toy fairs in the Northeast and in Europe and amassed a huge collection of antique toy cars and trucks.

The collection

Kaufman's important collection of antique toys included his first item, International Harvester Red Baby truck, purchased for $4 from a collector friend in 1950. The collection also included a working 1912 Märklin live-steam fire engine and he had more than 700 cars and trucks arranged on shelves in a four-level annex to his property. Other larger items included 40 pedal and oversized pressed-steel cars. The total size of the collection was estimated at 7,000 items, which he amassed with the help of his wife, Sally. "It was a team effort...It was one of my lifelong pleasures but when she came into my life 20-some years ago she partnered in it and enjoyed what we did just as much as I did. I couldn't have done this without her." In March 2009, about a fifth of his collection had been sold at auction by Bertoia Auctions for $4.2 million. In September a further 1,100 toys brought in an estimated $3 million. At the time of the first sale, Jeanne Bertoia stated it would take a series of 4-6 sales to sell the entire collection. Kaufman said, "It's time for me to sell."

Death

Kaufman died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on October 12, 2009 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufman, Donald 1930 births 2009 deaths Toy collectors American collectors People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts alumni