UPDATE II: I managed to track down all four colors of wagons on eBay.
The four known colors of the Wannatoy Wagons by Dillon Beck Mfg.
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UPDATE Posted July 2020: It turns out that I I had “Wanna Toy” as two separate words, but the brand name is actually “Wannatoy”.
From Chriscollectibles.com: Wannatoy, the trademark of Dillon Beck Manufacturing Co., produced toys made of acetate plastic. Based in New Jersey, they manufactured numerous toy vehicles (as well as doll house furniture, pot and pan sets and possibly other toys) after the end of WWII through the late 1950s.
From “O’Brien’s Collecting Toy Cars & Trucks” book, 1990, “Wannatoy was among the first toy makers off the starting block at the end of World War II. Of the millions of children born during the war, and the millions more who arrived soon afterward, a good percentage played with Wannatoys.
What seems to have been the company’s first offering, the twenty-five-cent futurist Coupe, was a hit toy for Christmas of 1945, selling a million units that season. With streamlined, Deco-influenced body and bible top, the Couple continued to sell well into the 1950s.”
Here’s an ad (thanks to Andy) from 1952 (available on eBay). The ad suggests there were only three colors of wagons, but doesn’t indicate what those were. So far, I’ve identified four colors (red, green, blue, purple … see them at the bottom of this post).
And this is an example of the packaging. The company targeted both girl and boys:
And this is an example of a display box (available with toys on eBay):
And now for the wagons …Here’s a photo of a blue wagon I just picked up.
And, this is an example of a (florescent looking) green wagon that I hope to acquire in a few days:
