McKee's Moving Puzzle

A few weeks ago I stumbled across one of the most amazing advertising premiums I've ever seen. Made in 1927, "McKee's Moving Puzzle" in its nondescript, 4 by 3 1/4 inch box holds a remarkable toy inside: a wooden furniture puzzle complete with some clever copywriting.

The McKee Moving & Storage Company was based in the city of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1927 they distributed this puzzle as an advertising premium to potential customers. The box cover reads,
"We can solve all your moving, packing, storage, and shipping problems." 

Inside, the puzzle consists of 9 wooden pieces labelled as various pieces of furniture: piano, chairs, rug, mat, lamp, table, clock, and sofa. The trick is to move the piano from one corner to another without jumping, raising, or turning any piece, one piece at a time. (It's incredibly difficult. I gave up very quickly.) Clever ad copy inside the cover reads:
"Moving is always a problem. Placing the furniture is frequently a puzzle...we can solve this puzzle, as well as your Moving, Storage, Packing or Shipping problems. Write for solution." 

Thank goodness the instructions were included, or I would never have managed it. The text ends with a final advertisement:
"If you have followed the above directions you are now an expert piano mover as far as this puzzle is concerned. However, should you have a real piano or other  household goods to move back, store, or ship don't fail to call on us." 

McKee's is apparently still in business, and if I lived in Saskatchewan, I would definitely hire them to move some of my furniture around, just to show my appreciation for this fantastic toy.

Michigan's Antique Yard Sale Trail Report: August 13, 14, & 15 2010

Last weekend, we followed the Antique Yard Sale Trail, an annual 200 mile secondhand shopping adventure along Michigan's Lake Huron, St. Clair River, and Lake St. Clair shoreline that stretches from Algonac in the south all the way around the tip of Michigan's "thumb" to Sebewaing in the north. Besides enjoying the beautiful scenery from the bluffs along the lakeshore, we saw lots and lots of amazing things for sale, including old gasoline pumps, vintage televisions, and a taxidermied alligator (the highlight of the sale, in my opinion.) And I found several treasures, of course (although I didn't buy the alligator.)

"Fumes," a taxidermied alligator smoking a pipe 

in a relaxing, and utterly unnatural position, was priced at $325.

Can't you just imagine all the decor possibilities?

 

A 1949 "Suitcase" Sentinel, the first portable television, 

was available for $199.

One table held a beautiful display of vintage hatboxes, shoes, and ladies' accessories, including this swanky faux leopard print head wrap and scarf. I was mightily tempted...

At the other end of the collecting spectrum, a dealer had a yard full of rusty treasures, including vintage sleds and this old Gulf gas pump:

If, for some reason, you needed a Greyhound bus sign, 

this dealer could hook you up:

And what did I buy? Something I've always wanted (who wouldn't?!): a vintage cast aluminum kiddie spring-rider animal from a playground. 

We mounted it on a piece of plywood cleverly embellished with fake grass for an authentic outdoor look. It now serves as an additional seating option in the living room.

Antique Doll Trunk

I found this small lithographed wooden doll trunk at an antique show last weekend, and even though it's in rather rough condition, it still charmed me. It's an appealing size, measuring only about 10 inches wide, and appears to have been an advertising premium from the Brantford Starch Company of Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

I've loaded it up for display with an antique children's tea set 

and a tiny china doll.

Steiff Dealer Display Piece

Found at an antique show last weekend was an amazing thing: a motorized Steiff dealer display piece from the 1980s (labelled West Germany). It features a permanently attached, gorgeous cream-colored mohair bear holding a Steiff flag (the pennant is a replacement) on a rotating stand marked "Official Steiff Dealer". The entire piece is about 18 inches tall, and originally it would have stood on top of a display case in a high-end toy shop or specialty store, slowly revolving, drawing attention to itself, urging shoppers to buy lotsa Steiff.

Vintage Twinkie the Kid & Wonder Bread Premium Rings

These two Hostess items are late entries into the premium ring category, dating to my own childhood in the 1970s. I can remember spotting the Wonder bread rings inside the packages, and eagerly squeezing our forearms down into the bags, trying to get them out. Wonder bread squishes very easily, we found. After a few smushed loaves, the adults started putting the bread up out of our reach, and dispensed the rings themselves.

1966 Batman Rings

Some of my favorite vintage toy rings are these, made in 1966 to promote the Batman TV show starring Adam West. There were three different styles, and they seem to have been available in a variety of ways, including as gumball machine prizes and dime store toys.

 (Incidentally, I have several lots of these, so if anyone would like one, or a set, send me a Batmail...)

1930s G-Man Premium Ring

From the 1930s comes this small Cracker Jack premium G-Man ring.

In 1934, FBI Agent Melvin Purvis, with the help of other officers, aka "government men", killed notorious gangsters John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd. He wrote and spoke widely about his adventures in law enforcement, and Post cereals began a promotional campaign advertising his "Junior G-Man Corps and Law and Order Patrol." Kids across the country sent in for all sorts of premiums, including rings, badges, flashlights, fingerprint kits, and penknives.

Other companies, including Cracker Jack, jumped on the G-Man bandwagon and released their own items as well, since Post was unable to copyright the phrase. This ring was a Cracker Jack prize, and was clearly well-loved by the little boy who pulled it out of the box some 70+ years ago...

1939 Captain Midnight Radio Premium: Flight Wings Badge

 Captain Midnight was one of many heroic pilot characters populating children's radio shows and movie serials in the 1930s and '40s. He successfully made the transition to television as well, where he had his own show presented by Ovaltine. In 1939, the Captain's radio broadcasts were sponsored by the Skelly Oil Company, who endorsed this  premium, the Mysto-Magic Weather Forecasting Flight Wings Badge.

Originally a piece of litmus paper inserted behind the "S" would change color according to varying weather conditions, alerting its young wearer to impending trouble.

1947 Lone Ranger Atomic Bomb Ring Premium

Many parents today worry about lead and other toxic chemicals in children's toys, particularly after the "contaminated Chinese products" scare of last summer. Well, this little item makes those concerns seem trivial: it actually contains radioactive isotopes. 

The 1947 Lone Ranger Atomic Bomb Ring, a Kix cereal promotion, was the best-selling premium ring of all time. And no wonder --  who could resist advertising like this:

 "SEE GENUINE ATOMS SPLIT TO SMITHEREENS! 

INSIDE THIS Kix ATOMIC 'BOMB' RING!"

The ring cleverly combined the Lone Ranger's silver bullet iconography with that of the new atomic sciences. And it did indeed work: the "bullet" or "bomb" was actually a device called a spinthariscope, which enables the viewer to see nuclear disintegrations caused by the interaction of radioisotopes. As polonium alpha particles struck a zinc sulfide screen, brilliant flashes of light resulted which could be seen by removing the red end cap.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view and comfort level with radioactive substances) the materials had a very short half-life, and the rings no longer function today. And even though the ad says the rings are "perfectly safe -- we guarantee you can wear the Kix Atomic 'Bomb' ring with complete safety. The atomic materials inside the ring are harmless," I still feel a bit nervous every time I pick mine up.
                                                                                

1947 Lone Ranger Six Gun Ring Premium

One of the most famous toy ring premiums of all time, this is the Lone Ranger Six Gun Ring, offered by Kix cereal in 1947. It's an absolutely amazing little thing: the metal gun holds a flint that actually produces sparks.

My friend Ron, who was 11 the year this item came out, remembers anxiously waiting for his Six Gun Ring's arrival, and how he only wore it for a few minutes before he put it away, frustrated at the way it got hung up on everything (it's a very tall ring).

c.1950 Straight Arrow Golden Nugget Cave Ring Premium

I have a small collection of vintage premium rings and badges from old radio shows and serials, and they are some of my most treasured items. This is my very favorite: the Straight Arrow Golden Nugget Cave Ring (with secret picture) from around 1950.

 front of ring

back of ring

A bit of background: Straight Arrow was a radio show that began airing in 1948. A western hero similar to the Lone Ranger, Straight Arrow was a Comanche orphan raised by whites, who had a "secret identity" as Steve Adams, ranch owner. When trouble arose, he would race to his secret gold mine, where his Palomino horse, Fury, and his Comanche attire and weapons awaited him. Straight Arrow and Fury would then ride out to combat whatever problems had occurred, be they cattle rustlers or citizens endangered by rising flood waters. The show was sponsored by Nabisco's Shredded Wheat.

This ring represents Straight Arrow's gold mine hideaway, and it has a secret of its own. By peering into the tiny peephole "cave entrance" on the front of the ring, the viewer can see magically magnified images of Straight Arrow and Fury, and, if he sent in a photo of himself via the ad below, his own image as well, sandwiched between the two. (There's no way to show you how this appears, but if you look closely at the second picture above, of the ring's back, you should be able to spot the applied photo of the little boy who sent away for it.)

All of my old premiums give me a sense of connection to the past, as do my antique and vintage toys in general. But this one is special, with an even stronger feeling of connection than usual. As I look at the image of the little boy who once owned this ring, I'm struck with wonder: wondering what became of him, where he is now, and how his treasured toy ended up where it is today. (And also: how the heck did they do that magnifying image thing?!)

(Another) Victorian Doll Trunk Full of Toys

Last December, I posted about a Victorian doll trunk full of antique toys that I purchased for Christmas. Well, incredibly, another one has come my way, and the neat thing is, its the very same pattern, just a smaller size, measuring 12 inches wide by 6  1/2 tall. The trunk and the toys within, left by the original owner, date from the 1890s - early 1900s, just as with the previous one.

The contents included a 14 inch china head doll wearing her old, handmade dress; a 5 inch dollhouse doll with a mohair wig, in her original clothing; a tiny jointed all bisque doll, only 2 inches tall; a tin toy horse, 3 3/4 inches long; two 5  1/4 inch J. & P. Coats Company advertising paper dolls, complete with extra outfits and hats; a child-made patchwork doll quilt; and a handcrafted needle case made from birch bark, probably an arts and crafts project done at a Victorian children's summer camp.

Inside the trunk.

The big china doll, wearing her simply smashing hat.

She is ready for her tea.

All the other goodies. The child-made

doll quilt and needle case are on the far right.

Here are some close ups of the paper dolls, which are incredibly beautiful. They were actually advertising premiums for the J.& P. Coats Company, later known as Coats & Clark, which made cotton thread. Several series of dolls were printed, and girls were encouraged to "collect them all!" The company's advertising information was printed on the back of each piece. Click on the picture to enlarge, and you'll see that one doll features kittens, while the other has several different toys, including a rather frightening jack in the box, a ball, and dollies of her own.

Here are a few close ups of the small dolls: the dollhouse doll, who is wearing her original, sewn-on dress with a cotton lace overlay and a big, bustly ribbon, and the itty bitty baby doll.

A snazzy polka dotted underskirt!

The itty bitty 2 inch all bisque baby.

Lastly, here's the tin horse, who just fascinates me. I'm not sure if he was originally flat like this, or if he was left outside and run over by something, perhaps one of those new-fangled "horseless carriages"...either way, he was obviously special to his young owner, who carefully tucked him away in the trunk when his playing days were over.

As always with these trunk lot finds, its remarkable to me that everything stayed together for so long and in such fine shape (horsie excepted), and it's very touching to handle the items and wonder about the child, or children, who played with them so long ago...

Vintage Troll Bank

In the wake of all the financial brouhaha of recent months, it's hard to imagine friendly neighborhood bankers back in the 1960s giving out these fantastic 6 1/2 inch troll banks, imported from Denmark and bracelet-tagged with the respective bank's name. But that's just what they did. I think we'd all like bankers a little more if they gave out trolls with every transaction. Perhaps I'll suggest it to the Treasury Secretary...

Trade-In Barbie with Original Box

Here's something wonderful I just got (technically, though, she's a Christmas present, because she's been on layaway since then...)

By the mid 1960s, the Barbie doll, which had formerly been the height of couture, was now looking matronly and dated in her tailored "Jackie O" ensembles and pillbox hats. The Mod era had begun, and Barbie evolved along with it. In 1967, Mattel Toys offered a remarkable promotion: by sending in $1.50 and your old Barbie, you could get the new version, complete with "bendable legs", a  patented "twist n' turn waist", and "real eyelashes". Little girls unsentimentally dispatched their original Barbies in droves, and what they received is pictured below: the "NEW Barbie", with her original box. Mine is in minty, unplayed with condition: it appears her box took the worst of the wear over the past 40 years.

 

The new more poseable Barbie offers increased 
photo opportunities 

for the robots:

Antique "Coats & Clark Company" Paper Dolls

I'm always amazed when I find a fragile paper toy that has survived through long years of play, and this just may be the most amazing such toy I have. Made from the late 1800s through the early 1900s as an advertising premium by the J P Coats Company (now the Coats & Clark Company), this 6 inch  paper doll is really 12 toys in one.There's a different doll printed on each side of the figure, with 3 different heads for each doll concealed on a rotating wheel within its body. Beautifully lithographed, it's a charming toy as well as a very clever one.

Here is the first doll with her three different heads:

The picture below shows the changeable head mechanism.

Here is the doll on the flip side: