Pumpkin Head Postcard

This antique Halloween postcard is one of my all time favorites. The pumpkin head girl is so detailed: note her teeny tiny gold teeth, and the black cats on her dress. This fabulous character was mailed in October 1912 from Wahoo, Nebraska.

1920s Jack o' Lantern

This little 1920s German jack o' lantern measures 3 3/4 inches tall. In delicate, all original condition, he's one of my favorite Halloween pieces. These types of lanterns were made in the thousands some 80 years ago, but their fragility, along with the fact that they were intended to be used with real candles inside, makes them scarce today.

 

Happy October!

October is my favorite month of the year, and the perfect time to showcase some of the Other Stuff I collect: old Halloween decorations, postcards, lanterns, games, and assorted ephemera.

Over the next few weeks I'll highlight some of the favorites from my collection, starting with this fabulous postcard from 1908, featuring a romantic pumpkin-headed couple.

Pumpkin love.

 

Mr. Potato Head on the Moon

The year was 1968. The United States was in the midst of its space race, as engineers and scientists worked feverishly to send the first man to the moon. At the same time, toy designers at Hasbro worked just as feverishly to come up with new ideas for their hit toy line, Mr. Potato Head. The result was Mr. Potato Head on the Moon, a clever set in a gorgeously illustrated box that allowed children "to change fruits and vegetables into spaceships, astronauts, or moon people!"

Inside the box was a huge assortment of pieces unique to this set, including a space helmet; alien feet, antennae, fanged mouths, giant eyes, and various other appendages; and spaceship parts. This set was meant to be used with real fruits and vegetables, and did not include a plastic potato. The instructions suggested using a cucumber for the spaceship, an onion (!) for the alien, and a potato for the astronaut.

Mr. Potato Head on the Moon is now one of the rarest and most valuable of the vintage sets, and was long considered a Holy Grail of sorts for Potato collectors. In a quirky bit of cosmic coincidence, I finally found mine just a few days ago, around the time of the recent Blue Moon!

"That's one small step for potatoes, one giant leap for potato collectors."

Mr. Potato Head Picnic Pals

We're just about to head out for our Fourth of July picnic, so it's the perfect time to post one of my favorite vintage Mr. Potato Head sets: his friends the Picnic Pals, created in 1966.

The Picnic Pals were some of the most unusual items ever released in the Potato Head line. There were 6 characters, all featuring plastic heads with separate bodies: Frenchy Fry, Mr. Ketchup Head,  Frankie Frank, Mr. Mustard Head, Willy Burger, and, to wash it all down, Mr. Soda Pop Head.

From left to right: Frenchy Fry, Mrs. Ketchup Head, Mr. Mustard Head,
Frankie Frank, Mr. Soda Pop Head, and Willy Burger.

The Picnic Pals came with specialized accessory pieces made just for them: onion slice ears, pickle noses, and eyes the color of ketchup or mustard.

The Pals were sold in two ways: the first was the rare complete set box, shown below, which contained all the characters plus their original Potato friend.

A rather sinister looking Willy Burger and his henchman, Frankie Frank,
appear to threaten a trembling Frenchy Fry in this box art.
Not sure what that's all about.

The second variation was a tall, slim box with colorful art work, which included one main character, a condiment or beverage buddy, and a Mr. Potato Head.

For some unknown reason, Willy Burger is the hardest to find of the Picnic Pals, although they are all much more scarce than the regular Potato Heads.

We're off to our picnic to eat some of these.
Hopefully ours won't be staring at us.

1970s British Mr. Potato Head

Part of a collection of vintage German and British Potato Heads I recently purchased, this boxed version was made in England by Peter Pan Toys in 1974. Licensed by Hasbro, it is nonetheless strikingly different from the American original. The plastic potato is a different shade of brown, and most of the accessory pieces are also differently colored and shaped. There was also a licensed character unique to England at this time: Mr. Egg Bodd, a hard-boiled egg man with an egg cup outfit he could wear. Sadly, I've yet to find one, but I remain hopeful.

Even though Mr. Potato Head came with a plastic potato by this time, this box depicts his friends made from real fruit and veggies. The art design of this box is quite crude compared to the richly illustrated German examples posted yesterday, but it has its own naive appeal.

Here's the British Mr. Potato Head inside his box,

surrounded by his simply drawn but charming friends.

West German Mr. Potato Head Sets

I recently acquired several vintage 1950s-60s West German and English Mr. Potato Head sets. Some are knock-offs, some were licensed by Hasbro, but they're all fascinatingly different from their American counterparts.

First up: three 1950s knock-off sets made in West Germany. They are all housed in flat cardboard boxes, the same size and shape as those a paper doll set would come in, or a tiddlywinks game. They were released at the time Mr. Potato Head still used real potatoes; the toy sets were comprised solely of accessory and limb parts, and it would be several years before the plastic potato was introduced.

"Mr. and Mrs. Funny Face" features intriguing illustrations of some rather sinister looking potatoes.

Inside, the parts are inserted into holes in the liner, and an illustration of an anxious-looking potato head with a Salvador Dali mustache serves as an example of a completed toy.

If Dali were a potato...

The next West German set features marvelous illustrations of fruit and veggie people on the cover.

The caption reads:

"MANY AMUSING CHARACTERS CAN BE MADE UP WITH THE AID OF

FRUIT OR VEGETABLES."

The interior is similar to that of the previous set:

Kinda creepy Mrs. Potato Head, no?

The last German set is more colorful and friendly seeming,

with bright colors and a happier looking Mr. P-Head.

Inside the "Mr. and Mrs. Funny Face" box.

This one's a jolly potato head, with a prominent pipe.

Coming up tomorrow: a licensed Mr. Potato Head made in England in the 1970s.

Vintage Valentines: Vegetable People

One of my favorite vintage toy lines is Mr. Potato Head, so it's probably not surprising that some of my favorite vintage valentines are those with similarly anthropomorphic characters. Here are my two most recent such finds, featuring friendly pea pod, lettuce, and carrot people.

Antique Show Find: Mr. Potato Head Knock Off

Mr. Potato Head and I have a longstanding love affair, but occasionally I succumb to the charms of one his imitators. This "Funny Face Kit" was made in Hong Kong in the early 1960s, a low grade knock-off of the original. The whole set is just 5 1/4 inches tall, made of cheap plastic attached to a thin card. Potato Head experts have discovered these originally came in cellophane bags, and were distributed via dime stores or as carnival prizes. Visit mrpotatohead.net, source of my arcane knowledge, to see more fun fakes.

Tiny Treasures: Vintage Gumball Machine Prizes

As a kid, I adored the gumball machines full of tiny toys in the entrance of the grocery store. I would save my change for weeks and then, like a casino slots addict, feed coin after coin after coin into my favored machine, never giving up my belief that if I put in just one more dime, I'd finally get whatever must-have item had obsessed me.

Once I grew up, I was delighted to discover that private citizens can buy their own gumball machines, and I now have 5 vintage venders full of fantastic treasures in my dining room. Still, I'm always on the lookout for cool gumball prizes when I'm antiquing (and actually, still at the grocery store too.) I found this lot at a show this summer, and it had some really great pieces, mostly from the 1960s-70s.

This may look like a pile of cheap plastic, and it is, 

but it's also full of tiny treasures.

My favorite piece was this little pink guy with a really big nose.

The oldest item was this Barney Google charm: 











Monster charms are always a good find; these are from the '60s.

Oh joy of joys: a bunch of Funny Froot rings! I lusted after these as a child, but sadly, only ever got the Avocado Man (second from right).

Keeping with the anthropomorphic theme: a smiling radish guy pin:











An itty bitty parachute toy, barely an inch long, and never opened:

And last but not least: tiny fish and clamshell charms. I can remember seeing these as a kid, too, and being profoundly disappointed when, several dollars worth of dimes later, all I had gotten were lame stickers.

Fisher Price Fire Trucks: Looky, Winky Blinky, and Snorky

Fisher Price made a wide range of paper lithographed wooden fire trucks over its long history, and they were some of the most popular toys in its line. Today, they are highly sought by both Fisher Price and firefighting collectors.

The earliest is the Looky Fire Truck from 1950-1954, so named because of its anthropomorphic face made from the bumper and headlights. Measuring 12 inches long, it came with 3 permanently attached round headed firemen, precursors of the famous Fisher Price Little People.

All the fire trucks had lots of action features. As this one is pulled, the bell clangs; Looky's eyes move as if he's searching for the fire, or perhaps watching for pedestrians; and the two firemen holding on in the back spin around and bob up and down. This early in the Little People evolution, they are only heads, as can be seen below:

The truck is beautifully lithographed in rich colors with lots of details, including ladders, axes, oxygen tanks, hose connections, and gauges.

Looky was followed by the Winky Blinky Fire Truck, made from 1954-1960.  The two toys were very similar, but Winky had all new graphics with a cutesier truck face. The firemen and action features were the same, but included the addition of a (non-working) wooden siren.

A radical redesign arrived in 1960 with the introduction of the Snorky Fire Truck. Made for only 1 year, the 15 inch long truck is much sought for its firemen, now full bodied. They, along with their dog, represent some of the earliest iterations of what would become the Fisher Price Little People.

Snorky is a no nonsense fire truck: gone are the goofy headlight-and-bumper face and the merrily bouncing firemen in the back. Instead, it features a real hook and ladder which can be raised, and the firemen can hold the hose in their attached plastic arms.

The Snorky dog is one of the very rarest of Fisher Price figures. He may look odd lacking ears, but that's how he was originally made.












 

This first version of the Snorky Fire Truck featured old fashioned illustrations in its design:





The next and final model of the Snorky was also made for only one year, in 1961. It featured updated lithography resembling more modern fire trucks,  but for some inexplicable reason, it didn't come with a dog.

The Snorky Fire Trucks, with their single-year production runs, crankable ladders, and fragile-armed firemen, are some of the rarest, priciest, and most sought after vintage Fisher Price playsets. If you ever spot one of the firemen (or, even more impossibly, the dog) while yard saling, snatch it up: it's a treasure!

Home Appliance Valentines

Keeping with yesterday's anthropomorphic theme are these 1950s valentines, featuring a television and mixer with happy faces and punning sentiments. The television says, 'Tune in channel mine, Valentine!' and the mixer 'Let's get mixed up with each other, Valentine! Batter say yes!'

Anthropomorphic Hearts Valentine Postcard

I just found this 1911 valentine postcard a couple of days ago, and it instantly became one of my favorites. The anthropomorphic heart people include a sobbing lady and a smirking man. What's their story, I wonder? The man looks like a rakish character, and he has clearly broken this lady's heart. I hope she finds the strength to move on, and will some day find true love, like that of Mr. Carrot and Mrs. Bean from last year's valentine posts...

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.