Green, Yellow, and Orange Smurfs? No, They're Empire Gnomes!

Smurf collectors, in their pursuit of rare variations of the little blue figurines, sometimes come across what appear to be anomalies: Smurf-like characters in odd shades of green, yellow, and orange.

For quite awhile, confusion reigned in toyland over these items: they were pretty clearly Smurf knock-offs, but what were they? I had no clue, but I knew I liked them. Finally, I somehow chanced across a vintage ad in an old monster movie magazine, and there they were, but with a name: The Gnome Family, made by an American company called Empire in the 1970s.

The ad, copyrighted 1978, reads: "Lovable, laughable GOOD LUCK little folks that get you where your heart is. Adorable as they frolic in their gnome-sized playworld. Collect them individually or in sets and take them gnhome. Sold wherever toys are sold."

"Take them gnhome"...hee hee...anyway, Empire Gnomes have lately become rather popular collectibles in their own right, and snippets of information about them have begun to appear online.

The vinyl figurines are the same size as vintage Smurfs, about 2 1/2 inches tall, but they lack the tiny little "button" tail. (Maybe Empire thought that would be enough to avoid a copyright lawsuit.) Their accessories are made from a rather cheap, brittle plastic, unlike the high quality European vinyl of the Smurf sets. While the gnomes turn up from time to time, the playset pieces are much more scarce, probably because of this fragility.

The playground set included a ferris wheel (9 inches tall), a merry go round, and a treehouse with a swing and a slide on the back.

The little guys with their hands over their mouths are meant to look like they're giggling (a clear infringement on Jokey Smurf), but placed in the whirling merry go round, it rather appears they're about to vomit instead, doesn't it?

Check out the guy on the top. Apparently, in Empire Gnome Land, you're allowed to take big frothy mugs of beer on the ferris wheel. (Also, toy standards were clearly different back in the '70s. Can you imagine the parental outrage over Beer Swilling Gnome if  he were released today?)

Crazy Eyes Gnome welcomes you to his treehouse. 

Vintage German Gnome Thingy

Another vintage German gnome from my collection is this ceramic piece, made in Germany circa the 1930s.

Measuring 5 inches long, the tiny, smoking gnome is flanked by two hollow "tree stumps." I'm not quite sure what purpose these served: perhaps they originally held salt and pepper shakers (I'm guessing mushroom shaped ones) or they're meant as planters for small flowers?

Mushroom Village

I have a thing for mushroom houses. It kind of goes hand in hand with my thing for gnomes.

These three pieces were made in different countries at different times, but together, they make a perfectly lovely mushroom village.

 

 

The littlest house, on the left, is only 3 3/4 inches tall. Made in the German Democratic Republic in the 1950s, it's actually a traditional German wooden novelty known as a "smoker". The mushroom lifts off the base, upon which a small cone of incense is set. When lit, the mushroom house is replaced, and the smoke drifts out through the tiny black chimney on the roof. The effect is totally charming, and makes everyone who sees it wish they could hang out in the cozy little mushroom.

The windmill in the middle was made in Japan circa the 1960s, and is actually a bank. There's a slot on the top for coins, and a trap door on the bottom to get them out again.

The last house is from Poland, and dates to the 1980s. It's a nesting item: the top of the mushroom lifts off, and inside are a set of tiny gnome ninepins and a ball, all made from wood.

 

One unlucky little gnome has to be stored upside down, or they won't all fit.

The little gnome ninepins are so super-cute, I can't bear to roll the ball at them.

Flagg Flexible Dollhouse Dolls

These homely little dolls may not look like much compared to the oh-so-chic mod Barbies of the previous post, but they have a charm all their own, as well as a wonderful history. (I learned most of this history from the fantastic book Dollhouse and Miniature Dolls, 1840-1990, by Marcie and Bob Tubbs.)

The little dollhouse family of four includes a mom and dad, just over 4 inches each, and a boy and girl, just under 3 inches. They're made of a solid, flexible vinyl over a wire armature, and feature naively handpainted features, hair, and shoes with felt and cotton clothing. The tiny dolls were made by the Flagg Doll Company in the 1950s.

The firm began in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, just after WWII. The founders, Sheila and Charles Flagg, met during the war while she worked in a factory and he served at the Navy ship yard. Sheila was the artistically creative side of the partnership, sculpting the dolls from soap, designing and sewing their clothes, and painting their hair and faces. Charles was the mechanically creative partner. He made the molds, created the special casting oven, designed a hydraulic press to cut out the clothing, and invented a stapler to affix the clothing to the dolls. He also handled the advertising and business end of things.

The family's children sometimes helped in the factory as well. The Tubbs report in their book that "daughters, Leslie and Penny, first painted toenails and fingernails on dolls before graduating to painting faces. Neither daughter was allowed to be a 'costumer' after Leslie stapled her finger on the foot powered machine. One person in the factory boxed dolls, a thankless and unpopular task, as it was difficult to place the feet in the pre-cut tab openings. The Flagg's youngest child, Charles III, was often the nominated 'boxer.'"

The Flagg's first dolls came out around 1947, and appealed not only to children but also to child psychologists, who used them in diagnostic play with their young patients. As dollhouse play declined in the 1970s and '80s, this clinical market became the Flagg's biggest customer.

Besides the standard dollhouse family, the Flagg Company offered a vast range of creatively themed dolls, such as storybook characters, professions (nurses, doctors, police officers, teachers), a wedding party, nuns, Pilgrims, household domestic staff, and countless more.

Profitability became an issue as cheap import toys began flooding the American market in the 1970s and '80s, and the company, after being sold following Charles' death, finally closed in 1985.

The charming little dolls, with their rich history as part of one of the last American family-owned and run toy companies, are a precious addition to any collection. I was thrilled to find my set in a box of bargain priced "junque" at a local sale. Even in their well loved and played with condition, they're still tiny treasures.

Mod Barbie Fashion Find

Mod-era Barbie clothes are just fantastic things, reflecting the daring, day-glo designs of their time (1967-1972). The individual outfits were given creative names by their designers, like "Maxi 'n Mini," "Knit Hit," and "Velvet Venture." They are also fragile things, made of glittery metallic and foiled fabric, velveteen, vinyl, and synthetic fur. These two factors combine to make mod-era Barbie fashions desirable, scarce, and costly. I've not been willing to pay the extortion-level prices usually asked for such pieces, and so my mod Barbies have sadly remained naked. Until now.

 While browsing some sales late last week, I stumbled upon a "bargain box" full of modern (1990s-2000s) Barbies. I was going to pass over them, as modern Barbies don't interest me much...but then I thought I better take a closer look at the box "just in case."

Well, it's a good thing I did: the contemporary Barbies were all clothed in original 1960s mod-era fashions, including some of the most highly sought Barbie clothes out there. Each doll was priced at $2.00, and at the bottom of the box was a plastic baggie filled with more mod pieces, the whole bag labelled $3.00. The score was about $250.00 worth of vintage Barbie clothes for $9.00!

 In the bag were the sleeveless minidresses "Knit Hit" & "Togetherness" (upper right), Francie's far-out and furry turquoise corduroy poncho (center), and 2 pieces from Sears' exclusive "Glamour Group" (bottom right), as well as a cool bowling bag and some vintage shoes.

The bag also included a couple of "mommy-made" pieces (top, left and right: stripey dress and yellow sweater/floral skirt ensemble).

After I recovered from my swoon, I rushed the Barbies home, where they were stripped and given to a friend who likes the new dolls. The vintage clothes were gleefully adopted by my mod Barbies, who model them below.

My blond Hair Fair Barbie sports the fabulous, and rarely found, "Maxi 'n Mini," a turquoise foiled maxi coat with a metallic striped mini dress. This outfit originally came with matching thigh-high boots, which were incredibly fragile and seldom survived. 

 

Check out that fab faux fur collar!

My blond TNT (Twist 'n Turn) Barbie models the coat from "Velvet Venture," a cool pale green plush with gold braid trim.

My brunette Hair Fair Barbie showcases one of the mod-era's day-glo outfits, which was named "Hurray for Leather" by Mattel designers who were apparently unaware of the naughty allusions this title could stir up amongst a certain group of sex fetishists. Unfortunate naming aside, this is one of the coolest of the mod fashions, consisting of a leather-look yellow vinyl miniskirt with day-glo orange shag trim that matches the sweater, completed with yellow "pilgrim" shoes.

She's ready for a night of go-go dancing...

My mod Barbies are thrilled with their extensive new (and cheap!) wardrobe.

To see lots more mod Barbie fashions, check out Carnaby Street at modcolors.com.

Back-to-School with the Fisher Price Safety School Bus

It's September, so I thought we ought to take a little trip back-to-school with one of the classic theme-related toys made by Fisher Price: the Safety School Bus.

The first version of the bus came out in 1959, measured 14 inches long, was made of wood with a transparent plastic roof, and originally included 6 passengers. (More on the passengers in a minute: they're very important!)

 The roof has a removeable wooden piece that allows access to the bus interior, where the passengers nestle in holes cut in front of their seats. This holds them securely in place as the bus is pulled. Can't have kids falling over all willy-nilly as you're going down the road...

The front of the bus features headlight "eyes" and a friendly driver, along with a moveable stop sign that can be flipped out and tucked back (the "safety" component of the Safety School Bus). The headlight eyes and the driver turn back and forth as the bus is pulled.

That is, amazingly, the original pull string.

The back end of the bus holds 2 naughty children who spin and bounce wildly as the vehicle is pulled, a touch of realism that I remember vividly from my own school days. (I myself always sat up in front with the nerdy good kids...)

 
And speaking of those kids: what makes the Safety School Bus such an historically significant toy is its inclusion of the first iteration of what would eventually become the famous Fisher Price Play Family Little People. These 6 simple peg people evolved over the years to become the "green dad," "blue mom," and their children, familiar to any of us who grew up in the 1970s. In their earliest form, these Fisher Price "little people" measured 2 - 3 inches tall, with plastic collars and hats and wooden bodies covered with lithographed paper. This paper invariably peeled, and the concept was quickly abandoned in favor of painted bodies, which makes people with their paper extremely difficult to come by, and priced accordingly.

The third child from the left has the "crabby" face which was retained on some Little People boys all the way into the 1980s. My favorite, though, is the one on the far right, with the comically ginormous head.

In 1962, Fisher Price released a redesigned bus (no transparent roof or removeable insert) with restyled "little people", who now had painted bodies and some interesting shapes. (In between this and the original bus, there had also been an unpopular version, with stationary, printed eyes on the front end.)

"Yeah, I'm lookin' at you, kid..."

There's the infamous "crabby boy" again, and observant readers will note the similarities to the FP Nifty Station Wagon family, who debuted in 1960.

To learn more about the development of Fisher Price's Little People, check out This Old Toy's great history page.

Happy September everyone!

Vintage Allan Doll

Found at the same time as the mod doll case in the previous post (in fact, it was found in the mod doll case) was this vintage Allan doll, companion to Barbie's friend Midge. (I don't have a Midge, so we pretend my Allan has eloped with my Barbie instead.)

Allan was initially only made for a couple of years, from 1964-1966, but this one managed to amass quite a wardrobe in that time.

He's got swimwear (including a snorkel, mask, and fins), tennis togs and shoes, a letterman sweater, jeans, khakis, bermuda shorts, a bowling shirt, polka dotted boxers, pinstriped pajamas, and loads more. Some of my favorite pieces are shown below:

I especially like the two-tone shoes
and the stripey socks!











Allan came in his original outfit of blue swim trunks, striped beach jacket, and cork-soled sandals:

Here he models for us his color coordination skills:

 Stylin'!

Mod Doll Case & Vintage Dawn Dolls

I found this unusual mod-era doll case the other day. It's a generic case, not affiliated with any particular doll line, but it has great mod fashion illustrations on the front, all done in electric lemon yellow and hot pink.

It's the perfect home for my set of vintage Dawn dolls, made by Topper Toys from 1970-1972. The Dawn dolls were tiny, only 6 inches tall, and featured "real" eyelashes, groovy, glittery clothes, and lotsa makeup. My Dawn dolls came to me from teddy bear artist extraordinaire Peng Peng, who very kindly thought of me as she was de-stashing them (thanks, PP!)

(I suspect the second doll from the right is a special edition "streetwalker Dawn," or possibly "I've run away from home and become a go-go dancer" Dawn...)

 Here's the standard Dawn herself, in all her spangly fuschia glory:

And here's her friend, Jessica, who's a bit less flower-child-like:

For a size comparison, here are the Dawn dolls with a mod-era Barbie. It's like a scene from that old "Land of the Giants" TV show:

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.