Fisher Price Donald Duck Drum Major

In 1939, Fisher Price released the Donald Duck Drum Major as part of its new Easter line. The 10 inch tall wooden lithoed pull toy sported a separate arm with an attached baton. When pulled, the arm moved jauntily up and down, and the baton swung around and around. Just a fantastic early Disney toy with lots of color and movement!

Fisher Price Dapper Donald Duck

Dapper Donald Duck was the star of the first Easter season toy line from Fisher Price, back in 1936. Measuring just under 8 inches tall, the little wooden toy featured colorful paper lithography with separate wings attached by a piece of rubber. When pulled, the wings flapped wildly. Dapper Donald was phenomenally popular, with thousands sold over its run. For all its popularity, however, it's hard to find today, precisely because of those wings. The rubber disintegrated over the years, and once wingless, the toy was typically discarded. My example happily escaped the rubbish bin, and has lovingly made replacement wings.

Fisher Price Easter Carts

Coming up this month will be vintage Fisher Price Easter Carts & Toys. Starting in 1936, Fisher Price began selling an Easter toy line to keep production and momentum going all year round. Many of Fisher Price's earliest Donald Duck toys were actually Easter releases, as the duck was a seasonally appropriate theme. Fisher Price also created what it referred to as "Easter carts," a wide variety of pull toys with an open truck bed, train car, or cart area that could be filled with Easter grass and candies and used as a child's Easter basket. These toys were all made of lithographed paper over wood, and many incorporated movement and sound effects into their design. Stay 'tooned...

...and have a Happy Easter!

Vintage Pranks & Jokes

Happy April Fool's Day!  

Here are some vintage pranks and jokes from my collection.

Rear View Mirror Mailable Joke Box, 1947

This little box is the size of a postcard, with a depth of about half an inch. The front advertises its contents as a "rear view mirror", while the back has space for an address and postage stamp: 

these could actually be mailed.

The joke is apparent once the box is opened:

There were hundreds of different mailable joke boxes like this one available in the 1940s and 50s, when they were all the rage for a time. This one was made by H. Fishlove & Co. of Chicago, a novelty company founded in 1914 which was one of the most creative of the joke box manufacturers.

The Shine Gallery has a large selection of old-store-stock joke boxes for sale, but sadly, I don't think you can mail them anymore...

Bang Gun, 1940s

A classic gag straight out of the old Saturday morning cartoons, the Bang Gun has a barrel containing a rolled up silk flag with the word "BANG" printed on it. When the trigger is pulled, the barrel springs open and the flag unfurls, revealing the words. The open gun measures 8 inches long. Not recommended for use on the easily startled.

Adams Snake Nut Can, 1930s

Another classic, the Snake Nut Can is still being made by the S.S. Adams Company of Asbury Park, New Jersey. This one probably dates to the 1930s. The can is all metal, while the snake features a fabric skin over a very strong metal coil spring. No one is fooled by this anymore; I've tried.

Trick Safety Pin, 1950s

I love the graphics on the package for this Trick Safety Pin Through the Nose gag, made in Japan circa the 1950s. He looks awfully jolly for having a pin stuck through his face.

If you like vintage pranks and gags, you'll love these books:

Cheap Laffs: the Art of the Novelty Item, by Mark Newgarden

and

Life of the Party: A Visual History of the S.S. Adams Company, Makers of Pranks and Magic for 100 Years, by Kirk Demarais. 

Trolls, trolls, trolls...

I'll wrap up this month's tour of the trolls with a chorus line of vintage Thomas Dam pieces, all made in Denmark in the early 1960s. Averaging 7 inches tall, these showcase the design variety inherent in the earliest trolls.

The slightly larger and darker troll on the far left is extra special: he was made for the European market. Such trolls are distinguished by darker, softer vinyl, heavier weight, and dark brown glass eyes. He was actually the first vintage troll I ever bought, discovered in a pile of junque at a rather shabby antique mall. Several years passed before I learned precisely what he was. Quite the find he turned out to be (if you're into trolls, I guess that is. If not, then I suppose he's not especially appealing.)

European-market troll on the left, American on the right.