Vintage Kitchen Playset

I have several of these vintage tin toy kitchen playsets: they line the counters and appliance tops in my real kitchen, which I never use. I think I've used my Easy Bake Oven more than I have my real oven, now that I think about it...It's futile to expect real food, or even coffee, at my house, but if you want to play kitchen, I can totally hook you up.

Anyway, here's my latest set, scored at an antique show last weekend. All made of lithographed tin in the late 1940s - early 1950s, the stove is by Marx while the fridge and sink are by Wolverine. For scale, the stove measures 12 1/2 inches high.

The fridge features great lithography on the inside door, revealing well-stocked shelves, and houses some unique pressed tin food items:

The stove has an opening oven door with a bright red rack inside:

And the sink actually works: a reservoir on the back can be filled with water, which then pours out through the tap!

A very retro kitchen set, indeed. Makes me want to go to Grandma's for some pie.

Vintage Barbie Case and Clothes

Found at a local antique show over the weekend was this 1962 Barbie doll case packed full of original clothes, accessories, and doll furniture. I love finding these cases: it's like a little treasure hunt, digging through the layers and (hopefully) discovering rare and valuable items buried deep within.

This one was a jackpot: beneath a surface strata of mommy-made, handknit clothes and individual Barbie pieces were three complete, very early Barbie outfits, each of which typically sells for more than the whole case cost me. (Woo-hoo! Happy Dance time!) The outfits (Sorority Meeting, Friday Nite Date, and Red Flare) were complete with their various purses, jewelry, shoes, gloves, hats, and even the serving tray and sodas with straws that comprise the famous accessories to Date.

The booklets seen in the lower right of the case feature ads for various Barbie outfits, including the three mentioned above (click on pics to enlarge):

One of the most amazing finds was at the very bottom of the case, packed in its own clear vinyl envelope: a real fur wrap (feels like bunny) in miniature, Barbie size! Clearly, this Barbie was not a member of PETA. Below, my Barbie, who has euphorically plunged into the case full of goodies, models her new wrap:

A small compartment in the case was loaded with more shoes, purses, belts, picture frames with Ken's image inside, a tiny turntable and Barbie records, tiny Barbie-sized "Fashion" and "Home" magazines, and, treasure of treasures, one of the hardest to find vintage accessories: the teeny-tiny medicine spoon that came with the Nursing outfit! The tiny pieces, including Barbie's pearl necklace, bracelet, and earrings, were carefully tucked into a large purse. Whoever the little girl was who owned this case originally, I thank her heartily now for the care she took to keep her toys together!

Antique Show Report

Yay: Antique Show season is here! I attended our area's first show of the spring over the past weekend. Although dealer numbers were down, and some of my favorites were absent, I did manage to find some great stuff:

-a 1962 Barbie case chock full 'o clothes and accessories, including some really hard to find pieces

-a set of lithographed tin toy kitchen appliances (fridge, stove, and working sink) from the late 1940s/early 50s

-a fantastic, primitive toy kitchen cupboard, circa 19teens

-and a German bisque and composition baby doll, probably made by Kestner, also in the 19teens

Posts and pics to follow!

Fisher Price Bouncing Bunny Cart

One of the last of the Fisher Price Easter Carts made for their special spring toy line was the Bouncing Bunny Cart, created in 1961. The 8 inch long wooden cart is lithographed in a colorful bunny design, and the separate, spring-mounted head bounces merrily as the toy is pulled along. The cart, which makes up the bunny's body, could be filled with candies and treats to serve as an Easter basket. A really cheery vintage toy!

Fisher Price Chick Basket Cart

One of the smallest and cutest of the Easter Carts made by Fisher Price is the Chick Basket from 1957. Only 6 1/2 inches long, the lithoed wooden pull toy features a yellow and blue paint scheme with a sweet little chick sporting her Sunday best. These carts originally had either a fibre board container or a straw basket attached to the back. Easily damaged or lost, they are usually missing when this toy is found. Mine has a vintage replacement basket that color coordinates nicely.

Fisher Price Bunny Engine

Fisher Price made a number of Bunny Engines for its Easter toy line over the years. These 10 inch long wooden trains had an open area in the back that could be filled with candy, enabling the toy to serve as an alternative Easter basket. This one dates from 1954, and features one of the later lithographed designs.

Fisher Price Donald Duck Cart

For its Easter toy lines from the 1930s - 1960s, Fisher Price featured pull carts with various spring themes (bunnies, ducks, chicks) and Donald Duck toys. In 1954, it combined the two to create the Donald Duck Cart, a lithoed wooden pull toy consisting of a cart that could be loaded up with Easter goodies, pulled by a cut-out Donald with acetate plastic feet. As the cart was pulled, Donald's feet flapped realistically.

Fisher Price Egg Truck

The Egg Truck is one of the oddest of the old Fisher Price Easter toys. Dating from 1947, it features a farmer duck with delicate felt arms driving a strangely designed truck as he delivers his load of eggs to market. Disturbing cannibalistic theme aside, the 12 1/2 inch Egg Truck made a very practical Easter basket, as parents could load up the truck bed with candy and treats. The Egg Truck is very hard to find today, as it wasn't made for very long, and the duck's felt arms were damaged quite easily.

Fisher Price Duck Cart

For its Easter toy lines, Fisher Price made a number of small carts with fibre board containers that could be filled with jelly beans or other small Easter candies. These are hard to find now, because the fibre board was so easily damaged. My example, the Duck Cart from 1946, still has its container, but it has typical wear and repair. Still a cute Easter cart!

Fisher Price Granny Duck Cart

This Granny Duck Cart is from the 1941 Fisher Price Easter toy line. It's one of my favorites from their Easter Cart selections. Measuring just under 9 inches tall, the lithoed wooden pull toy is essentially a little cart with a head: Granny Duck's benevolent, bonneted face bounces along at the front, while the body of the cart could be filled with Easter treats.

Nowadays, we use it as transportation for the miniature bears: they love to go for rides in the "Duckmobile".

Fisher Price Humpty Dumpty

One of the oddest toys ever made by Fisher Price, its 1957 Humpty Dumpty was advertised as a crib and pull toy. The strange, double-sided item is made of lithographed paper over wood and measures 10 inches long when fully extended. One side features Humpty pre-fall, sitting on his brick wall and smiling merrily (albeit with creepy, huge, wobbling eyes). The other side shows Humpty post-fall, splayed upon the grass and sobbing. In the center of the toy, a small yellow ball meant to represent Humpty's "yolk" spins freely, and jingle bells attached to each of his arms ring as the toy is pulled along. A crib toy? Not unless your intention was to give your infant nightmares, I'd say...just look how he stares at you...

It's Easter: eat an egg today!

Fisher Price Bunny Bell Cart

One of the cutest of the Fisher Price Easter Carts is the Bunny Bell Cart, first made in 1941. It was so popular it was made for several years and went through some slight design variations. Measuring 9 1/2 inches tall, it features an adorable bunny drummer with separate arms holding wooden capped metal drumsticks. As the cart is pulled, the bunny beats the heck out of a tin bell, creating what was surely a horrendous racket to the ears of tired parents on an Easter morning 69 years ago. The open cart area in the front could be loaded up with Easter treats and the whole thing presented as an alternative to the traditional Easter basket.

Fisher Price Rock A Bye Bunny Cart

Dating from 1940, the Rock a Bye Bunny Cart is one of the earliest of the Fisher Price Easter carts, items that were cleverly designed for use as Easter baskets as well as pull toys. The 12 1/2 inch tall wooden toy features great lithography of a grandpa bunny, with separately attached arms that actually rock the cradle as the toy is pulled. The cradle could be filled with Easter grass, candy, and small toys and gifted on Easter morning to a lucky child. The Rock a Bye Bunny Cart is hard to find, as its production run was brief, and the moving mechanism was susceptible to breakage. It's one of the most charming antique toys I've ever seen, and I really treasure mine.

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.

Viking Troll

The Troll-Finding-Gods have smiled upon me this week! Yesterday I scored one of my most-searched-for 1960s trolls: a hard-to-find Viking. These odd trolls were predominantly sold in Scandinavian gift and souvenir shops. This 7 inch version sports a rabbit fur beard and hair, original felt outfit, and molded helmet and boots. He's marked "John Nissen Denmark" on his back.

He's ready for some looting and pillaging, or perhaps the opera.

Teddy Troll Got a Girlfriend!

It's strange how things happen sometimes in toy collecting: you can search for a toy for years, and then, after you find it, all of a sudden you see another one, and another one...

I had looked for the rarely seen "Teddy Bear Troll" for about 2 years before I found this one, posted a couple of weeks ago. And just a few days after posting about him, look what turned up: the girl version (you can tell by her stereotypical girly attributes: long hair, bow and heart patch) in minty condition, complete with her original tag! She's the only one I've ever seen with a tag, and so, finally, we know the actual name and maker of this very odd troll. These were called "Neanderthal People" and were made by Timely Toys of Brooklyn, New York in the 1960s. Like the early troll dolls, they were advertised as "good luck" charms, but in reality, they have a rather disturbing appearance...