Antique Cracker Jack Bears Postcard

I've collected antique and vintage Cracker Jack prizes for several years, but I didn't have one of their iconic pieces, a Cracker Jack Bears postcard, until we found one this weekend at an antique show, buried deep within a tray of old postcards and photographs.

The Cracker Jack Bears were a couple of characters, probably inspired by the contemporary Roosevelt Bears and the concurrent teddy bear fad, used to promote the company's product back at the turn of the 20th century. They appeared in a series of 16 beautifully lithographed full-size postcards, and children were urged to collect them all.

This is number 14, with a copyright date of 1907, measuring 3 by 5 1/2 inches:

The back of the card reads:

"Sixteen Beautiful Post Cards, No Two Alike, (without this printing), sent Free to anyone who will mail us ten sides from Cracker Jack packages, reading, 'The more you eat, the more you want,' or mail us 10 c in silver or stamps and the side of one package. A 2 c stamp is enough to mail ten sides. Rueckheim Bros. & Eckstein, Chicago, U.S.A."

Antique Show Report

We went to our last antique show of the year yesterday, my favorite of the whole season. (Thankfully it was an indoor show, because we had our first snow yesterday as well...) Many of the past summer's shows were much smaller than usual due to "the economy", so it was a happy surprise to discover this show was larger than ever, and packed with old toys.

What did we get?

-a simple rocking horse made by the Mengel Company of Louisville, Kentucky in the 1920s-30s, in beautiful condition

-two tin litho and cast iron "Kingpin" bowling games made by the Baldwin Mfg. Co. of Brooklyn, New York, in the 1930s-40s

-a set of antique German dollhouse dishes and utensils in their original box, circa the 19teens-20s

-vintage dolhouse groceries, 1940s-50s

-a 1907 Cracker Jack Bears postcard

-a set of Flagg family dollhouse dolls MIB, 1950s

-a baggie full of very old German dollhouse furniture for only a buck! (The glue on the pieces had dried and given way, so they looked broken, but were not: all the parts were there and they were easily reassembled. Just goes to show: it's often worth rooting around in dealer's dollar bins of apparent junk...)

-a great old carousel photo, dated 1940


Pics to come this week!

More Views of Harry Potter Land

Here's the last batch of pictures from our recent trip to Harry Potter land at Universal Orlando, Florida. Enjoy, Potterphiles!

The Hogwarts Express Train:

A few views of the castle:

Dumbledore's office, part of the castle ride's queue area:

The dragon skeleton hanging from the ceiling of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, also part of the queue area inside the castle ride:

Mandrakes in the greenhouses outside the castle (securely locked up for visitor protection):

The Sorting Hat, the last feature seen in the queue area before arriving at the ride in the castle (it moves, talks, and gives you instructions on how to board the ride vehicle):

A street sign pointing the way to Hogsmeade:

 A view of Hogsmeade from Hogwarts' gates. (Note the boar statues at the entrance to the castle):

A close-up view of one of the buildings in Hogsmeade:

Back of the Three Broomsticks and Boar's Head Pub, with a good view of the crazy, crooked chimneys that dot the buildings in Hogsmeade:

This concludes our tour of Harry Potter land. There was SO much more that didn't make it into these pictures...but it'll have to wait for another trip!

Harry Potter Souvenirs

This, the latest of my posts about our recent trip to Harry Potter land at the Universal Orlando theme park, is devoted to my souvenir haul. The amount of amazing things for sale in the Potter shops was astounding; believe it or not, what's shown below is only a small sample:

These tiny bottles of Skele-Gro measure just 3 1/4 inches tall. (They were actually keychains.)

 The Monster Book of Monsters was tops on my Need-to-Get souvenir list, and it didn't disappoint. It rolls around, growls, bites, and snaps, just like the "real thing"!

There was a single-page edition of the Quibbler, complete with Spectrespecs, for sale in one of the shops:

Prefects and Department of Magical Law Enforcement officials could get new badges from a display at the end of the castle ride:

Soft and cuddly Pygmy Puffs are as irresistable in real life as they are in the books:

Much less cuddly was Mr. Filch's nemesis, the Fanged Flyer, complete with a Handler's Glove, on sale at Zonkos!

Of course, if you're using a Fanged Flyer, it's good to have an Extendable Ear nearby, in order to hear the outraged shouts of your intended victims, teachers, or mother:

The ear actually works; it has a microphone inside:









Another good item to have handy at all times is a Sneakoscope, which spins and flashes brilliantly at any nearby nefarious activity (or, when you install the batteries and give it a twirl):

No trip to Ollivander's would be complete without a beautifully boxed wand:

All that shopping tends to leave one famished. Good thing Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, and bottles of Pumpkin Juice were readily obtainable:

More Pics From Harry Potter Land

As promised, here are some more pics from our vacation to Harry Potter Land (at Universal's theme park in Orlando, Florida):

The Owl Post storefront:

A Quidditch trunk (the Bludgers actually jump and strain at their chains, making a thumping sound that can be heard from across the street):

Flourish & Blotts bookshop window (the photographs of Gilderoy Lockhart move):

Chocolate Frogs in one of Honeydukes shop windows (the large box opens and the frog moves):

Puking Pastilles in another of Honeydukes windows (an animated display, the stream of purple "puke" continually flows):

 Clippy, the magical licorice dispenser inside Honeydukes:

 Extendable Ears on display in Zonko's window:

The scene inside Zonkos joke shop: