Vintage Valentine: A Very Odd Gentleman

This is one of the oddest valentines I've ever found. If it wasn't for the caption printed on his shirt front, would you ever have guessed this was a valentine? Made in Germany in 1903, the monocled man's head can be spun upside down, changing his tufts of hair to whiskers. Either way, he's pretty creepy.

Vintage Valentine: Chalkboard Boy

Some of the "Other Stuff" I collect, besides toys, is vintage valentines. The variety of valentines produced over the past 200 years is incredible; I'm always surprised at what I find. For the next seven days, I'll share some of my latest discoveries.

First up: this mechanical card, circa the 1940s, which features a die cut "chalk board" window. As the wheel on the right is turned, the boy's arm moves across the window, appearing to write the words "I love you" on the board. Cleverly constructed, it's an ingenious little card.

Liddle Kiddle Kologne Doll

Found at a recent toy show, this Kiddle Kologne doll is so sweet! Made by Mattel between 1968-1970, it's from a whole line of scented mini dolls housed in plastic cologne bottles. The wee little vinyl doll is just 2 inches tall, while her bottle home measures a roomy 5 inches. This particular variety is Lily of the Valley, and while this isn't her correct bottle (there were different color combinations), she was still a steal at just a couple of bucks. Learn more about the Kiddle Kolognes (and some of their friends and relations) here.

 Lily in her bottle...

...and out of her bottle.

Back of the bottle, marked "Kiddle Kologne".

Miniature Dime Store Teddy Bear

Spotted at a recent toy show in a tray of miscellaneous smalls was this miniature teddy bear, just 3 inches tall. Bears like these were made in Japan from the 1930s-50s, and sold in dime stores and penny candy shops. They're not stuffed in the traditional way. Instead their velveteen fabric is glued over a molded composition or cardboard body. They have tiny glass eyes and bead noses, and often still retain their original ribbons when found.

Gold is the most frequently seen color; this brown one is a rarity. 

Toy Show Trollapalooza

One of our favorite toy shows takes place every January. Each year at this event I seem to find lots of one particular kind of toy, as if an unplanned theme runs through the show. For example, one year I found lots of vintage cereal premiums; the next year, it was robots; after that, old dollhouse dishes and tables. This year's show turned up loads of vintage trolls, very early ones made by Dam of Denmark in the 1960s, along with a couple of rarities. It was a veritable Trollapalooza!

The first finds were these two very early Dams, made in heavy European vinyl with glass eyes. The larger troll is the seldom-seen 5 inch size, and retains her original clothes and hair bows. Her mohair wig seems to have begun separating itself into dreadlocks.

The next finds included another 5 inch Dam, this one with short hair (which some early Dams did have), wearing a sweater lovingly knitted by his original young owner.

A troll biology tip---this one is a boy: you can tell by the pointy ears. Dam girl trolls have round ears (see above).

A particularly fine rooted hair troll.

At a nearby table the smaller 2 1/2 inch troll was spotted, a scarce rooted hair version with fabulous long locks and premium quality eyes.

What is a rooted hair troll? Well, most trolls were manufactured with swatches of mohair simply shoved and glued into their hollow head cavities. This was quick and therefore cheap, but not particularly secure. Rooted hair trolls had their hair inserted strand by strand through the vinyl, the same way a doll's hair is rooted. This made the hair very secure, but it also made the manufacturing process much longer and more expensive. Soooo...not a lot of rooted hair trolls were made, and if you find one, you should definitely scoop him (or her) up. These photos give a clearer sense of the difference between the two troll hairstyles.

My last find was an odd, rarely seen toy that was a knock-off version of the popular trolls. Itty Bitty Fings were made by Diener Industries of Sepulveda, California, in the early '60s. About 1 1/2 inches tall, the Fing is made from a rubbery substance similar to old pencil erasers. The hair is mohair, glued to the Fing's head. There were several different styles of Fings, all rather creepy looking. This one is still in his original bag...and he'll probably stay there, as he makes me a bit nervous.

An Itty Bitty Fing.