Pumpkinmobile Postcard

Halloween is fast approaching, and so is the pumpkin headed driver of the automobile on this antique Halloween postcard. Circa the early 1900s.

Note the jack o' lantern headlights, a clever touch. 

Creepy Antique Halloween Squeaker

One of the creepiest antique Halloween items in my collection is this little noisemaker. Circa 1915, it was made in Germany of lithographed cardboard and fragile paper, and is just under 3 inches tall.

The ghoulish face has eyes that move and change when the bellows behind are squeezed. Originally, it would have made a squeaky sound as well, but that part of the noisemaker has long since ruptured.

This squeaker was one from a set of several different faces. Some, like this one, featured moving eyes, while others had tongues that stuck out when the bellows were squeezed.

These white faces represent mangelwurzals, large, beet-like root vegetables used in some parts of the world instead of pumpkins for making jack o' lanterns. There was a similar set printed on orange cardboard representing the more familiar pumpkins.

Some of the other pieces from this set, along with the pumpkin version, can be seen in the books  Halloween in America, by Stuart Schneider (page 27 of the 1995 edition) and More Halloween Collectibles: Anthropomorphic Vegetables and Fruits of Halloween, by Pamela E. Apkarian-Russell (page 95.)

Antique Halloween Paper Dolls

From a 1917 issue of Ladies' Home Journal, a child who was very good with scissors cut these wonderful Halloween paper dolls.

The dolls include three children in period clothing. The back side of the dolls reveals their magazine origins, with portions of articles visible.

The costumes are beautifully detailed, and include a witch, a clown, and a jester. There is also an outfit featuring a bushel of apples for one of the dolls to carry.

The jester holds a pumpkin topped with a tiny witch:

The clown carries a parade lantern. These antique tin jack o' lanterns are now some of the rarest, most valuable, and most highly sought Halloween collectibles. You can see some original patent drawings for these lanterns at http://www.spookshows.com/patents/patents.htm.

Remco Mini Monster Play Case

Ah, the classic Universal Studios monsters: Dracula, the Mummy, the Wolfman, Frankenstein's Monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Phantom of the Opera. These movie monsters of the 1920s - 1950s saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1960s, when their films became late night television movie fodder, and again in the 1980s when Universal Studios featured them in their theme park merchandising and stepped up their product licensing. 

One of the best toy lines to result from these efforts came from Remco, which released their Mini Monsters in 1981. The 3 3/4 inch figures were the same scale as the era's popular Star Wars characters, making cross-over playtime dreams come true: Princess Leia captured by the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Darth Vader and Dracula in a battle royale: who would win? The Wolfman and Chewbacca becoming best friends. The Phantom playing with the Cantina band on Tatooine. The possibilities were endless. 

To house the figures, Remco created a play case, made of vinyl covered cardboard like so many playsets from this time period. With an interior of vacuum formed, brittle plastic and cardstock paper, it's fragile by today's standards, but nonetheless it's a gorgeously designed toy with tons of imaginative potential. Let's take a tour. 

The case is about 10 inches tall, and comes with a carrying handle. The front has a photo of the interior and describes the play features, while the back is illustrated to look like a haunted house. 

The action features described on the front are all made of heavy cardstock paper, and required some serious assembly work. Check out the instruction page: I don't think I would have the patience to follow this now, let alone when I was 12.

But once assembled, the monster playset was worth the effort. A little cardboard bridge helped monsters cross over a moat with a bottomless pit; a slab for Frankie came complete with rubberbands to hold him in place, and the table could be turned over to make him "disappear;" the mummy case opened; and the Creature from the Black Lagoon could be put into his cage covered holding tank whenever he needed a refreshing dip. 

All three of these items, the Creature tank, mummy case, and slab, had to be punched out, folded, and assembled, as did the bridge over the "bottomless pit," below.

The set featured great illustrations, as in the lab background above. But the much touted glow in the dark features simply consisted of three stickers to place over various items on the playset: the mask on the mummy case, the skull on the lab shelf, and the instrument panel for Frankie's table. 

The monsters themselves are very detailed, especially for such small figures. The Wolfman in particular is well done, capturing Lon Chaney, Jr.'s anxious expression well. 

He'll never be able to break free of those rubberbands, don't worry....

The set required careful closing and storage due to the fragility of the interior, and the detailed instructions included (unintentionally funny) directions on how to pack up the monsters: "Make sure that none of the monsters interfere with the closing of the playcase." Every time I read this, I picture the little monsters shouting, "Nooooo," shaking their tiny fists, and desperately struggling to prevent the case from closing, maybe by sticking an arm or leg in the way. 

Antique Halloween Postcard: Apple Bobbing

Here's a favorite from my collection of antique Halloween postcards. Circa 1906, it features wonderfully expressive apple characters plunging themselves gleefully into a tub, ready to take part in the classic party game of bobbing for apples.

On closer inspection, the apples' expressions become clear: those waiting for their turn to jump in the water look expectantly happy, while those already in the water appear distraught, only now fully comprehending their plight. In the background, a sinister jack o' lantern urges the hapless apples on.

"Wheeee! We get to go swimming!"

"Oh no! What have we done?!"

Schoenhut Rolly Dollys

Intended to amuse toddlers back in the 1900s, these roly-poly toys are the stuff of nightmares today.

The Rolly Dollys were a line of simple toys made by the Schoenhut Company of Philadelphia. Founded in 1872 by Albert Schoenhut, a German born toymaker, the firm lasted into the 1930s and was a prominent creator of fine playthings and childrens musical instruments. It is famed today for its toy pianos, Humpty Dumpty Circus playsets, and wooden dollhouse furniture.

The Rolly Dollys first appeared in 1902 and were produced through the 1920s in over 70 different styles. Some were based on advertising or cartoon characters like Buster Brown and Foxy Grandpa, while others represented children, clowns, police officers, and more.

Made of a composition or papier mache type material, the Rolly Dollys are weighted at the bottom so that they spring back upright and then bob comically (or terrifyingly, depending on your point of view) when pushed over. Some have chimes inside as well, producing a delicate tinkling sound (all the better to alert you to their approach.)

This assortment includes a couple of creepy clowns, 5 inches tall, along with a 10 inch comic character,  Happy Hooligan, and an unknown terror.

Here's Happy Hooligan, a newspaper cartoon character who first appeared in 1900. In print, he was a cheerful hobo wearing a tin can for a hat, but his Rolly Dolly representation is rather more disquieting. See the original Hooligan and learn his story by clicking here.

This unknown character, also 10 inches tall, sports a pointy hairdo and hypno-eyes, and his hands rest on his distended belly. He has a satisfied smile, as if he's just completed a large meal of small children.

This is really not something you'd want watching you while you sleep. 

The 5 inch clowns are of the Billiken type. Even with their small size, there's still something vaguely menacing about them, isn't there? Perhaps they should team up with Crandall's Acrobats and put on a spooky sideshow act.

Coming in October...

Yay: it's October! Time for scary toys, creepy dolls, and antique Halloween. Spooky stuff coming soon!

Yard Sale Trail Finds

The end of summer is approaching, and in my part of the world, that means its time for the Antique Yard Sale Trail, over 150 miles of treasure hunting along Michigan's beautiful eastern shoreline.

This year, we only had time to travel about 25 miles of the route, but that was enough to score some great finds.

First spotted was this toddler's rocking horse from the 1950s, done in a cheerful circus pony theme.

The back of the seat features a cute elephant illustration and the name of the manufacturer, The Delphos Bending Company of Delphos, Ohio. "What was the Delphos Bending Company?" we wondered, "and what exactly did they bend?" Well, originally it was called the Delphos Hoop Company, and they made barrel hoops, starting way back in 1900. In 1934, they added children's furniture and riding toys to their line, and this became their mainstay through the 1970s. The rocker above was called the "Teetertot Shoofly" and it was made in various styles for over 30 years. You can see a catalog picture of it here.

More vintage 1950s goodness was grabbed up at the next yard sale: this fantastic lucite box purse filled with starry glitter, made by Dorset Rex. I just bought this because I liked its kitsch quality and obvious vintage goodness, but it turns out lucite purse collecting is a huge hobby. Some purses sell in the hundreds of dollars, making this a giddy yard sale find. You can see lots more lucite bags and learn about their fascinating history here.

Sparkly!

As our trip was winding down, two different sales turned up a plethora of vending machines. I took home these two: a toy capsule machine still loaded with prizes (bonus treasures!) and an unusual candy bar dispenser. Needless to say, once these were loaded in the car it was time to head back home, as we had no more room and my travelling companion had endured all the shrieks of "Wait! Turn around! You just went past a good sale!" that he could take. Still, he did a great job of hauling these things, so I can't complain.

The leaves are already starting to turn their autumn colors here, so the yard sales are pretty much over until next spring. In the meantime, you can see reports of past Yard Sale Trails here and here and here. If it's still Yard Sale Season where you are: happy hunting!

Christmas in July

I rescued these from someone's trash on my way home from work tonight: a life-size, light up plastic reindeer and his snowmen friends. Can you believe someone threw these out?! Me neither.

1905 Steiff Blank Button Bear

My birthday was last week, and I got bears! Several antique teddy bears were among the presents, and one of them was something I thought I would never find: a Steiff teddy bear from waaaay back in 1905, still with its rare blank button-in-ear.

12 inch white Steiff bear, 1905.

This is a special bear with a very important place in teddy bear history:

Steiff of Germany designed the first plush jointed bear in 1902, and it debuted to the public in 1903. That bear wasn't yet called a "teddy," just a "bear." It was modeled upon, and looked like, its real life counterpart: large and fierce. In 1905, Steiff redesigned the bear, making it smaller and lighter and giving it a friendlier face, more of a "bear doll" than a toy bear. This model is the one that first had the "teddy bear" look so familiar to us today, and it inspired toy makers all over the world to design their own variations.

For the first year of this model's release in 1905, it came with a blank button-in-ear as a Steiff trademark, which was changed to a button with the company's name on it in subsequent years.

My bear is 12 inches tall, of white mohair, and came wearing a pair of blue overalls that suit him nicely. He has a whimsical, crooked smile. The wear to his nose appears to be damage from kissing, so I don't mind too much.

In profile, the features of early Steiff bears are clearly visible: long arms with curved, spoon-shaped paws, big feet, and a hump.

This bear was so popular, orders skyrocketed, and the Steiff factory sold nearly a million bears in 1907!

1930s Playskool Pullman

Two years ago, I finally found one of my most longed for toys: the Playskool Pullman, made for a very brief period in the early 1930s. You can read the original post about it here. Recently I found another one, in much better condition, with many of the accessories and details that were missing from my first find.

The pressed steel Pullman playset measures 11 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches, and was designed to resemble both a Pullman train car and a little suitcase. The leather handle made it easy to carry on a real train trip.

Two clear windows allow the little passengers to look outside, while a third window is covered with a decal printed to give the look of frosted glass.

The Pullman opens from the back, revealing  a compartment tucked behind green curtains.

Behind the curtains, a cozy compartment is unveiled, complete with benches and a fold away table. I've fitted it out with a tablecloth and some refreshments for the miniature French doll and Steiff bear travelling inside.

Above the passengers' heads, the sleeping berth is tucked away, ready to be pulled down in the evening.

Here's the berth pulled down, complete with sheets, pillows, and blankets.

To the left of the compartment is a small closet holding a porcelain sink, perfect for freshening up after a long journey.

I also found some old dollhouse sized luggage, perfectly scaled for the Pullman playset. The largest is a cardboard candy container, made in Germany in the early 1900s. The tiny red hat box is also German, while the black tin trunk was made by the Marx company.




All aboard the Playskool Pullman!