Wednesday, October 21, 2020

More Stuff From The Box

It's time for yet another selection of junk - er, I mean, treasure - from a cigar box where I have squirreled away various flotsam. As I have mentioned before, most (but not all) of the items in this box are relics from various World's Fairs.

Oh boy, "Guest of Honor"! I wonder what important person wore this magnificent ribbon? It was "Florida Week", we can view a souvenir program online. Maybe this belonged to Dr. John J. Tigert, President of the University of Florida. I'm creating a "certificate of authenticity" on my computer at this very moment.


From "Guest of Honor" to "Junior Good Will Ambassador" - we're movin' on up to the East Side, with a deluxe brass badge that we can flash at cops and maĆ®tre d's for preferential treatment everywhere. Novelty badges were a big deal in the 1930's, and rare specimens (some Mickey Mouse examples) can go for huge bucks.


Bakelite (full name: polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride) is the first widely-used synthetic plastic, famous for its many uses: old telephones, kitchenware, toys, jewelry, radios, and so much more. Its non-conductive properties made it useful as insulators for electronics like, I don't know, early iPhones or something. The bakelite exhibit at the Fair had a machine that molded colorful pins for you while you watched. You'll see some of those in the future! For now, enjoy this foil sticker.


Here's a World's Fair item, but not from New York . It's a pin from Expo 58 in Brussels - the first post WWII World's Fair, famous for the Atomium. This star (designed by Lucien De Roeck) was the official logo, and is seen on a plethora of souvenir items. Attached to the pin we have some plastic binoculars - a stanhope (an optical device that enables the viewing of microphotographs without using a microscope.) There's a tiny glass lens that you can look through and see a photograph of any old thing. Unfortunately the photo in this example is so faint that it is impossible to discern what it pictured.


This little plastic stickpin is an ad for The Equitable Life insurance company. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you about life insurance for an hour or two. I bought this years ago, having been told that it is from the 1939 World's Fair, but I'm not so sure now. The sculptural part of the pin is only about 1 inch tall, and my guess is that it shows a mother embracing her child, while an angel hovers protectively over them. Or maybe she's a vampire?


The Wonder Bakery had its very own pavilion at the 1939 Fair. The ultra-soft white bread was the "food of the future", and I know its the favorite bread of everyone who reads GDB. The spongey texture, the way it sticks to the roof of your mouth... what's not to like? The building resembled the famous Wonder Bread wrapper, with cheerful polkadots of red, yellow and blue - I've always loved the look of it. Here's another souvenir sticker to put in your scrapbook.


How about one more brass badge from the 1930s? You too could be a "secret operator" in Melvin Purvis' fight against crime in America. Purvis became noted for leading the manhunts that captured or killed bank robbers such as Baby Face Nelson, John Dillinger, and Pretty Boy Floyd. In 1936, Melvin hosted a children's radio program called "Junior G-Men", sponsored by Post Toasties. There are a series of badges of increasing rank (and rarity) that are sought after by weirdos like me today. I have a few more, somewhere or other.

J. Edgar Hoover was supposedly very jealous of Purvis' public-hero status and glowing press coverage.


Never fear, there's more stuff in the box!

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Just a note to let you know that, starting today, I will be away from home for just over a week. It's possible that I may not be able to respond to comments as easily as I normally can, though I will do my best.

14 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

Wow, more great items from "The Box!" Major, all I have to say is, fish don't fry in YOUR kitchen and beans don't burn on your grill!

Is that the Disneyland/Sleeping Beauty Castle logo, in the center of the "star" pin from Expo '58?

Thanks for sharing more of your World's Fair collectibles with us, Major!

MIKE COZART said...

Those WonderBread Polk-a-dots represented vitamins!! Neat stuff Major!!

Andrew said...

I have an Honorary Citizen of Disneyland pin-back button that my uncle got me, and while cool, it doesn't beat being a Junior Ambassador (or Guest of Honor) of the World's Fair!

I like the orange and blue color schemes, too. Thanks, Major.

Budblade said...

“The bakelite exhibit at the Fair had a machine that molded colorful pins for you while you watched. You'll see some of those in the future! For now, enjoy this foil sticker.“
Ohh! You got me with the old switcheroo. You got my hopes up, and then dashed them on the rocks.
Such an emotional roller coaster 2020 is!

I think I like sarcasm, but it’s hard to convey in comments.
ThaNks Major for showing us these, and I await future posts with colorfull Bakelite pins.

Anonymous said...

I hope that cigar box is held inside a lock box that's held inside a wall safe inside of a fortress inside of a school zone (you don't mess with those!)

Very nice items, Major! "G-Man?" heck, I'd be satisfied being a "Jr F-Man!" I have no idea what that means, but F comes before G. Just saing.

My whole house is made out of Bakelite! It's kind of a House of the Future of the Past Before The Other House of the Future. We're working on the name...

DrGoat said...

Neato stuff. Lots of cool items from the mini-vault. That Bakelite exhibit must have been something else. Nothing like cooking with formaldehyde to bring in the people. Still, must have been pretty cool. I have a set of Bakelite poker chips I got at the gem show that look great. Swirly green, tan and red. Maybe someday they'll get used in a poker game but I highly doubt it.
That is some treasure box Major. Congratulations and thanks.
PS, thanks for all the comments on that Halloween costume my uncle made. He was indeed very talented and I can't imagine growing up without him in the family. He died when he was 66 and it amazes me to think I'm 4 years older than that now. Eeek.

"Lou and Sue" said...

Major, are you sure you want to announce when you’re away?? I fear that some of our Jr. Gorillas may misbehave!

Nanook said...

Major-
I see "The Box" has returned full of goodies to share. I'm most curious about the molding machine at the Bakelite exhibit. (Developed by Leo Baekeland, don't-cha know). My experiences dealing with 'changing' Bakelite, such as cutting it or burning it created the most god-awful smell. I can't imagine that odor wafting-thru the fair exactly being 'good for business'. (Perhaps the mere act of 'molding it' produced the soft scent of roses...)

Thanks, Major.

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, it is true, I never fry fish in my kitchen. Rumpus room only! I thought of the Disneyland castle on that Expo ’58 logo too, not sure what it’s supposed to be.

Mike Cozart, is that true??

Andrew, it would be extra cool if they gave out little brass badges like these instead of cheap-o pinback buttons. But… I guess it’s too expensive.

Budblade, if I have dashed someone’s hopes and made their day a little worse, then my work here is done! The Bakelite pins aren’t “in the box”, otherwise they would have made it into today’s post.

Stu29573, yes, it is in a vault with hardened-steel walls 3 feet thick. You’d think that with the term “Fed”, maybe there WOULD be an “F-man”. A house made of Bakelite, I like it! Sort of a “House of the Future”, 1930s style.

DrGoat, I watched a video of somebody trying to make their own Bakelite, it came out horrible, I guess it’s pretty hard to make. I learned that there are two types of Bakelite, and both had their issues. Those poker chips sound pretty neat. Wow, your Uncle died way too young. These days I expect people to live until at least their mid-70s if not longer, though I know “stuff happens”.

Lou and Sue, I am leaving you in charge!

Nanook, I don’t know much about the molding machines or the smell! Do you have a lot of experience cutting and burning Bakelite?? I once had one of those pins I mentioned, it had a weird film on it. Several websites said you could clean Bakelite with acetone. So I stupidly went ahead and used some, only to melt the darn pin. And it was a very rare deep blue color, I’ve never found another one. DUMB.

zach said...

Check out the Bakelite song featuring Julie Andrews! https://youtu.be/pvAMr0LNkfE

Major, I wish my cigar box was as big as yours. My collecting has been accidental, mostly.

So may badges you can get away with anything.

Thanks!

zach

Anonymous said...

Zach, that is brilliant! And there's no way I could ever sing that song. Ever.

Anonymous said...

Major, as always, love these posts from the Box.

You have inspired me to root around, and I uncovered my wallet card commemorating my visit to the Space Needle. I'll send a scan if you like.

JG

"Lou and Sue" said...

Major, haha! You have to worry more about ME than the others.

I like the pin from "Expo 58 in Brussels" the best.

Fun post - thanks, Major!

MIKE COZART said...

MAJOR: it’s true!! Each color is a different vitamin the bread is enriched with. In early commercials as the loaves of bread talked to each other in the store , they boasted how “healthy” they are for you ...and they named each vitamin added and the color circle would create the logo - and the vitamin printed in the circle faded away...