More Stuff From The Box
What's in the box? Everyone wants to know! Well, I'll tell you, in installments. This is the second fabled cigar box full of rare treasures rivaling King Tut's artifacts.
First up is this very unusual brass pin from the 1939 New York World's Fair. There's the Trylon and Perisphere, as usual. This example is missing every one of its rhinestones, there should be 32 of them in 2 sizes (and presumably in different colors. I've been tempted to replace them myself, but... sizing rhinestones isn't easy, and what colors should I get?? Plus... I'm lazy.
Next is this swell Bakelite pencil sharpener featuring a decal of the early, long-bill design of Donald Duck. I believe that he was redesigned in 1936 to look more like the Duck we know today, but I like this version! It's unusual that his sailor shirt is bright red, as well.
Why do I love crude, cheap little items like this thing? I always think of him as a farmboy, but it's hard really know. Maybe he's a cowboy. He's a little squashed and the paint isn't applied very well. And yet... I find it charming. I probably could sell him for a nickel if I tried.
Whoa, sorry if this next picture scared you! This golden ring weighs next to nothing, so it must be colored aluminum (anodizing seems awfully fancy for such an insignificant thing). A fearsome demon/monster face bares its bloody teeth at us, and at any yucky girl who happens to wander too close. I suspect that this was a prize from a gumball machine, but can't say for sure.
FDR won four Presidential elections, so he was in the White House for a long, long time (1932 until his death in 1945). I love this little badge (only .75" in diameter), "Roosevelt: Now More Than Ever". Somebody is selling one on Amazon for nearly $50, I can guarantee I didn't pay anywhere near that much.
If you ever need to saw teensy pieces of wood (matchsticks for instance), you could use this itty-bitty genuine steel saw charm. It's about 1.5" long and says "E.C. Atkins and Co. Silver Steel Saws". For all those carpenters who also happen to wear charm bracelets, I guess? Anyway, it's so nicely made.
And finally, here are three tin-litho whistles from various children's shoe stores (Buster Brown, Poll Parrot, and Red Goose). I think they are from the 1920s or 1930s. Some of them are well-used, the Buster Brown whistle has been scraped by baby teeth so much that I can imagine the poor parent who had to listen to the thing. I picked these up separately at various flea markets, and if I really cared, I might be tempted to look for minty examples. But... I'm not super worried about it.
I hope you have enjoyed today's Stuff From the Box!
20 comments:
I love that 1939 World's Fair pin, even without the rhinestones. Personally, I think you should replace the missing rhinestones with real diamonds!
I really like the long-billed version of Donald Duck. It seems like so many cartoon characters were more interesting in their original form, than their later "homogenized" versions (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Felix the Cat, the Flintstones, Gumby, The Simpsons, etc.).
Love the whistles. I have heard of Poll Parrot but always thought it was Paul, like a guy. Or I knew but forgot I knew which is more likely.
Donald before his bill reduction surgery is interesting, too.
But my favorite is the little saw. I remember County Fairs where I would come home with a bag of similar give-aways. All gone now but a few.
Thanks Major. You must be reaching into your box up to your elbow by now.
Zach
You had me at Bakelite and Donald Duck. What a find! I agree with TM. Way back Donald with the long bill was quite a character. A lot of silly.
I think you're right about the ring being a gumball item. It looks familiar. There were a lot of those machines in various places around town, and they got a lot of business from us kids.
That saw is pretty neat. Detailed enough to make it extra cool.
Thanks Major. Evidently you've found the Cave of Ali Baba and are not telling anyone. Good move.
Today was a fun one Major! The treasure trove continues.
I loved the whistles. Some of my earliest memories are of my grandmother taking me to Buster Brown Shoes in Huntington Park (near Los Angeles). Although even at my advanced age I'm too young to have had one of those whistles.
There was a Red Goose Shoes in Anaheim my mom took me to many times. Getting to be a loooong time ago. :)
Major-
I'm feeling a bit generous today... I'll offer you 6₵ for your little 'farmboy' or 'cowboy'. You're welcome-! (Now you can buy those rhinestones-!)
Gotta love that saw - it's so detailed.
Thanks, Major.
Grant,
I remember Mom bringing us too a big shoe store in the 50's (I don't remember the name) and they had a machine you could look in to and see an actual X-Ray of your foot. Wonder when they found out that it wasn't a great idea.
TokyoMagic!, I really do think I’ll eventually buy some rhinestones to replace the missing ones. It sure would be nice to use diamonds, though! The later version of Donald Duck is more sophisticated, design-wise - the old one really shows it’s rubber hose origins. But that’s what makes the old one great!!
zach, children’s shoe companies produced a lot of fun items over the years, though whistles seem to be the most popular, with those “clickers” coming in a close second. Don’t forget, I’m on my second box, and will soon be starting a third - this isn’t all one box!
DrGoat, I am really fond of those Bakelite pencil sharpeners, there are so many varieties, including different shapes and colors. You could spend a ton of money trying to get some of the rarer ones! The “demon” ring is fun, I like old gumball prizes like that. I have an earlier skull ring, and found one just like it on ebay for… $600!!
Grant, I’m like you, I don’t remember whistles like that - in fact I don’t think I ever went to a Buster Brown store. But there were other kid’s shoe stores, and at that time they gave away decoders and whistles that were more space-themed. Wow, Red Goose, I’ve never seen one of those stores!
Nanook, SOLD! But I only accept 6 cent coins. That little saw is surprisingly sharp, though it doesn’t look it. You might actually be able to saw a tiny piece of wood with it.
DrGoat, my mom used to tell me about shoe stores with X-Ray machines to look at your foot. So crazy! And yet… I’d like to look at the bones of my foot.
@ DrGoat-
Yes, what child could resist the 'excitement' of seeing the bones of their own feet, through the use of a fluoroscope machine-! We never shopped at shoe stores featuring such contraptions. (I was very jealous of those who did). But probably better-off for not doing so. Thanks Mom-!
These are some jim-dandy (Major-dandy?) Box things! Donald is my favorite Disney character so that’s my pick of the day. Who’d have known he looks good in red too? The ring is funny; could it be a gorilla? And the teensy saw is adorable.
Donald’s doing a jig...cute!
My vote’s for the charm saw, which I like better than a chain saw. Will add it to my Disney charm bracelet, that my dad started for me, about 50 years ago.
Thanks, Major!
It's the little saw for me. I love the details
The golden demon/monster face with its bloody teeth ring is cheesy, but I like it too. Just the kind of thing I'd get from a dime slot gumball machine back in the day. Way back in the day that is.
Thanks, Major.
I have a special affection for slightly off-model in any context. Wrong hair or costume colors, a character called the wrong name, some hint that somebody didn't study the property being licensed. A favorite was a Bullwinkle savings bond ad that had Sherman as a blonde. Another was a little Star Trek comic strip viewer, in which Mr. Spock said of a redshirt that "He was a good spaceman."
The little saw -- maybe a watch fob? When did pocket watches totally give way to wrist watches?
I do remember when little plastic trinkets all seemed to have a little loop, but I don't remember ever seeing them on bracelets. They were things to collect and play with, not wear. I recall managing to break the loop off some of them, which to my mind made them less girly.
Also remember TV commercials for Buster Brown, Red Goose, Keds, and PF Flyers -- usually with cool premiums, like a plastic whistle with signal mirror and magnifier lens endorsed by Jonny Quest. The only premium I remember actually having was a generic pencil carrier shaped like a giant pencil.
Exterior, daylight. High noon. A tumbleweed blows across the deserted main street of WESTERN TOWN, trailing red dust in its wake. The frightened but curious faces of TOWNSPEOPLE peer through storefront windows.
Enter GUNFIGHTER WITHOUT ANY NAME, stubbled face expressionless, one hand visible beneath the hem of his grimy poncho, hovering over his holstered gun. He waits in stony silence as FADED COWBOY BILL swaggers through the batwing doors of the COLORED ALUMINUM NUGGET SALOON.
BILL: Well, well, well. If it ain’t that feller what don’t got no name atall. (spits tobacco into eye socket of bleached cattle skull)
Cut to closeup on GUNSLINGER’s face. Hold just long enough for audience to wonder if projector is malfunctioning. Cut back to wide shot of BILL.
BILL: Whatsamatter, stranger? Ain’t got nothin to say? (laughs hysterically)
Cut back to closeup on GUNSLINGER. Hold for as long as he’s able to go without blinking. Some kind of bird makes a noise in the distance. A buzzard, maybe.
GUNSLINGER: I reckon I could probably sell you fer a nickel. (sound of pistol cocking) If’n I tried.
(Everybody shoots at once. Maybe somebody hits that buzzard from before.)
In all seriousness, though, this is one of the best collections from The Box(es) yet. Shiny and weird! The good kind of weird. I would put that tiny saw in my Nativity scene. Why wouldn’t Joseph bring his carpenters tools with him? And I love the Fair pin, unbejeweled or no.
Also, I heard “Whoa, sorry if this next picture scared you!“ in the voice of Count Floyd from SCTV.
My favorite here today is the monster ring, although I like the little farm boy, for obvious reasons.
Major, as you know, you provoked me into searching through my special boxes and I found a little ring something like today's post. Not a monster, but a flat red plastic gem with a little silver metal airplane set on top in the center. I remember wearing it, but not where I got it. It was cheap silver metal that you could bend or squeeze together to adjust the fit. I was all about aerospace back then, so it was great.
I sure remember Buster Brown and Red Goose shoes too. I don't think I ever got any. I think mine came from JC Penney or maybe KMart, and never included a whistle.
Here's to the bottomless box!
JG
Melissa, did you hear about the Blind Carpenter?
He picked up his hammer and saw.
Great screenplay, lets finish it up with a visit to the Indian Village!
JG
Dr. Goat, I vaguely remember the shoe store x-ray machines but I don't remember using one. My mom was pretty protective and probably realized it wasn't a good thing.
Major, I'm sure I got some store giveaways during those days. Who could have foreseen the value of saving them for a future when collectors like you would pony up big bucks for them. :)
Melissa, I nominate your Gunslinger story for Post of the Day. Are you a writer?
DBenson, PF Flyers, yes! The shoes that make you "Run Faster, Jump Higher". What boy couldn't resist them.
Kathy!, Since Donald Duck is your favorite character I think you will like the unique pic of him that I sent to Major for a future post. :)
Nanook, I really do wonder about all of the people who probably spent way too much time gazing at their bones through that device. Scary!
Kathy!, I’m glad you like the Donald Bakelite sharpener - it’s pretty swell! I don’t have a lot of very early Disney stuff ($$$), but the few things that I do have are lots of fun.
Lou and Sue, if you have to saw a lot of wood, you’ll be glad for a chain saw. But I used a nice old hand saw this very morning - quick and easy! Hey, let’s see a photo of your charm bracelet!
K. Martinez, it’s hard to resist the charm of a bloody-toothed monster! I feel like by the time I got things out of gumball machines, they were plastic or rubber, but that ring really is practically weightless it’s so thin.
DBenson, I’m the same way, which is why I like early Disney bisque figurines. They were made in Japan as cheaply as possible, and the crudeness is part of the appeal. Some are worse than others of course! And I have a few that are actually quite nice. Funny you mentioned Bullwinkle, I just created a “Stuff From the Box” post with some Bullwinkle items. Nothing amazing, but still fun. YES, P.F. Flyers, and remember Red Ball Jets? some of those premiums fetch amazingly high prices.
Melissa, I’m imagining your scene as shot by John Ford (see: “My Darling Clementine”). Drama! Action! Romance! Ennui! Tobacco juice! No fancy CGI robots necessary (though I wouldn’t mind, to be honest). Thanks for that!
Melissa, I’m glad you liked today’s selection; I took photos of a bunch of new items, and I think a lot of them are quite fun (your mileage may vary). Stay tuned!
Melissa, Count Floyd (or any other Joe Flaherty character - “Guy Cabellero”, “Sammy Maudlin”) is OK by me!
JG, hmmm, that ring you described rings a bell. I don’t have one, but I feel like I’ve seen photos of something like it. Sounds pretty cool! I have a few airplane-related rings, but wish I had more! My Navy mom had four kids to buy shoes for, we went to budget shoe places. I have probably mentioned my blue sneakers that turned purple after getting wet. I got lots of grief for my purple shoes.
JG, OUCH.
Grant, I’m thinking that there must have been smart-alecks who would lay down and x-ray their heads (or other body parts), imagine all that radiation, before people realized how bad it was! When I go to my dentist and they do x-rays, the heygenist leaves the room while I’m being zapped. And yes, I guarantee that people are going to like your special Donald Duck item!
You need to take a look at the American Restoration program where they attempt to restore one of those foot X-Ray machines. Season 1 Episode 14.
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