More From the Big Bag o' Pins
Hey! Remember the Big Bag o' Pins? The last time we delved into the bag was AUGUST, 2023. There were technical issues (all of the original photos disappeared, basically), and I dragged my feet about redoing the pix. But now they're finished! And it's time to "enjoy" a random selection. As a reminder, this bag generally contains oversized pins (anywhere from 2.5" to 4" in diameter, with a few exceptions), I'd pick them up one at a time, and they accumulated until I had two bags full. I know it's an odd grouping, but maybe that will make them more fun?
First up is this pin that was a real mystery to me. "Walt Disney's DANNY: Special Award Winner" - huh? In spite of never seeing the 1948 film "So Dear To My Heart", I was aware of the character of Danny, the little black lamb. This pin was in a case at the Glendale All-American Toy & Advertising Show, and I bought it just for the heck of it.
Doing a bit of research, it turns out that the pin was originally part of a plush doll of Danny, with his blue ribbon for being, I dunno, cool or something. I don't have the doll, but I have his Special Award! Sorry, Danny, it's mine now.
Next is a pinback button that was given to me by a friend when Disneyland's Submarine Voyage reopened in 2007 with its "Finding Nemo" theme. My friend knew that I was very happy to have subs back, and I still am glad that we have them, though I do wish the attraction could be spiffed up a bit. Hard to believe that it has been 17 years since it reopened!
This next one is one of my favorites! "Welcome to Refreshment Land"! I love being refreshed. I know basically nothing about this pin other than what is obvious; is it from a specific amusement park? Was it used at many fairs, carnivals, and other events?
Since childhood, I've been a "Peanuts" fan; I had many softcover books containing old Peanuts comic strips; I had some sort of toy that helped lame-os draw Charlie Brown, Linus, and others (I wish I could remember what it was called); and one year, for my birthday, my mom got me a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake with royal icing versions of Charlie Brown and Snoopy on it. So I'm legit, see? Which is why I have this giant 6" diameter pin (well, it can't be worn, it has a cardboard easel-style backing) featuring Snoopy atop his doghouse, while a flock of pre-Woodstock birds talk about important social issues and the latest best-selling books.
And finally, here are two different lenticular pinback buttons from Universal Studios (Hollywood). Like most lenticular pins, this one flashes between two scenes; one shows the terrifying COLLAPSING BRIDGE, which debuted in 1974. The other scene shows a Glamour Tram passing through a "hot" set, all of the lights are pointed at us. Ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille!
For some reason, this next Universal Studios lenticular pin was harder to photograph, especially with the tears of frustration in my eyes. I have no proof, but I believe that this one is a bit older than the previous example, the graphics on the left image remind me of some brochures from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
I hope you have enjoyed today's pins!
10 comments:
Major-
An interesting assortment of buttons. I can't help but think the "Welcome to Refreshment Land" has something to do with a drive-in movie theatre snack bar, especially since our little eskimo buddy strongly resembles the eskimo from the Eskimo Pie... but probably not.
Thanks, Major.
"I love being refreshed." Major, I just pressed the F5 key on my computer to refresh you. Did you feel it? Did it feel good? :-D
As Nanook sorta said, I think the fur-clad boy is one of the logos for Eskimo Pie ice cream bars. Not sure how the pin ties in to that though.
Man, hard to pick a favorite here. I like the story/research you gave us for the "Danny" pin. And the fact that the pin is a part of something more complex... But the Danny character doesn't really impress me much, probably because I never heard of him before.
I do like the bright yellow & blue colors of the Nemo Subs pin. But 2007 is a bit too modern for my tastes. I like stuff that's more vintage... like, Sumerian or Atlantean.
The Snoopy pin (plate?) is nice, but the caption seems a little obscure and removed from the Peanuts universe.
I guess I'll go with the lenticular pins today. I've always loved, and been fascinated by, lenticular pictures. They seem magical.
A nice, varied assortment today, Major. Thanks.
Doing a bit of research, it turns out that the pin was originally part of a plush doll of Danny, with his blue ribbon for being, I dunno, cool or something.
It's been a long time since I've seen the film, but didn't Danny win a blue ribbon at the county fair?
I like all of these items, but my favorites are the two Universal pins. I have always liked pinback buttons that are lenticular.
Thanks for opening up your Big Bag O' Pins, and sharing with us, Major!
Danny is sweet...at first I thought the pin was some kind of award for a contest of people singing "Danny Boy"...but Danny is a sweet lamb too. All pins are very fun: I had a collection for a year...then slowly they got thrown away, or given away...there's another box somewhere: every time I open a closet there's another box of stuff! The Peanuts "contraption, thing, lame-o drawing toy" I ALSO had! I LOOOOVED that thing: you would put different dies together...and draw in the lines, and VIOLA you would have a picture of Snoopy or Charlie Brown, etc. I forget what it was called as well...it will come to me. It seemed kind of "magically accurate" at the time: when my drawing skills were being formed: I could draw all the Disney characters pretty well...but the Schultz ones were always second on the list. Who doesn't love Snoopy?! I have a statue of Snoopy in my office that I got at an estate sale: it's so very random...but Snoopy is like Mickey: it's hard to dislike him. Thanks Major for the pintastic morning!
I like the Danny pin because I'm a fan of "So Dear to My Heart", but I have to say the Universal lenticulars are my favorite.
Thanks, Major.
I have to vote for the Universal pins today, Major.
The left image on the second pin seems like the old trams we rode in 1969-ish.
Charles Schulz used to come downtown for office supplies from the store opposite my office, we would see him occasionally on the sidewalk or in the coffee shop. Just a tiny little guy whom few recognized. No paparazzi.
Thanks for the refreshing pin display!
JG
@ Bu-
I assume you're referring to the Mattel 'Picture Maker', featuring Peanuts, from around 1969-70-? LOOK HERE.
Nanook, yeah, I don’t think the Refreshment Land Eskimo has anything to do with Eskimo Pie treats… I think he just represented “cold drinks” or something.
JB, I don’t think I felt the refreshment from the F5 key, but I did burp, which might be related. There used to be a series of soft drinks from the Clicquot Club Company, and their mascot was a young Eskimo boy - I am sure he predated the Eskimo Pie treat by many decades (looking it up, it went back to the 1880’s). It’s always hard to choose a favorite pin - I feel like the Snoopy pin is just the sort of thing you would see regularly back in those days, sort of non-sequiturs. Sure, it was no “Curse you, Red Baron!”, but it feels right to me anyway. My favorite is the Refreshment Land pin, but I definitely like the lenticular pins too!
TokyoMagic!, Danny wore that blue ribbon everywhere, sort of like Mayor Quimby always wearing his “MAYOR” sash. It was kind of pathetic, really. I don’t know if Danny won a blue ribbon, I have never seen the movie. Maybe he won a pack of smokes?
Bu, I guess I have a kneejerk negative reaction to dolls of any kind - once my mom was aware of my Disney collecting bug, she would buy me crappy old Mickey Mouse dolls at garage sales. I would tell her that I had no interest in dolls, but she’d keep buying them anyway. And I would see the $45 price tag on that piece of junk and feel guilty. Thankfully they are all gone now. It sounds like you had the exact same toy as I did, I wonder if they ever made it to draw other characters, maybe there was a Disney version, or something like that. I have a few Snoopy items, but not many. I regret selling off my MANY Peanuts books years ago, but I was in a “get rid of things” mood.
K. Martinez, there is no wrong choice!
JG, very cool that you used to see Sparky walking around. If I’d known, I would have wanted to talk to him, but would have been way too shy. I think that, for a while, “Peanuts” was more beloved to me than any Disney property, even though I was a Disney fan.
Nanook, THAT’S IT! (Shouted just like Charlie Brown)
Nanook, answering my own question (to Bu) about whether there were other versions of the Picture Maker, I see that there was a Barbie "fashion designer" version, a Hot Wheels version, and "Hot Birds" (like Hot Wheels, but airplanes).
As a kid (early 60s) I had some of the paperback-sized Peanuts books -- the ones where they'd take the borders off the panels and spread them out, sometimes scribbling in a little extra background. Graduated to the REAL Peanuts books, the $1 softbound editions with two complete daily strips on every page. Value for money! For several years running had the glossy cardstock Peanuts calendars on my bedroom wall, took my Sears Charlie Brown bedspread to college, and clung to my ratty "I Need All the Friends I Can Get" sweatshirt. Somewhere I still have a felt wall banner of Snoopy on his doghouse with the words, "The secret of life is to reduce your worries to a minimum".
When the strip was a full-fledged fad many products (including the "Happiness" book and its sequels) had that big old-fashioned circus lettering -- very much a 60s thing. Elsewhere there'd be an imitation of Schulz's letter (as on your button) or a plain, sans-serif font. At some point the circus style gave way to "groovy" lettering styles then fashionable.
The SF Chronicle had exclusivity on Peanuts for a long time, so I couldn't read the strip in the San Jose Mercury News until the 1970s. Stopped buying the books for a stretch, especially when I realized some of the newspaper strips were being left out of the books.
When they started publishing the definitive hardbound collections, I made the commitment and accumulated the whole set as they appeared but kept a handful of the old paperbacks and a few hardcovers for nostalgia's sake.
Also recall when MAD Magazine riffed on Peanuts, Schulz would sometimes respond with a drawing for their letters page. Eventually Schulz actually drew Alfred E. Newman in his daily strip.
Charlie Brown sees the sunrise as a giant baseball; he also develops some kind of rash on his head that looked like baseball stitching. To cure him of this baseball obsession, he's sent to camp where he wears a paper bag over his head, and becomes inexplicably popular and respected. Finally he removes the paper bag and goes out to witness the sunrise. Instead of either the sun or a giant baseball, he sees the face of Alfred E. under the words "What Me Worry?"
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