More From the Big Bag Of Pins

I have no idea how much the Junior Gorillas like looking at random old pinback buttons, but it is hopefully an entertaining diversion from the usual stuff on GDB. I'm still going through the "BIG BAG OF PINS", which is actually two bags, but I can't count that high. As a rule, all of these pins are 3" in diameter or larger. I have many "better" pins that I might get to eventually, but the random subjects are part of the fun. 

First up is this neat "3rd Mate" button for Pops Pirate Club. What is that? PPC was a children's radio show that aired on CBS for only three days back in June of 1932, sponsored by Wheat and Rice Puffs cereal. Three days! There was also a cool-sounding "dagger premium", apparently. I need more daggers in my life. Anyway, there were at least four pinback buttons given out - 1st Mate, 2nd Mate, 3rd Mate, and Coffee Mate. Just kidding, there was also "Captain". Weirdly, I see the 3rd Mate button fairly regularly, and the other three have only shown up on specialized auction sites. I'd love to get those!

Next is this button from Nevada's Centennial - not the State, but a town in Ohio! It had its 100th birthday in the summer of 1952. What is a "shave permit"? For some reason unexplained by science, many places around the country had "whiskeroos" and other similar contests in which the local men could show off their facial hair, with prizes awarded for things such as "Best Mustache", "Longest Beard", and "Smelliest Beard". OK I made that last one up. Aren't people crazy?

Oh, if only I'd seen a launch of one of the wonderful Space Shuttles! No such luck, though. But, almost as good, I have this pinback button so that I can lie that I DID see a launch. These were made in different colors for different launches, but I only have this one example.

Some people ❤️ New York, but I ❤️ Kmart! The once-ubiquitous store was a place where you could buy affordable goods of all kinds. To be honest, I didn't really go to Kmart that often, but I miss it now that it's gone (apparently there are still some Kmarts around, somewhere?). Don't miss out on that blue light special.

These next two items are not pinback buttons, but instead are "pocket mirrors", which were popular advertising giveaways years ago. You could find pocket mirrors for just about anything, from beer to Coca Cola, from farm equipment to political candidates, and so on. I only have a few pocket mirrors, while other collectors specialize in them and have hundreds. This first mirror is for "White Cat Union Suits" from the Cooper Underwear Co. in Kenosha, Wisconsin (I've been there! Kenosha, I mean). A union suit is a type of one-piece long underwear, most often associated with menswear in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

And finally, another pocket mirror, this one for The Travelers Insurance Company. I would guess that this item is from the early 1900s, though I don't know for sure. The color and lithography on this example look pretty dazzling, and it's fun to imagine that we are about to be flattened by a steam locomotive. Travelers Insurance is still around today, and some of you might recall their distinctive pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

I hope you have enjoyed today's pinback buttons and pocket mirrors!