More PINS FROM THE BAG
Listen... I know what you've been really wanting. Not candy, or money, or fame, or even love. What you want is PINS FROM THE BAG! Well, you've come to the right place, folks.
I have quite a few pinback buttons from the 1939/40 New York World's Fair ("The Dawn of a New Day"), but this one is a somewhat recent addition to my collection. 1940 was the 126th anniversary of the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy, as witnessed by Francis Scott Key. He wrote a song about it! Hey, let's give Baltimore a pat on the back, it will make them so happy.
Next is this cool pin commemorating the centennial of Marshalltown, Iowa. A Century of Success! I hope that guy sowing crops has some Banana Boat sunscreen on(SPF-50 at least), I don't want him to burn. Looking at the Wikipedia page for Marshalltown, it looks like a very nice place to live.
I'm always fond of pinback buttons for vintage comic characters, especially characters that are largely forgotten today. This one, for the Sunday Bulletin, features the freaky likeness of Ozark Ike. Ozark Ike is a newspaper comic strip about dumb but likable Ozark Ike McBatt, a youth from a rural area in the mountains. The strip was created by Rufus A. ("Ray") Gotto while he was serving in the Navy during World War II in Washington, D.C. as an illustrator for Navy instruction manuals. The strip ran from November 12, 1945, to September 14, 1958.
Ozark Ike comic books almost always featured Ike with his enthusiastic girlfriend, Dinah Fatfield, whose family has been involved in a feud with the McBatt clan for several generations (inspired by the famous feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys). I think it's time for a $250 million dollar Ozark Ike movie, with Conan O'Brian in the starring role.
Well, this one is not a pinback button, but it does have pins! It's an unusual celluloid item advertising Kemp and Burpee M'F'G. Co (I've never seen the word "manufacturing" abbreviated quite like that before), and the "Success Spreader", which "fertilizes the Earth". Ordinary sewing pins are are stuck into the rim of this thingamabob, as you can see. You just never know when a pin will come in handy.
Ceresota Flour produced pinback buttons and advertising mirrors in such quantities that they are fairly common. Their ads typically featured this hungry little boy holding a loaf of bread that is almost as big as he is. Pro tip: when sawing away at a loaf of bread, always draw the sharp knife towards your throat; this kid knows!
You have to be of a "certain age" to remember Soupy Sales. I don't really remember ever watching any TV show with Soupy, and yet I was certainly aware of him as a personality. Milton Supman, known professionally as Soupy Sales, was an American comedian, actor, radio-television personality, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television series, Lunch with Soupy Sales (later titled The Soupy Sales Show) (1953–1966), a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his trademark. Soupy's two sons, Hunt and Tony, went on to become respected musicians, playing with artists such as Todd Rungren, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie. If you know Iggy's song, "Lust for Life", that's Hunt Sales on drums!
There are many more PINS IN THE BAG!
4 comments:
Major-
What a fun grouping of pins. Even though the Marshalltown 'guy' doesn't exactly strike the same pose, he still reminds me of Elektro from the 1939 World's Fair.
I wonder if that poor child on the Ceresota Flour pin has become out of register from eating far too much bread-? (It could happen).
I have a fairly vivid memory of my Cub Scout troop gathering at the home of John Welch for a troop meeting, probably around 1961, and all of us being spellbound watching the antics of Soupy Sales with his puppet friends Black Tooth, White Fang and Pookie, during the broadcast of an episode of The Soupy Sales Show. It was the perfect age for such things.
Thanks, Major.
I have a pin, probably a modern copy, with the words "HOPALONG CASSIDY in the Daily News" and a photo of William Boyd. Boyd played Hopalong onscreen from the late 30s into the 50s, when Saturday matinees headed for the last roundup. He managed to buy up all his old movies and right and relaunched Hopalong Cassidy on the new medium of television. A comic strip was just one manifestation of his TV superstardom.
"He wrote a song about it!" Of course, we all know that song: "Heyyyy Macarena!"
The Marshalltown pin reminds me of a sundial for some reason.
I wonder if Ozark Ike was always drawn with freaky expressions? He looks like he's just seen a T-Rex! (Or mebbe a nekkid lady.)
The comic book: Still freaky looking. I guess that answers my question. So it's pretty obvious that Ike and Dinah are cashing in on the celebrity of Li'l Abner and Daisy Mae. I wonder if there were any lawsuits?
Everything about he pincushion thingy is just plain weird. What is a "Success Spreader"? What does a lion have to do with it? And like you said, why is 'manufacturing' abbreviated that way? And why isn't this pincushion shaped like a tomato, like all decent pincushions are? I can see how the quirkiness of this item would appeal to you.
I like the rich, saturated colors and graphic design of the Ceresota Flour pin. I'm gonna call this one my favorite today. And yes, three seconds after the artist created this illustration, the hungry little boy accidentally sliced his head off with the knife. Taught him a lesson though; he'll never do that again!
I do remember watching the Soupy Sales Show as a kid. And I do remember the pies in the face, but not much else. A polar bear comes to mind for some reason. Maybe that was part of a sketch he did?
Nanook, I think it was White Fang that was a polar bear? It rings a bell.
It's a good thing you posted this when you did, Major. I was starting to get "pin withdrawal syndrome". Thanks for the fix!
The flag that flew over Fort McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key, is in the Smithsonian. I took a picture of it! Just think, if he hadn't written that iconic song, we'd have nothing to sing today at birthday parties! ;-)
Ozark Ike is wearing some nice cerulean blue lipstick on that button. Looks like he swapped it out with charcoal gray for the comic book.
I am too young to have watched Soupy Sales original children's show, but I am familiar with the "pie in the face" and White Fang's arm/paw coming through the door and grabbing at him. I must have seen him do his shtick on someone else's show, maybe a variety show? Okay, I just checked. He was on Tony Orlando and Dawn's show and did his usual shtick! I also remember him as a regular panelist on "What's My Line" in it's later years.
Thanks for sharing more or your pins with us, Major!
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