early animation

Esoteric Felix Photo Find, Seeing Double

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Today’s post is a bit of Pictorama inside baseball as it were, with some coincidences which occurred nicely and a bit of a divergence down another tributary. If nothing else lots of eyeball kicks from my photo collection today.

Recently I jumped, as I do when I see them, to purchase this postcard of three children and Felix. It is a particularly nice one. Like virtually all of these souvenir postcards, this one was never mailed and on the back is only more contemporary writing noting, Felix the Cat.

When it arrived I realized that I already owned one from the same session or the very card. As it turns out, according to the number at the bottom it is a, more or less, identical image from the same negative. They are both originals and it is virtually the first time I have collected two contemporary copies of the same photo. Surprising to me on some level considering how many I purchase and how many people must have ordered more than one copy of a fun family photo. (The notable exceptions in my collection would be once or twice when I purchased a full lot of photos from one shoot – on two occasions I think once a batch of tintypes from Australia and a strange bunch of photos a a giant Felix at an intersection in Kuala Lumpur of all places – and ended up with a repeater in the group.)

The photos side-by-side. The one on the right is the earlier purchase and slightly better version. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.

Another interesting fact is that this one was purchased from a dealer in the UK as most are (some, tintype versions as far as I know, come from Australia), and the original one was that extremely rare occasion where it was purchased from a US dealer, whose card it happens I saved in the sleeve and just found. I have bought very few of these photos from US dealers, they generally don’t seem to travel far from their place of origin, at least until they travel to me. These do not ever appear to actually have been produced in the United States which always leaves me wondering what was wrong with the folks at Coney Island anyway? They missed a great opportunity.

So one wonders why one photo traveled far from its origin and mate. I guess a family member lived or moved abroad, or it was somehow separated and sold off to a dealer and found its way here. By way of comparison, it should be noted that today’s was developed poorly, a bit of overexposure – note that the wooden floor is bleached out as is the background a bit and the printing in general is lesser, chemicals a bit tired on that day perhaps. Although the one recently purchased is also a tiny bit larger meaning that there is a bit less information too. Pure speculation but my guess is that one of these was ordered subsequent to the first one when a copy was desired, perhaps to give away to a doting relative.

One of the ones that may show the same windows and likely Felix. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.

The post from March 2023 can be found here and investigates another coincidence which is that I have at least one other photo (possibly three now that I have a look around), taken at this very location and with this Felix. These were taken on the beach itself rather than near a studio so identifying the location is always a bit iffy. These distinctive windows are the key here.

Pams-Pictorama.com Collection. I think someone in Australia selling reproductions of this one.
Not in Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.

Meanwhile, while on the subject of seeing double, I occasionally find one of my photos reproduced for sale. At top above is one where I have assumed that the seller scanned the image (shown above) at the time of selling it to me and another is one I missed at auction and now reproductions are being sold – a bit different admittedly.

Pams-Pictorama.com Collection. Reproduction prints of this one turned up recently.

However one (shown above) turned up after I had owned this photo for a period of time and I was curious. (Posts for these pics can be found here, here and here if you are curious.) I did wonder if somehow they had lifted them off of my post, but I doubt the fidelity would be good enough for an even halfway decent reproduction.

Of course the possibility that the seller owned another print of the same photo occurred to me as well. I reached out to them with a friendly and polite inquiry and their response surprised me. He had purchased a box of items and at the bottom was a disk and the image was on it so he was printing and selling them. Interesting!

While some less utterly compulsive folks might see duplicates as an opportunity to sell one off, at least in the short term I am just tickled to have these photos reunited once again.

The Mickey Parade Continues

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Pam’s Pictorama Toy Post: So today I finally get to my wonderful birthday gift reveal – ongoing readers know that this year’s birthday was pre-empted and much deferred due to Covid. I am better finally, as is Kim, but a day of wandering and celebration remains deferred. At this rate it may be April before that happens, but nevertheless, the birthday bounty of the Mickey Mouses continues today.

My birthday Mickey is, in my opinion, a rather remarkable find. I even sent so far as to let AI have a crack at it and their “opinion” is that it was sewn from a kit. He is so very off-model that I did have to consider that but truly as I spend time with it and examining the stitching I believe he was commercially made. (My ideas of how such factories worked were changed when I found out that Felix dolls were handmade in a production factory in the East End of London. It was designed to give jobs to indigent women. Among my personal favorite posts, read it here.)

Back of Mickey. Very careful examination shows some patching to the back of his head.

This amazing and charmingly buck toothed fellow hails from Belgium via a kind seller there who tracks my birthday with offerings when she has them. (Previous posts on Regine finds can be read here and here.)

Demonic Felix which is old number one purchase for me! A flea market in London. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.

In a close study Mickey is made up of some familiar elements. The design of the feet is more Aesop’s fable doll than Dean’s Rag. The glass eyes can be found on many a Felix from a similar timeframe – which I am assuming is the 1930’s. He is somewhat reminiscent of the first Felix I ever purchased, shown below, and which may have been used as carnival prize give aways. Same black and white felt and stitched mouth. Kim has been known to say this Felix looks like a stuffed demon – Mickey has none of the same potential malevolence.

Felix and Mickey for a side-by-side examination.

Mickey’s hands are sewn down and his neckerchief remains tightly tied around his neck. The buttons on his trousers were glued however – or at least this incarnation of them was – they may have been replaced. There are a few black felt patches, on the back of his head near his ears and neck, so some work was done on him at some point, although also faded with age now so not recently.

A few errant bits of straw are peeking out from his legs, which incidentally look very professional machine stitched. He has his tail, but unlike our Dean’s friend from last week, it is just a bit of cloth. For the record it appears to be original. As mentioned, his ears have had a lot of reinforcement and a careful look makes me think one has been replaced. In line with the patches, this replacement seems fairly old.

For utter goofy charm however, this chap is hard to beat! I can’t help but feel that this off-license fellow looks like Mickey’s dufus country cousin, rather than a manifestation of the mouse himself.

Googly Eye Mickey: a Tale of Many Mickeys

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Pam’s Pictorama Toy Post: As it turns out, this birthday was a very Mickey one. I start today with one today I bought myself shortly after my birthday. A Dean’s Mickey I have wanted and lost on more than one occasion. I believe that I have bid on both larger and smaller versions of same, this one measuring in at about 30 inches for the record. There is a puppet version which I am also quite gone on, but have been unable to acquire.

For the record googly eyes seems to be the accepted technical term here and is searchable as such. No one was readily able to tell me when Dean’s switched from the beady eyed Mickey to the googly one, but this celluloid style of eye roughly seems to have been introduced in the 1930’s, the latter period for them.

A cracked eye and tatty shorts are the extent of the damage on this fellow. Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.

It is the toothy grin of the Dean’s Mickey that made me a fan in the first place. A very early post about Mickey Jazzer’s in my collection can be found here and they were, as such, my gateway drug to Mickey. As a cat collector, I have pointed out, it makes some sense to invest in mice and even dogs by extension and these Mickeys are an actual tributary in my collecting.

Therefore, after checking out my cat/Felix options thoroughly at an auction I stroll through the Mickeys among other things. To be clear, my Mickey collecting is very nascent compared to a real collector. (If we are talking about what qualifies as serious collecting I would reluctantly enter my Felix collection, but might feel compelled to argue that only my Felix photo collection is truly top drawer.) Still, I have some nice select little guys and they generally always put a smile on my face.

There is a rather wonderful online auction via Facebook on an account known as 200 Years of Childhood and they have an online auction late in the year. I believe it started during the pandemic when of course the in-person shows were on lockdown. I am grateful that it continues as an online venue as it gives me access to British vendors I would never see otherwise – as much as I would love to be there in person. It runs heavily to teddy bears and dolls, but I tend to find a gem or two tucked away via earnest searching.

It was via this auction that I bought my rather prized (by me anyway) Popeye Jeep toy, but it also lead me down a wonderful rabbit hole to a dealer who was selling some of his own Felix collection and from whom I purchased two wonderful Felix dolls which sit beside me even as I write. (The Jeep’s post can be found here.)

Mickey Jazzer not in Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.

This year I made an inquiry about a nice looking Mickey toy, reminiscent of a Steiff one Kim bought me for my birthday a few years ago. (That post is here.) He was well out of my budget for the moment, however the seller, a fellow named Andrew Greetham, asked if I might be interested in a large-ish Deans one he had. He sent a photo and yes, I now had my fairly large (I think there is an enormous one out there somewhere) googly eyed Mickey.

Aside from his velveteen trousers being a bit shredded and a crack in one googly eye, our man is in good shape. No moth nibbles to his felt hands or damage to the soles of his feet – these are typically vulnerable points. He seems to be sans the usual Dean’s label marking which would be applied directly onto the bottoms of his feet on other items and instead bears a number on the lower right side of his face. It appears to read Reg No 750611.

Close up of registration number.

If I type this number and Deans into the internet I find that it appears on other Dean’s Mickey’s so it was a broadly utilized copyright rather than for a particular style; their licensing number. Deans products, for all their decidedly and charmily off-model appearances, were licensed products under the auspices of Disney – I guess at the time it was more the money than the likeness.

The googly eyed Mickey has a more affable look (slightly charmingly dufus-y, pleasantly so) than the more beady eyed, slightly feral earlier versions. I like both myself but they are different in spirit and expression. This is a hale and cheerful chap, the others look a bit ratty and like they may be plotting against us – in the most interestingly possible way.

Mickey’s backside complete with wire tail.

Remarkably, this fellow maintains his tail, which looking at former auction listings, is usually a casualty. It is wire and no longer stands at attention as it might have early on.

Included with Mickey as a bit of a treat was a rather splendid book of the same period (copyright 1931 by Walt Disney) which is in French which I hope to explore further with you in the near future. I will be limited to looking at the pictures for the most part as I do not read French – but really, it’s all about the pictures anyway, right?

It’s a Honey

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Pam’s Pictorama Toy Post: This is a spectacular and truly delightful gift from Kim for Christmas this year! This rarified item is said to be the Deans rendition of cartoon Bosko’s sidekick Honey. It came to us via Britain’s specialty teddy auction at Special Auction Services and was identified as such there. While this sale focuses heavily on extremely rarified teddy bears, the occasional oddball character toy like this shows up on the scene with some regularity. Today’s post might ask more questions than it answers, but maybe we need to think of it as a work in progress.

I’ve never seen this pair before, not even in my book of Dean’s toys, although that rather complete book (based on their catalogues) came with a CD which theoretically has every toy they made. I am not in NY so I have not been able to have a look there. This doll is so rare that I have not been able to find another example online aside from this postcard of it – evidently also extremely rare – which was produced in 1941. (Note that although the same doll Honey’s clothes and coloring are a variation below – black and white tights, black hands, etc.) Although it gives appropriate copyright info, it only credits the cartoons and not the maker of the dolls.

From the chat on the Cartoon Brew site. Not in Pictorama collection. (Bosko does have very Deans-esque teeth here, much like their Mickey mouse.

The auction listing read as follows: A rare Dean’s Rag Book Co Honey from Bosco and Honey, circa 1931, originally created as African American children with cream and brown velvet head with black boot button eyes, yellow and red velvet integral clothes with brown hands, red and white striped stockings, black shoes and orange skirt —13in. (33cm.) high (some fading, nose probably replaced and a little damage) – Bosko and Honey are animated cartoon characters created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, both former employees of Walt Disney. Bosko is the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger’s cartoon series, and is the star of over three dozen Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros.

A different Bosko doll also turned up (in the chat room on a site called Cartoon Brew found here) and that one had a label belonging to an unknown company, not Deans, and is clearly a different model. All this means that my chances of completing my set with a Bosko will be very challenging at best and it also begs the question of if this is indeed the one made by Dean’s Rag as it lacks the Deans Rag Hygienic Toy label – or any label for that matter. (I also question if indeed Dean’s made one or if this is somehow fully apocryphal.)

When you look at the toy below it is worth thinking about the Aesop’s Fable dolls – the eyes and the sewn mouth are very similar. (A few from my collection are featured here and here.) Those dolls, which do not have a maker’s label or mark are evidently from another company called Woodard however – as I confirmed with an original box a few years ago.

From a chat on Cartoon Brew, not in Pictorama collection.
This was noted on the post about the above Bosko.
Pams-Pictorama.com collection – the eyes are similar.

I have written about the Deans Rag toy company on many occasions (for a few posts of Deans toys from my collection look here and here for starters) and in some ways they feel like a square one for the period and type of vintage toys I collect. Founded in 1903 by Henry Dean the company was originally established to create brightly colored cloth (essentially indestructible) books for small children. These soft cloth page books were hard to destroy or deface and were also notably hygienic – as attested to by the label.

The clear indication that a toy was made by Deans Rag.

The success of the books somehow gave way to licensing cartoon characters for manufacture – most importantly a deal was struck with Disney for the distribution of Mickey and Minnie dolls which promptly sold more than a million according to their own period advertising. (My very early post on my Deans Mickey’s can be found here.) Not surprisingly, they continued to purchase character licenses and Felix, Oswald Rabbit, Donald Duck and others to follow.

An especially nice example of the Dean’s Rag Mickey via a Hake’s auction listing.

While Mickey, Felix and perhaps Donald were big paydays for Deans, one suspects that Honey and Bosco were perhaps not, as confirmed by their obscurity today. I think about it and since the Bosko cartoons were also (much) less popular than Mickey or Felix that makes sense.

For those of you not in the know, a brief Wikipedia history of Bosko says, Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger’s cartoon series and was the star of thirty-nine Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros. He was voiced by Carman Maxwell, Bernard B. Brown, Johnny Murray, and Philip Hurlic during the 1920s and 1930s and once by Don Messick during the 1990s.

Wikipedia goes on to describe Bosko as an animated cartoon version of Al Jolson in the Jazz Singer and as a character in a cross between human (child?) and anthropomorphic animal. Honey – aside from being his official sidekick – sings and dances her way through the cartoons. However, even in their day, Bosko and Cookie cartoons were sidelined because of the racism baked into their design.

Like Bosko Honey is of indeterminate species and ethnicity. She dresses, as does the doll, in a little girl’s dress, hair bow and striped (Pippy Longstocking style) stockings. As you will find in the cartoon above, she has a high squeaky childlike voice. Her lips are painted on and the hair from a velvety cloth of a different color. As noted by the auction house, her nose is probably a replacement and is definitely plastic. It seems like a reasonable replacement however. SAS claims that the eyes are original shoe button and I don’t have very strong feelings about it one way or the other.

Pams-Pictorama.com

I have reached out to famed toy collector Mel Birnkrant for any info he might have on the Deans Honey and Bosko question, but have not heard back yet. I plan to also see if cartoon enthusiast Jerry Beck (who I believe moderates the Cartoon Brew site mentioned above) has any insights for me. We are back in New York and although I quickly located the Deans book the CD (of course) was not with it and I am unsure what “safe” place I have tucked it into. The teeth on the postcard version are very Deans indeed though and the best endorsement I can find.

I will endeavor to update this post if I do find out more. Meanwhile, Honey has a happy home here I think, tucked onto a shelf near the Jeep and in a sea of Felix-es!

Fleeting

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Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today I have a post of the cannot be and will not be of items that are not part of the Pictorama collection. It is the tantalizing netherworld of the might have been.

After all, I general troll constantly for one-of-a-kind objects that fit my areas of interest and therefore there is bound to be some loss among the gain and many failed attempts for a variety of reasons.

Sadly, today’s post is inspired by the worst kind of loss which has reminded me that to operate in my world one has to be prepared for a variety of eventualities.

To start with I have this wonderful Felix photo postcard for my collection and the sad inspiration for this post. Those longstanding readers know that these singular photo postcards of people posing with giant Felix dolls are the foundation of the photo side of my collection. I have not really assembled them to do a count but I own many and pretty much approach the situation as that these are must haves when they become available. Occasionally I lose one to a bid too low, but generally not for a healthy lack of trying. If you are going to wrestle it away from me you are going pay some serious money.

This card was not lost to another bidder, but saddest of all was won, paid for and now has gone missing in the mail! Searches have been completed and I even had a phone call from my mail woman. They can only confirm that it was delivered to the address of my high rise building – although they did go to the other buildings in the area to check. It has just disappeared. It was insured but because the post office says they delivered it the insurance won’t pay. I am out both the money but most importantly the card which is irreplaceable. It is a mystery. I share it here In Memoriam.

Copies being sold on eBay.

Up next is another whole and different category – the items I did not buy because they turned out to be reproductions. The language on some of these posts can be very hard to decipher – and occasionally all the way to deceptive. I am not actually saying that this one was deceptive however and I realized that this rather fascinating photo was a copy and did not purchase it. Somehow it remained in my watched folder of eBay to share with you today. That furry Felix costume is really weirdly memorable and he has the saddest Felix face! One should not ignore the charm of the donkey clad fellow on the other side. Hotsy totsy! I do wonder what the heck kind of vaudeville or other act this commemorated.

Lost in the confusion of a busy fall.

This nice Tuck card with a Louis Wain design was one of several offered by a Canadian seller. I admit to causing my own downfall as I was trying to purchase a group of them and got muddled. I made an offer which she turned down and then much later she ultimately made an offer, but I had my mind in other things (sadly I do actually have a job and try to get some work done Monday through Friday) and I missed that chance. Once I had myself together to circle back she has gone out of town with all on hiatus and I don’t know if it will ever happen now.

These cards do sell high and I appreciate that she bought them for her own collection and paid a lot – she just got me in a confused and busy moment. In the recent Louis Wain bio (Catland – review post is here) the author discusses how from the beginning Christmas or holiday illustrations and cards helped to make up the backbone of Wain’s annual income. His illustration of these cards were at the height of his career if I remember correctly. Meanwhile, I have several from the Felix collection and that post can be found here. Maybe more to come on these if she and I can sync up our communication.

Outlandishly high asking price.

This photo above has been kicking around in my watched folder for ages. As you can see, it bares the seller’s mark. They have named a ridiculous amount of money for it. While I understand that this is some sort of strategy I am not interested in engaging in a negotiation where someone is starting several hundred dollars more than I am willing to pay. This photo interests me, but not enough to engage in that dialogue. (It is still available for anyone who wishes to engage in the process!) I share the back as well. It is a press photo from February 28, 1931 of students from the Mardi Gras parade in the Latin Quarter of Paris looking into the Luxembourg Gardens.

Back of the photo above.

And sometimes I am just outbid. I try to be philosophical about that. If you are going to participate in auctions it will indeed happen. My father always gave me the advice his own mother gave him which is, figure out your maximum and stick to it. Gertie Butler was a true veteran of live auctions in her day – yes, I really do come by this interest naturally. She furnished an entire home with antiques this way. I often think of how much she would have loved eBay, although perhaps she liked the activity of going in person as well.

Lost to a high bidder.

Anyway, above is an example of a card that just went too high. Sometimes things go way high and at least there is comfort in that as I know I never would have paid that much. Other times, as in the case of this cat card, they go just beyond your top bid. I try to reassure myself that it isn’t likely that if I had gone just a tiny bit higher that it would be mine – after all, the person was likely to have gone higher too. It is just an illusion that you could have had it for a dollar more, probably not true.

This card has a lovely tuxie sitting on a sort of dressing table tray among potions, brushes and combs in order to admire the kitty in the mirror. I can’t tell if he understands that it is his image in the mirror or if he is among the type who thinks this fellow might be invading his turf – something about his expression makes me think the latter.

A never ran for Pictorama but very fun nevertheless.

I end today with a I will never own it because I didn’t bid on it item. This little gem of a wind-up ice cream seller from a Milestone Auction recently which I thought was super charming, but a bit outside my area of collecting. As it happens, many people must have agreed and it sold for a pretty rarified price. However, it passes through the Pictorama portals at least as a guest appearance as well.

From the Archives – a Tatty, Odd Felix

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Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today I am pulling a little fellow out of the archive, such as it is. Amongst the (admittedly dusty) Felix toys here at Deitch Studio, there are a clutch of damaged ones that I purchased, usually for the sheer diversity of them. This small example is one of those. Despite his grotty condition, he is outstanding because I have never ever seen the precise likes of him before or since.

He stands about 9 inches high and he sports this large and somewhat elaborate original ribbon. He is in the hands behind his back walking and thinking pose. There is nothing really atypical about his body, although it does have a fair amount of damage, a hole in one leg and a wire sticking out his tail. It is not really excessive damage in the world of 100 year old stuffed toys though. He leaves a small trail of ancient straw and bits when moved around although this is also not unusual.

He maintains his whiskers which are nice and black. He has a small shoe button nose which is also fairly unique. I think that is his nose too – sometimes they look a bit like this but were meant to be covered and I don’t think so.

His good side if you would! Pams-Pictorama.com Collection.

He has one remaining glass eye and that type of eye is pretty typical in the world of these toys, although many have the white felt behind black shoe button eyes instead. The brown stitched teeth are odd and I do believe they are brown not just discolored like the white on his face.

However, it is the shape of his face, head and rounded ears that are unusual. I’d almost think it was Steiff except that is not what the Steiff Felix looks like in the least. They seem to have had only one model and it is decidedly different. Most of the early off model Felix toys are pointy and doggy, definitely unlike this well rounded chap. It implies a different maker and I have no idea which that might have been. This Felix was well made – his head turns, although it must be done very gingerly now and every the extravagant bow makes me think he was a better made toy.

Sadly though I have not figured out cleaning the white of his snout which is what seriously disfigures him. It is grimy and darkly discolored but is also fragile (the remaining eye, nose and especially ears) which has left me in a fugue state about how to proceed. It turns out that I am not a brave nor creative repairman of tattered toys. I know colleagues who jump in with good results, but I am a scaredy cat when it comes to cleaning it turns out. Therefore I guess perhaps I am not the best steward of those in need of repair.

I have owned this fellow for longer than I can remember purchasing him on eBay – probably easily a decade – and still I have not taken the plunge. I am open to suggestions! Let me know your thoughts. Maybe I can devote another post to a before and after on him if I were to get great results.

Pencil Felix In

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Pam’s Pictorama Post: I did consider saving this item for a back-to-school post after Labor Day, but here we are, in need of a post and here it is. For those of you heading back to school in a few weeks, you can consider it a shot over the bow in advance of that event.

I have looked at Felix pencil boxes for years – it almost seems like no two are alike so many variations on the theme turn up. I have bid on numerous ones and never won one to call my own. I guess I had an idea in my head about how much I was willing to pay and I just kept being outbid.

Finally this one, a rather superior one I might add, appeared online for sale with a flat price I was willing to pay and I jumped on it. Then I did something with a bit of foresight which was I had it sent to the house in New Jersey. Then, in all honesty, I utterly forgot that I had purchased it! It was tucked in a box with another purchase and I was very excited to discover it.

Back of the pencil case – Felix as artiste!

Condition is often a major issue in these as kids used them hard and they are after all meant to be somewhat disposable. Often they have crayon or pencil marks or they have been opened and closed so often that they are tattered and torn. By comparison this one is in virtually pristine condition aside from a bit of wear in the lower right corner.

Felix and two junior Felix-es march across the front with some sort of towers in the background. Felix the Cat is penned across the top quite nicely and while these are the rounded off version of Felix the bodies have a nice blockiness. The image and writing is somewhat etched into the cardboard which, in addition to this rich green color, has an interesting texture.

The back has more towers (castles?) and Felix perches while painting or drawing a picture held up by a friendly mouse. The cat and mouse depictions on the tiny top side of this are perhaps less friendly and Felix is bizarrely stretched – chasing a mouse but also held back by one. The bottom side has, instead three mice holding his tail which is stretched, as opposed to his entire body. The short sides have a great sort of Deco pattern.

Lovely mostly intact inside of the case.

For Felix fun we aren’t going to beat the outside, but the inside was a surprising treat! Tiny ruler, an eraser (which is as hard as a rock now) and a darling little series of watercolor pans, one broken and one missing but four still perfectly in place. Three pencils remain – two unsharpened and that wonderful Deco pattern paper continues inside.

This lovely item appears to come to us from the American Pencil Company, New York, U.S.A. The American Pencil Company appears in a marking on the front under the flap and also bears the number 1964. Pat Sullivan also gets a copyright mention across from it.

There is the same figured paper on the flap but in a simple golden beige. The whole thing snaps open and closed and that closure is still in good shape.

All in all, as a kid I would have returned to school with great confidence if given this dandy case, an excellent start to the school year.

Some of my peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers by special request yesterday!

Hello Dearie

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Pam’s Pictorama Post: I am running late today for this post, my second from New Jersey this summer. The neglected garden needed my attention while it was still cool enough to work out here. It was a small start, but I am also tired from my first week as a commuter and getting over a bad head cold last weekend. However, it should also be noted that today is the first day of six since we got here where it has not been a torrential downpour either. Let the garden enjoyment (and work) begin!

Nevertheless, I have this little treasure which arrived at Deitch Studio shortly before our departure last weekend. While the aged quality of this photo makes it less than perfect, it was an irresistible image to add to the Pictorama collection.

Recent acquisition and post as below.

The concept of the perfect Felix costume has long stoked my imagination and I believe informed Kim’s Alias the Cat. (That book – one of the best ever! – for purchase can be found here.) While I search to acquire the perfect mask photos of Felix costumes can also satisfy. I just posted about another and it is unusual because I don’t really have that many in my collection. (A post about that recent acquisition, shown above, can be found here.)

Opening of Kim’s Alias the Cat.

Early in my collecting I found an interesting clutch of early photos of folks donning Felix costumes. Tiny snapshots of people in masks or full costume. Oddly, I didn’t acquire them together either which is sort of fascinating. That post from the early days of Pictorama can be found here.

Today’s photo is a tintype and as to be expected that means the writing on Felix’s chest is reversed. Hard to know if Felix was an adult with these two small bunny attired kids. More likely an older child. While it is definitely an off-model mask it was commercially made, as were the bunny outfits the other children sport.

One from a series of photos from the post mentioned above.

I have no explanation for the staff or cane held, but the older of the two rabbit kids. If I had to guess (and it would be a guess) I would say the older of those two is a girl. I have no idea at all about the younger. They are outside and a careful look shows a woman behind them and some buildings, or more likely pictures of buildings, behind her. There are other indistinct people and things, however the picture grows wavy there and they are unreadable.

I was surprised to be reminded that this photo actually came from Louisiana, not Great Britain. The holder strikes me as oh so British and of course it’s most recent home before mine was not necessarily its place of origin. I believe that virtually all of the Felix tintypes I have of this sort have come from either England or Australia. Having said that, most of them are people posing with large Felix dolls and this is just kids in costume.

Wall decor at Deitch Studio.

I have yet to decide how the Pictorma library will stretch in the Jersey digs and have yet to start to hang things, although some of the yard long photos are on display. I mostly leave the items here that have ended up here, but I hope for the leisure to make some determinations about decoration. More to come when I figure that out. For now it has gotten too hot for the garden and there are numerous cats requesting pets.

Kit Kat Klub Revue

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Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today’s Pictorama tidbit comes via our good friend Bruce Simon. Bruce and his wife Jackie live on the other side of the country. My job used to bring me to their doorstep periodically and they have family this way and therefore not-quite-annual meet ups were possible. The Covid years resulted in several years where we were deprived of visits. This year we somehow managed a visit on each coast and we saw them earlier this summer and then a bonus round with Bruce a mere weeks later in San Diego when we flew in for Comic Con.

Kim and Bruce go way back to Kim’s west coast youth, but Bruce won my heart early on with splendid collections of early cartoons he sent. Krazy Kats, Aesop Fable cartoons – he has made a serious contribution to my cultural education. So it is a hats off to Bruce Simon for this post!

Much to my surprise Bruce brought me this splendid Felix tidbit found in his ramblings for the books he produces. (Some of those can be found on Amazon here and here.) This bit of a classified ad hails from The Muskogee Daily Phoenix and the Muskogee Times-Democrat. A quick look online reviews that this is an Oklahoma daily publication still in existence today. It was founded in 1888 so its had quite a run thus far.

This ad would appear to be an ad for the Classified Ad pages of the paper at the bottom while boasting this Kit Kat Klub Revue with the Krazy Kats of Rhythm. A nice swipe of Felix is chuckling in the lower left corner under On the Screen A Woman Rebels starring Katherine Hepburn. You could only see the Krazy Kats on Wednesdays and there is a balloon which informs us that this is A Wliburn Cushman Circuit Unit.

A replay of this pic of Bruce and Kim in San Diego where we had a lunch of waffles one day.

A snippet of another newspaper available online informs that this was a five piece band and Mr. Cholet was the singer and front man for the band. They played sweet hot and swing music. This was back in 1937 and 150 people had the opportunity to see it on a given Wednesday at the Ritz. If you read the fine print at the bottom it seems that putting an ad in the Classified Want Ad would get you one free ticket for the show.

Someone asked me recently how it felt to no longer work for an arts organization and I had to admit, I am missing the many hours of live music I have enjoyed in recent years. Radio Dismuke (I wrote about this rather wonderful online radio station as resource in a post here) helps fill the gap, but it is a big change, as was leaving the Met after many years of enjoying it – more or less like having all that art in your own living room.

Admittedly this ad puts me in the mood. However, it is an itch which is unlikely to get scratched soon as tomorrow I pack Kim and cats up and we head to the New Jersey camp for the remainder of the summer. So more on that annual bivouac tomorrow, stay tuned.

Felix Front and Center

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: So what the heck is going on in this photo? To start, I am mad for this Felix costume which is sort of exactly what Pam Butler is looking for in a Felix costume. A wonderful full head be-wiskered mask (with hard, perky pointy ears) and then a simple black “cat suit” to complement it – not the covered paws however.

This isn’t a photo postcard, it is a slightly larger (4″x6″) studio photo. What the heck are they dressed up for? If it weren’t for the crown (a rather splendid one) on the girl on our right, the fact that they are in costume might have eluded me. Was it a play? But then why Felix? I am a bit sorry the origin is lost to us, but I am very pleased to have this unusual photo join the Pictorama collection.

In addition to being a rather posh studio photo these children look well-heeled. There is a nice symmetry to the picture with the long-waisted dress between the two notched in at the middle. Headscarf on the middle and tallest of them. Behind them a bland sort of backdrop which must have made do for all photos, faux scenes of fake landscapes outside drawn and painted windows.

Embossed at the bottom is the legend Service Studios and something I cannot read below – Olesbrough is what is visible. On the back it says, Service Studio, Middlesbrough (Felix the Cat – 1920’s.) Perhaps one of Pictorama’s British readers can help sort the location question out.

All of the Felix photos in my collection are essentially one-of-a-kind although occasionally I have found and purchased several from a session and I do occasionally find my photos elsewhere online. Of course in theory there could be some multiples of any of them, at least from those which were printed from a negative. Meanwhile, the other day while we were in San Diego and I had a few minutes to see what was up on Instagram, I saw a photo of a little girl on a beach with Felix which looked familiar. Turns out it was some sold listings on a sellers feed – and I had purchased it from her!