Pam’s Pictorama Toy Post: It’s a Popeye post today! I am not sure how much I have shared my real affection for the sailor man here, but I am a fan. Years ago I was in a particular funk and I cheered myself immensely reading all of the daily Segar strips over a period of weeks.

Some readers may know that I have an unusual predilection for daily strips rather than Sundays. I understand what the fuss is about when it comes to Sundays – they are gorgeous and I admit that it is an odd preference. There is something about the day in and out of a weekday strip that I love, a real whiff of the past, reading them as folks would have followed it in their paper daily. I feel the same way about Krazy Kat.

Anyway, I had not given Popeye significant thought since watching an endless loop of the cartoons as a child. Seeing his origin and those elegantly drawn strips by Segar made me a fan. If you’ve never read them do yourself a favor and pick up one of the volumes – I think Fantagraphics has them collected again. I know they have a book of the Sundays too. At the time I read them I acquired a shelf of hard bound volumes that Fantagraphics had put out years before. I am in New Jersey or I would provide a shot of them in a place of pride in one of our bookcases there.

Speaking of New Jersey – today’s toy was an unexpectedly great Jersey buy last weekend. Kim and I spent an afternoon poking around at the Antique Annex in Red Bank near here. I’ve written about this establishment which I have frequented for decades. When I was in college my Dad used to buy antique jewelry there for Christmas and my birthday. We’ve seen it through many iterations. A post about finds there last year can be found here.

While the merchandise had definitely turned over since our last trip at Christmas, it had a slightly picked over quality overall. This is their peak tourist season and a train leaves you just blocks from this couple of buildings of goodies so it is convenient for day trippers to our shore town.

However, buried deep in a cabinet of toys which clearly bore investigation, there was Popeye. He was a bit dear, however a bit of bartering (cash is king) and he became quite reasonable. Frankly I have seen this toy for more previously at auction so I felt good about the purchase.

In doing some research I realize he is missing a parrot which would have perched atop the cart. One auction site says that the parrot popped out but if that it is true it is a variation on the toy because that would not have been possible – he probably wiggled back and forth though.

I like Popeye’s striped trousers, his pipe and of course his identifying moniker on his tattoos. His cart, the Popeye Express, has labels for Asia, Turkey and China on one side and my beloved New York on the other side. (Sorry, New York was the only city worth mentioning guys!) His shoes are sort of funny, but of course are designed to help him scuttle along on the ground, rather than a sartorial statement.

There are some scratches and paint loss but he’s in pretty good condition. There is no maker’s label but it is identified online as Linemar Marx. I gather Linemar was the Japanese made division of Marx toys – manufacture was less expensive there and the toys were shipped back to the United States for sale. Many were character toys of the time. In the biz from 1918 to 1980, Marx holds a somewhat legendary name in toys. Known for their trains and cars in particular, they will always be character toys like this one for me.

Some of you might remember a Popeye post from several months back, a lamp which currently graces Kim’s work table here in New Jersey, but may be making a move downstairs soon where I can see him more. (That post is here.) Maybe Popeye is becoming a sub-genre here at Pictorama. We’ll have to see what toy treats might be in store for me and all you readers.