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.
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?
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 animatedcartoon character created by animatorsHugh 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!
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.
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.
Pam’s Pictorama Post: Today’s is a rare contemporary cat purchase, one which may be familiar to some because it came from Target. It is a limited edition Halloween item by the interior designer John Derian. As it happens I had recently read an article on Derian’s house in Provincetown. (A friend sent it to me and this may or may not be the precise one here.) Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have known who he is and passed it by.
This article produced some house envy (I wonder if that is the point of the article in a sense), but more importantly made me want to visit the small shop on his property where he seems to sell the overflow from his own antiques collecting in addition to his own line. Oh to be able to paw through that on a regular basis! Alas, I haven’t been to Provincetown in many years so it is unlikely. He has a shop in the West Village but that one seems more dedicated to his life of housewares, rather than those bits that help inspire them.
John Derian store next to his house in Provincetown. Lovely looking bits.
So I went down the rabbit hole of the email Target promo for his collection, figuring that anyone who had cool stuff couldn’t be all bad and might make some Halloween items I should see. And he did. Given a lot of space and a surfeit of spending money I might have purchased more, but I was restrained and only came away with this reproduction of an antique cat, made into a sizeable cushiony pillow.
The cat, which as I write is still available on the Target site (although also already at an approximately 100% mark-up on eBay, let the buyer beware!), with the following description:
…This novelty pillow features artwork by decoupage artist John Derian that showcases a black cat wearing a red bow collar with a jingle bell and yellow eyes. Made of 100% cotton fabric with polyester filling, this black plush pillow offers soft comfort, and the sewn-seam closure provides a neat-finished look.
John Derian is an American decoupage artist and designer living in New York City whose aesthetic encapsulates a curious mix of natural oddities, antiques and eccentricities.
It is a tad confusing – did he make a decoupage cat and then they reproduced it? I assume that’s what they mean, although there is no real indication of the decoupage and of course I’d be curious to see the original if there is one. Still, the man has a good eye.
The shape is similar to a popular design of a flat stuffed cat one frequently sees. One in the category is for sale on eBay now, some are older than others.
Cat pillow. Not in Pams-Pictorama.com collection.
Kitty is about 16″ high and the bell hung on his nice bow rings. He is pleasantly pillow cushy. He is, of course, black with a jolly red face and fur indicated. His big yellow eyes stare and he has a toothy (but not all the way to cartoony, nor scary) grin. He is charmingly goofy.
Pams-Pictorama.com collection, still available at Target.com
I admit to having been tempted by Derian’s platters with skeletons dancing on them – if we spent more time in Jersey they might be put to use there – and from his Thanksgiving line, the asparagus candles entertain me and the turkey would also make a fun centerpiece. As my Thanksgiving needs appear to be modest at best (and in the house with five cats – lit candles don’t have a chance there!) I am unlikely prey for these holiday temptations, at least this year. His own line of upscale dishes, with beautiful images from nature, are a bit rich for my blood – especially as I seem to be hard on plates and cups.
However, this kitty will join a large black cat head pillow in New Jersey – future post! For a nice cuddle on our bed or a day bed in the space where Kim works upstairs, he will be perfect. Meanwhile, that house is slowly transforming into a cat refuge of an antique sort as well. We’ll see what the Jersey five think of him come Thanksgiving!
Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post: Today’s photo was a photo postcard and it was cut down at some point into this more or less perfect square. Man, the mind boggles a bit at what the rest of it looked like and why it was ultimately cropped – to fit in a frame perhaps?
It comes to me via @marsh.and.meadow on Instagram. While my usual gig with them is jewelry (see one of those posts here), I find that Heather (Hagens) has expanded over time and other tidbits come over the transom. Of course some of them catch the interest of Pictorama. She has expanded her footprint to @marsh.and.meadow.overflow for most of these non-jewelry items. Even for what I don’t buy, I admit to enjoying the passing parade of eyeball kicks.
There is writing on the back and it was mailed. The cancellation survives and it was mailed from Detroit on July 28, 1912 at 8:00 PM. It was mailed to, Hildie Cullen (the name cuts off here), in Nellie, Ohio. A few words exist down the side but not enough to string together, it was a dense note of sorts.
Back of the card. Looks as if there was a whole story being told on the left side.
It wasn’t for the man in drag I purchased this photo, but for the very large, marvelous teddy bear, who stands on his haunches and bears arms! He comes up to the man’s elbow.
If teddies came into being in 1902 (famously Roosevelt declined to shoot a small cornered black bear and the toy was invent and dubbed in his honor) this is how Teddy has grown in a decade. He could be a Steiff made bear and they had plenty of time to grow them this large. He reminds me of my beloved enormous Felix toys which people will pose with across the ocean in another decade or so.
(I can’t say much for the visuals on this, but I thought I’d share Bing singing The Teddy Bear’s picnic for the heck of it below.)
Meanwhile, I wonder if the gun the bear holds is a sort of salute to the Roosevelt story which certainly was likely still in popular memory at that time. It appears that somehow Teddy has an empty Coke bottle balanced on his head as well. Could he be both shooter and target practice here?
The man, carrying a parasol, is in a long flowered print skirt which would have been an old one even for the time. (I’m saying he is not fashionably attired!) He maintains his man’s shirt and a tie, but sports, upon very close inspection, some greenery (leaves) stuffed in his shirt and some sort of ribbon pinned to it. His basket is loaded with some posies and more of the same leafy greens.
I thought he was an older man, but the same close inspection shows that he is young. (Perhaps that shouldn’t surprise me.) His man’s boots just about make it into the photo of the cropped edge, peaking out under the long skirt.
Behind him we see a barnyard scene of doors open and closed. It may have been sent in July, but it looks as if the ground is littered in leaves making me wonder if it wasn’t take in the fall and maybe for Halloween. The quality of the photo isn’t great, a bit over-exposed so it is hard to say. Whoever cut it down had a good eye for composition and it works well in this square format.
It is of course the teddy that earned this photo a place in the Pictorama archive, but it is a well cared for picture and I am glad that it has come to rest in a place where we can enjoy it.
Pam’s Pictorama Post: Returning to our rollicking Felix roots today with this odd page which was sold on its own via eBay. I was the only one interested in it and I actually really love it. The overall page has a fair amount of interest – the Gertrude Hoffman Girls dancing in the open air appeared naked at first glance with their brief, thin costumes. That certainly would have been unusual on July 30, 1924, the date on this sheet. Closer inspection shows sort of cotton playsuits.
Found this issue which I assume is the one before mine, July 16, 1924. Looks like fun!
The First “Movie” Garden Party is the heading on this extracted page. It appears to have come out of something called The Sketch magazine. The Sketch had an extremely long life it turns out, running from 1893-1958; it was an illustrated British weekly journal. It is most notable perhaps for having launched the George Studdy Bonzo illustrations in 1921.
Close up on the Gertrude Hoffman Girls dancing.
At the bottom of the page it boasts, The Silent Stage Festivities: at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Below it, The first Cinematograph Garden Party, held at the Royal Botanical Gardens, the original home of the Theatrical Garden Party, was a big success. Scores of well-known screen starts gathered at the festivity, and the sideshows and entertainments were really amusing. Our snapshots show some of the many famous folk who were present, and include the Hoffman Girls’ dancing performance in the open-air arena.
Miss Peggy Ryland has left no tracks online.
This page has four features, upper left, Miss Peggy Ryland – I am on the fence about whether Peggy, close up above, is a man in drag or not, Kim says no. The almost naked dancers are next over and below them, Miss Chrissie White has a soft drink. Unlike Peggy Ryland who has left no tracks, Chrissie White made 180 movies between 1908 and 1933 and was quite a star. Given this I assume I have at least seen her in passing, but don’t recognize her in the least – nor does Kim. I assume she is with her husband here, Henry Edwards, occasionally her co-star and director. They were evidently a famous couple seen about town at the time. She retired from film early but lived until 1989 and the ripe old age of 94. I am enjoying her outfit shown here – period perfect.
Chrissie White
Speaking of perfection! Now onto the main event – ohhhhh how I wish I could have attended this! Felix-es galore in all sizes, on their costumes, a sign above them sporting him. Here Miss Betty Balfour holds court. Betty I know from her work in the Jessie Matthews film, Evergreen although she is even better known for her turn in an early silent Hitchcock comedy called Champagne. (Kim has seen it and I do not think I have.)
Be still my heart!
Betty’s got her hand on one lovely huge Felix which comes up to her waist, but so many others lurk around. I love how they fall out of the confines of the photo and into the margins. A small one hangs off the sign at the top and one of the minions is holding a sizable one. A close look at Betty’s basket says flowers – I was thinking a Felix might be tucked in there too. Of course if it were me I would want to be in one of the Felix decorated costumes – with a grinning maybe winking Felix embroidered onto my chest! Oh to find one or even this original photo!
Signed postcard for sale on eBay at the time of publication.
That’s it folks, the back of the sheet is devoted to lawn-tennis notes I am sorry to say. Completely lost on me I am afraid. Nonetheless, I will treasure this particular sheet for its Felix fun and preserve it in the Pictorama archive for posterity.
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.
These were the volumes I read, but others are more available now.
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.
Not my toy, but this is what the parrot looks like.
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.
We had lunch at a pizzeria called The Brothers – a blast from my past, Dad and I used to frequent it. Some very fine NJ thin crust pie here.
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.
A rather great display of Santa’s at the Annex. I might have to go back for one of these.
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.
Kim gives Popeye a little push this morning for this video.
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.
My somewhat tattered Popeye lamp.
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.
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!
Pam's Pictorama 