toy collection

Me and My Felix

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Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post:  It doesn’t surprise me that, if you had a wonderful Felix the Cat doll, you would want your photo taken with it. As many of you already know, my collection in this area is fairly deep.  (Some of it was already immortalized and shared in an early posts, Felix Makes the Picture Better and more so in Ugly Children Good Toys.)  Shown here is a little girl dressed in her finest, holding a delightfully large Felix doll and looking mighty pleased with herself.  It is a photo postcard and nothing has been written on the back. Her Felix is a more pristine example of one I own – I am sparing you a photograph of me holding it!

The other card has a small holiday riff and I will use it as a tip of the cap to the newly launched 2014 holiday season. It is hard to see, but the tinfoil greetings has an impression of holly around it.  This little fellow had to pose in his winter clothes (and hat) in front of a very soft focus bit of outdoor scenery.  Note those snappy buttons on his trousers though! He’s dressed up too.  His Felix on the other hand is an absolutely whacky pop-eyed fellow.  Love those ears standing straight up – part bunny! This also unused and perfectly preserved.

I have wondered if these toys were just props at the photo studio. For some reason the little girl has always struck me as the owner of that Felix, the little boy perhaps not. Maybe because it is a bit less clear that the girl is in a photo studio – the portrait could have been made at home.

Those of you on Facebook know that I can’t resist posting a photo of me with new toy acquisitions. A natural impulse I think – representing a long tradition of proud ownership. On the other hand, who wouldn’t smile in a photo studio if they handed you a huge Felix doll?  I would!

Happy Life Toy

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Pam’s Pictorama Toy Post:  I first saw this toy back in the late 1980’s, not long after I moved to Manhattan after college. I had discovered Darrow’s Fun Antiques in their original location – high ceilings, deep shelves and cases and stuff piled up. 61st, I think, between First and Second Avenues. There it all was.  Toys from my childhood and earlier. Toys I had wanted and never gotten; toys I did have and loved and lost; toys that my friends had and I coveted; and most interesting of all, toys I had never seen before or even knew existed. It was like I had found my niche in the universe – who knew such very wonderful things existed! This was why I had moved to New York – I just hadn’t known it.  

I could not afford to buy much from Darrows in those days, despite that they were always lovely and willing to spend time showing me things. One or two purchases went to my then boyfriend (hey to Kevin!) as Christmas and birthdays gifts. Mostly battery operated. (I still have an excellent drinking monkey I bought from them – future post.)  On one of my forays one of the gentlemen there showed me the toy above and I fell in love! Once I saw it move I felt it embodied everything I loved about animated toys. The gentle rocking, the honking goose, the breeze created by the turning umbrella. I don’t remember how much they were asking for it, except that it was way out of my price range.

Fast forward at least a decade, probably more, to Brimfield. It was my one and only trip to this amazing extravaganza of flea market.  There it was on a blanket – the first time I had seen it in all those years. I picked it up and wound it – I was still entirely charmed by it.  They wanted something north of $500 for it and that just wasn’t going to happen that day.  For one thing, this toy falls soundly in my fear of celluloid category. An incredibly expensive, exquisite toy that looked like it would smash to pieces if you sneezed on it – or a paw got too curious. So, I moved on – but this time I didn’t forget it.

It nagged at my brain for several more years.  Finally I began searching for it on eBay. It wasn’t especially easy to search for – celluloid woman rocking? Eventually I found my way in and discovered that many, many variations exist – some made of tin and celluloid and close to this one – up to more recent, all plastic ones of the same essential type. Along the line I discovered the name, The Happy Life Toy!  Never had a toy been more aptly named! I lay in wait, carefully watching eBay. Then, there it was one day, an early model in good condition, almost perfect really. The opening bid was reasonable – a bit more than $100 as I remember. Bam – I won it! No one else bid and there was no minimum. Well, the seller was actually quite annoyed – it is a more expensive toy really – and made no secret of it. They honored the sale however and here it is!

It is so delicate that I have brought it to my office where it sits (safe from cats) on a bookcase across from my desk. Everyone knows that if they need a lift they can come wind it up and be cheered up. In fact, there are folks who come running to see it if they hear the goose honking. It is indeed, a Happy Life Toy! Oh toy bliss!

Going to the Dogs – Bonzo

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Pam’s Pictorama Dog Post: Like mice, I guess if you collect cats, some dogs slip into the collection over time. While this is far from all my dogs (future dog posts to follow – particularly Pluto who I have a soft spot for) it is a little enclave of Bonzo and related pieces.

The Bonzo with the fly on his tummy (my favorite) was purchased at an absolutely delightful toy fair that is held in Atlantic City a few times a year. I have been lucky enough to persuade my long-suffering husband to attend with me several times (roundtrip in a single day on the gambling bus – um, interesting) and this was found there.  I couldn’t remember if the bulldog with the fly on his nose was purchased with Bonzo, but Kim reminded me this morning that he was not. He may have been an eBay purchase, but he has a price mark on his bottom which makes me think I found him elsewhere. Bonzo has a mark I cannot read, but it appears European and the other dog is unmarked. Both insects are metal and attached with little wires through a hole for that purpose. Wonderful because it allows them to tremor a bit and the texture difference creates a strange sense of reality.

The other two dog pieces were bought at a flea market (I think with a Donald Duck which I can’t find…) and they are marked from Japan. Not my usual taste but they seemed to need a home with a shelf where they would be appreciated.

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The Valentine is a canny reprint with a copyright of 2000. There’s a tab on his head and his eyes go cock-eyed. I found it somewhere and gave it to Kim one year. (Frankly, I had forgotten the origin, but is inscribed on the back.) Having spent years looking for great stuffed cats, I can tell you, there are a lot of great dog toys out there. So far I have resisted them for the most part, but there’s something about Bonzo and his compatriot look-alikes that I will stretch a point for. And Norakuro too, of course – but he looks like a wonderful fat cat.

As a bonus, here is a link to a Bonzo cartoon – duped to the point of almost invisible, but it does give you a sense of his spirit!

Mine, all mine…at long last

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Aesope's Fabkes toys

Pam’s Pictorama Photo Post:  Sometimes as a collector there is something that eludes you over a period of time. And sometimes as a spouse there is something from your partner’s former life that scratches at the back of your brain. This wonderful photograph managed to embody both for me. While I have used this photo in a previous blog post (Van Buerens Aesop Fables, the Toys) it was pulled off the internet, not my very own copy.  It is the only publicity photo of these fairly rarified toys that I am aware of. (As you may know, I do have that rather sharp photo of Jane Withers holding one.) This one, for the record, is ever so slightly cropped, the serial number gone, probably the most notable difference. One of the important features of this photo is that each toy wears their name on a tag around their neck so those names are not lost to the sands of time: Milton (mouse), Don (dog), Mike (monkey), Raffles (or is it Waffles?) and The Countess. All except the wolf toy.  What on earth could his name have been? I must research that.

Meanwhile, years ago, as the story goes Kim was visiting a film collector (along with Leonard Maltin no less – this was of course in the days when film collector meant piles of film cans for those of you born in the post-DVD, streaming online era) and the fellow gave each of them a copy of this photo! Amazing!  He evidently had a pile of them. So far so good, except my husband (who is a lovely and very unselfish fellow) gave it to his then girlfriend Sally. Now this was bound to stick in my craw both on the spouse side as well as irritate the heck out of me on the wife side even all these years later – it happened in 1980. Obviously I understand – I wasn’t even a twinkle in his eye for another fourteen years, and I was in fact, still quite underage and yet to embark on my years of toy collecting. Still, in my jealous wife and toy collectors brain this has remained a wrong that needed to be set right.

Enter eBay last week – on a day when I had decided I really needed to rein in spending and behave for a while, but was having a little look nonetheless. There it was, mis-listed under Mickey Mouse photos and set as a buy-it-now for $25. Just in time for our wedding anniversary and our 20 year anniversary of our very first date. Bam! Mine!  Oh bliss! The universe set right at long last.

A Rare Little Felix

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Pam’s Pictorama Toy Post: By now you probably realize that I spend a lot of time looking at (and, yes, acquiring) Felix the Cat toys from the 20’s and 30’s.  The above Felix is one I purchase years ago on eBay, there was this one and an even smaller version for sale at the same time, and I have never seen the likes of them since. (I could only afford the one – they went high!) He’s about five inches, seated, but is fully jointed.

He has, as you can see, the Felix hunchback that the Brits almost always give their Felix toys. (This came from Felix in his leaning over walking and thinking position.) This Felix is fluffier than most, a real long-hair. I like the expression on his face – he’d wink if he could! He has all the charm of these off-model numbers I love yet is entirely different from my others. His joints are a bit loose and I try to keep him away from much activity, on the cat shelf at the foot of the bed, but low enough where I can admire him every single day.

 

The Strangeness of French Betty and Felix

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Pam’s Pictoram Toy (?) Post: Don’t know why, but this item has been on my mind lately so I thought I would write about it. Those of you who followed my purchases in the flea markets of Paris a couple of years ago (heaven!) might remember this. Never saw anything like it when I bought it, nor have I seen anything that was a kissing cousin to it since.  It is a lightweight wood and decorated on all other sides with the sort of alligator print you see on the edges. Too flimsy for a lunch box – a purse perhaps? I guess the French really are different from us, yes? I mean, to think they live in a country where women once walked down the street carrying accessories such as this. Really a very civilized place.

Aside from its use (and practicality, or lack thereof) what in the name of goodness is going on in that image?  Betty, complete with beauty mark (but maybe minus a mouth?) seems to be getting a come hither look from that goose – and Felix is playing some nefarious role peeking out from that tree.  All playing out in front of a castle-esque building in the background – I like to imagine that Betty has an apartment in that building – like the cartoon Betty’s Penthouse:

Although that was a more urban setting. Still, her place with a turret or a balcony?

Betty looks worried here – and I think she’s got good reason. Felix and the goose are up to no good. (Really, I hate to see an evil Felix.) This appears to be an unlicensed piece. Absolutely no manufacturing information.  Needless to say the moment I saw it I knew I had to have it.  While the owner of the stall did politely allow me to bargain a bit (as I said, very civilized place) my memory of it was that I was holding it possessively the entire time, and did a very bad job of hiding the fact that I absolutely was not leaving without it. (As I remember, Kim kicked in a bit to help make the transaction happen.) I know I paid a lot for it, but like many a really fine purchase, I don’t remember how much, even roughly.  Just that it is mine – oh happy toy lust!

 

Tea Party

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Pam Pictorama Photo Post:  Much like the recent My Little Pony post, this is another glance of real life into an idyllic looking childhood.  This photo postcard, discovered in a search of Mickey Mouse photos (Mickey in chair, left) is beyond charming – I want to be this little girl with the dolls and the adorable pet rabbit! (I think the rabbit is real not stuffed, don’t you?)  Check out that nifty rocking toy behind Mr. Bunny, shaped like a chick, reminiscent of Boston’s swan boats – and the nice chair Mr. Buns is sitting on. This kid had great stuff!  She sets an elegant table – and she’s wagging her finger at the doll in the high chair – you rogue. Dolly, you!

Flip and Froggy

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Pam’s Pictorama Toy Post: The Frogs have it! Let me start with this – I don’t collect frogs. (Not that there’s anything wrong with collecting frogs.) However, as a toy collector these three have found their way into our home. Starting with Flip who I purchased on eBay. He is made by Dean’s Rag Company and I consider him an undervalued toy. Mine isn’t in pristine condition (he’s an old, old frog after all) but I bought him, unchallenged, for very little. No one needed Flip that day, but me I guess.  I am a fan of the Flip the Frog cartoons, although it wasn’t until well into adulthood that I caught up with them. (Kim introduced me to them. He saw them on tv as a child – says it was big news in their house when they went on tv. I’ve already discussed how impoverished my childhood was compared to his.) I can’t resist including a specimen cartoon – I don’t remember seeing this one before.  Flip really is one strange looking frog – even when he isn’t playing a dentist.

Next up is Froggy. This toy came to us as a wedding gift – thank you Monty! Smilin’ Ed and Andy’s Gang did not make it into the rerun tv packages of my childhood either, and I was introduced to Froggy and company while Kim was working on his book Smilin’ Ed.  (Brief commercial for the family product: you can find Smilin’ Ed here.) Kim worked on the story through our early years together so Froggy has endeared himself to me, despite being absolutely evil in the book. Here is a clip of Froggy in action (Incidentally, I have always wondered why there don’t seem to be any Midnight the Cat toys, but they’d probably be sort of scary anyway.)

So you can imagine my great surprise when a few years ago I wandered into the mall at Columbus Circle just before Christmas and there in a pop-up shop I found the new Froggy shown here! That’s right, someone found one of the variations on the Froggy toy and recreated him….as a dog toy. I bought up the few they had in stock and later found the company online. Needless to say, several people received Froggy toys that year! Should you wish to order a rather expensive, lead-free dog toy for you or someone else who appreciates vintage tv you can do so at Roll Over Red Rover. Perhaps given his misdeeds it is Froggy’s karma to end up reincarnated as a dog toy.

Oskar

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Pam’s Pictorama Toy Post:  This little fellow is one of my favorite and most inspired impulse buys. I bought him for a song when he was put up for auction with very little, if any, information. It was several years before I learned that his name is Oskar and that he was produced by Teddy Hermann, a German toy company. He is about 8″ high and he is a natty and roguish presence on the cat shelf. Kim and I have often speculated that you tend to find Oskar routinely in compromising positions with the other stuffed cats, no matter what shelf you put him on.

I suspect he might be somewhat incomplete when it comes to accessories, especially when I compare him to his younger cousin below. (Although they both look like they would always be up for a night of drinking and carousing – how often can you say that about a toy?) He is unlike any of my other cat toys. He has a head made of composition, mohair body and a hand-knit appearing sweater – the photo of his back is dark but you can see the little heart sewn onto his bottom. However, like my Felix toys, it is a bit hard to imagine buying Oskar for your child.  He is, in my opinion, an adult toy.

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This photo from an old eBay (May 2010) listing I found in the Google picture file serves to confirm my feeling.  According to the listing, he was made in the 1950’s as a promotional item for the Frankfurter Illustrierte Journal. He has a rubber face, as opposed to composition, a jauntier sweater and that cheerful neckerchief.  He’s also fluffier. I do wonder if my Oskar was also a promotional item – makes sense – although why a weekly German picture paper (as described on German Wikipedia) would be giving away Oskar as a promotion remains an interesting mystery.  My kind of paper I guess.

Postscript:  Some amazing and very interesting information about Oskar and the Frankfurter Illustrierte Journal via a German Facebook friend, Joachim Trinkwitz. I have copied it below. Mr. Google seems willing to translate…

  • Joachim Trinkwitz “why a weekly German picture paper (as described on German Wikipedia) would be giving away Oskar as a promotion remains an interesting mystery” – because that’s Oskar der Familienvater (the family man), a german newspaper comic strip character from the 1950s. His creator, the cartoonist Carl Fischer AKA Cefischer, actually lost both his arms in WW II, but learned to draw with his mouth and got very popular and successful in West Germany. But nowadays, he’s completely forgotten …

    Joachim Trinkwitz's photo.
    Joachim Trinkwitz Oskar has a Wikipedia page indeed:http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_(Comic), as well as his creator. Lambiek’s Comiclopedia has some information in English, and a few pictures:http://www.lambiek.net/artists/c/cefischer.htm

    Oskar (Comic) – Wikipedia
    Oskar ist die bekannteste Comicfigur des deutschen Zeichners Cefischer. Die Geschichten von Oskar und seiner Familie erschienen von 1952 bis 1962 in der Frankfurter Illustrierten und wurden während dieser Zeit und auch danach in Buchform nachgedruckt.
    DE.WIKIPEDIA.ORG