Doing the Monster Mash

 

QUESTION: I guess you can say I’m a Halloweenie. I love Halloween. Every year I begin decorating in September. Over the years I’ve amassed a collection of monsters—toys, masks, costumes, etc. Collecting them has been fun, but I really don’t know much about their origins. What can you tell me?

ANSWER:  Along with the usual array of ghosts and witches parading the streets on Halloween, look closely and you're bound to see versions of monsters from yesteryear—Frankenstein, The Wolfman, and Dracula. All are as much a part of Halloween as pumpkins glowing on front porches. Even though these films date from decades ago, the classic Universal Studios monsters are still among the most recognized images to come from the silver screen. While Universal designed those early film monsters to simply scare moviegoers, the creatures moved into the toy and collectibles world during the 1960s. Today, the demand for classic monster collectibles has generated a thriving market with prices that might frighten some beginning collectors as much as the monsters would have scared their grandparents.

It was in 1931 when all horror hell broke loose for Universal. One historic release was James Whale's frightening screen version of "Frankenstein," portrayed by the then struggling actor Boris Karloff, the haunting, supernatural appearance of the Monster terrified unsuspecting audiences. Sewn together from the bodies of harvested corpses with electrodes protruding from his neck, the Monster looked like a hideous creation reanimated from the dead. Released in the same year was Todd Browning's chilling adaptation of Brain Stoker's Dracula. Originally intended for Lon Chaney Sr., the role eventually went to Hungarian-born actor Bela Lugosi after Chaney's death in 1930.

Frankenstein was such a screen success that it spawned a long line of wonderfully frightening sequels, featuring some of his relatives, starting with The Bride of Frankenstein. Others that followed in the 1930s and 1940s included Son of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, and House of Frankenstein.

“The Creature from the Black Lagoon," Universal’s last monster, came along in 1959. Among collectors, he’s the most popular. But as the 1950s waned, so did interest in the monsters. With increased competition from home and abroad, Universal just couldn’t keep up.

The Beginning of Monster Merchandise
The Aurora Plastic Corp. was one of the first companies to produce a line of classic monster merchandise—a model kit of Frankenstein. The model was so successful that Aurora released 12 more monster kits in the 1960s including all of the Universal mainstays. After Aurora's efforts proved successful, numerous other companies climbed aboard the Monster Express with their own offerings.

Among the most impressive and collectible are their battery-ops. Specifically, the battery-operated Frankenstein, which if in excellent condition, is one of the most sought out of all monster collectibles:

To meet the demand for monster inspired merchandise, a multitude of companies began to produce a variety of products.

Though interest in monster collectibles continued its downward spiral during the 1970s and 1980s, monster collectible sales continued to be brisk. The 1970s gave way to the action figure, which dominated the toy scene and monsters became a big part of that sensation.

Among the most collectible monster figures from that time are the 8-inch AHI figures produced from 1973-1976. Of particular note are those monsters that sport actual cloth clothing: Mego also introduced its own line, Mego Mad Monsters, comprised of 8-inch figures available in individual boxes as well as on cards. In 1974 and 1975, Lincoln International created a line of 8-inch articulated figures, particularly noteworthy for their cartoonish look. In the 1980s Remco manufactured a set of 9-inch figures that have proven very desirable among collectors. Also popular was their release of 3 3/4-inch Mini Monsters on cards that featured pictures of the monster as he appeared in the original film. Remco also offered a Mini Monster carrying case with this line. In 1986 Imperial added its own 7½-inch rubber figures packaged in bubble packs.

Not surprisingly an early 1960s survey of young people by the Aurora Plastics Company showed the interest in monster mania generated by old films, which had begun to be shown on TV. Aurora took a big chance in releasing its monster models. It began by only releasing its Frankenstein kit to test the public’s acceptance.

By late 1961 Aurora's boxed Frankenstein assembly kits were in stores and instantly sold out. A second mold was quickly made to keep up with the demand, according to Breugman, and soon the plant was in production 24 hours a day.

World famous toy maker Marx noticed the excitement and added their own Frankenstein toys in 1963, including a plastic monster figure. Another Marx offering was a large remote control model of the monster, and still another was a wind-up Mechanical Frankstein with plastic head and metal legs.

Other related toys from that era included the Frankenstein wind-up with a plastic monster figure in a four-and-a-half-inch-tall antique car, and a boxed battery operated litho tin Frankenstein Monster. Both came from Japan.

During the 1970s, Aurora continued their early kit success by including Frankenstein in their Monsters of the Movies series. However, there was more interest in already constructed five to eight inch plastic monster figures, and soon other makers flooded the market. Mego sold a Mad Monster series starting in 1974 which included Dreadful Dracula, Human Wolfman, Horrible Mummy, the Mad Monster Castle, and Monster Frankenstein. Others with similar figures on the market included Ace Novelty, Lincoln International, Kenner, Remco Industries and eventually Imperial.

One of the last of the battery-operated Frankenstein figures came in the 1970s from Poynter Products. The 12-inch monster was almost entirely made of plastic.

The latter part of the 1990s witnessed the release of a hord of monster action figures. In 1993 Telco released a set of Universal Monster motionettes that included The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein and The Mummy. The Mummy from this set is very collectible . and will most often sell for more than $100 There was somewhat of a lull in new classic monster merchandise until 1997. In that year, the U. S. Post Office released a set of monster stamps as portrayed by the original Universal actors.

Also in that same year, Hasbro manufactured a set of impressive 12-inch figures in individual boxes. The firm based the bodies on earlier G.I. Joe figures. However, it gave more attention to the details with these figures and the faces bore a greater resemblance to the film monster than had been seen in some time. To add to the resurgence in monster popularity was a set of plastic 4-inch toys figures sold only as a promotional item at Burger King. Once again, toy departments displayed monster toys.

Of all the action figures produced, the ones released by Sideshow Toys in the late 1990s were the most realistic. Licensed by Universal and in agreement with the estates of Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr., the 8-inch figures in the first series consisted of Frankenstein; The Mummy, and the Wolf Man. The success of the first series and the demand generated by collectors has spawned new Sideshow offerings. Series 4 figures include Son of Frankenstein The Mole Man and The Werewolf of London. The only figure missing was of Dracula, which Sideshow was finally able to produce after reaching an agreement with the estate of Bela Lugosi.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about art glass in the 2022 Summer Edition, with the theme "Splendor in the Glass," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Meals That Made Kids Happy

 

QUESTION: When my kids were very young, they used to love going to McDonald’s for Happy Meals. A lot of parents hated these packaged meals for the little toys included in them. And I wasn’t any different. But recently, I discovered a box of these little toys as I was cleaning out a closet. My kids are all grown up and have their own children.  McDonald’s still offers Happy Meals and many younger parents still hate those little toys. What can I do with them? Are they worth anything?

ANSWER: The answer is yes, but...and there’s always a “but.” To be of any value to a collector, Happy Meal toys need to still be encased in their packaging and not used. There are some rare pieces that have value even if out of their packages, but generally, as with other toy collectibles, mint in package is the rule.

McDonald's collectors aren’t simply food groupies picking up recent Happy Meal toys. Collecting McDonald's memorabilia can be a complicated affair. Categories are numerous and subcategories extensive. Items can be instantly available or hard to find. Prices range from a couple of dollars to thousands. As with any collectible, the law of supply and demand rules.

McDonald's memorabilia encompasses a vast amount of local, regional, national, international material-ephemera, advertising and print items, cross-collector character items, McDonaldland character items, restaurant pieces, books and comics, sports and non-sports cards, glassware , and plates, watches and jewelry, garments, vehicles, dolls, toys, and more. The list is almost endless.

The McDonald brothers started their fast food drive-in restaurant in 1948, so an item from the early 1950's could carry a hefty price tag.

A novice McDonald's collector could amass hundreds of Happy Meal toys in a very short time. For example, nearly 90 different toys had been in Happy Meals in 1996 alone, and millions of each toy had been issued. You can easily find toys from recent years selling for one to two dollars. A manufacturing variation or recall may create a toy of a little higher value, but even these are available in quantity. 

Happy Meal toys and related display memorabilia remain are the most popular items to collect. Each Happy Meal has a specific and variable number of toys, including a special U3 toy which meets special standards for children under three years age, some bags or boxes, a stand up display and possibly counter displays, as well as banners, posters, and signs.

McDonald's collectors are as fussy about cleanliness, condition and completeness as any other collectible collector. Since McDonald’s had many of the items produced in the millions, prices for most packaged items remain low, and the package must be perfect. Loose Happy Meal toys have little value, especially once they’ve been tossed in a box, as the paint rubs off and are lost. Paper items need to be pristine and unmarked to bring top dollar. 

Figurine Happy Meals toys are the most popular, especially those which feature well-known characters. Special packaging can also increase the desirability. The April 1996 Walt Disney Masterpiece Home Video Collection Happy Meal is a McDonald’s collector’s Holy Grail—eight nicely made classic figures, each in a fitted half-size videotape box, with well designed color cover artwork and McDonald’s logos. Dumbo is the U3 toy in the set. A single Happy Meal bag completes the set.

Happy Meals which feature books, buckets, or. little-known characters are usually of lessor interest to collectors, but there are exceptions. The four small soft cover Beatrice Potter Peter Rabbit books from a 1998 Happy Meal, in mint condition, complete with the Happy Meal box are worth about $80 as a set. The Peter Rabbit Happy Meal was a "regional" which had limited geographic distribution. Any books that have been in children's hands are hard to find unblemished. Usually, this happens moments after opening the package as little ones’ hands are often sticky from eating fries and the like.

Elusive, scarce items can bring big dollars. The growing interest in fast food collecting has helped many wonderful older items to surface. However, many may or may not be valuable. Experienced McDonald's collectors look for complete older items in excellent condition and newer items that might be unusual or limited.

Most non-Happy Meal McDonald's collectibles feature the company name, one of the corporate logos, the trademark “M,” or recognizable characters.  Remember that a copyright date is only the year of first issue—a seemingly early piece may still be in circulation.

Early and scarce are the key words in McDonald’s collecting, although they may not occur simultaneously. Look for design features and characters no longer in use, such as Archy McDonald, the early character Speedee, items with the golden arch logo with a slash mark, and items related to the old style "red and white” restaurants. A 1966 Ronald McDonald costume with slash-arch logos, complete with makeup and wig, surfaced at an unclaimed storage locker auction. Needless to say, a collector paid several thousand for that hot item.

Most people think the same toys appear in all McDonald’s Happy Meals. In fact, they vary from region to region and country to country. This brings the total issued into the millions. And the more produced of any collectible, the less value it eventually has. 

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about art glass in the 2022 Summer Edition, with the theme "Splendor in the Glass," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

There’s Nothing So Liked by a Small Boy Than a Toy Truck

 

QUESTION: As a kid, I loved playing with three little cast-iron trucks. It’s only recently that I learned that they may have been made by the Kenton Toy Company when I saw one of the trucks I had at a small antique show at the local volunteer fire company. The dealer said she believed that the truck had been made by Kenton. Can you tell me anything about Kenton’s cast-iron toys?

ANSWER: At the turn of the 20th century, the Kenton Hardware Company promoted itself as "the largest factory in the USA exclusively making cast iron toys." The factory produced a variety of toys that were miniature versions of fire engines, circus wagons, carriages, banks, trains, and stoves. From the 1890's to the 1950's, the town of Kenton, Ohio, was a center of American cast-iron production.

F. M. Perkins founded the Kenton Lock Manufacturing Company in Kenton, Ohio, in 1890. The firm first produced high-quality, elaborate bronze and brass locks, and coat hooks. 

Perkins didn’t begin manufacturing toys until 1894 when a series of patent disputes caused Perkins to change the name of his company from the Kenton Lock Manufacturing Company to the Kenton Hardware Manufacturing Company. Kenton’s line consisted of banks, horse-drawn vehicles, and stoves. The production of the Columbia Bank, a souvenir of the World's Columbian Exposition, which provided a successful launch into the U.S. toy market.

What followed was a wide range of toy vehicles—hansom cabs, sulkies, surreys, chariots, fire-patrol carts, sedans, racing cars, buses, blimps, air-planes, milk wagons, bakery wagons, bandwagons, dump trucks, lumber trucks and circus trucks. Also, mechanical and regular banks in the forms of teddy bears and polar bears, the Statue of Liberty, the Flatiron building, radios and other playthings such as cap pistols, ranges and miniature sadirons.

Kenton constructed its toys from several parts, each of workers cast in a mold into which they poured the hot, liquid iron. After a short cooling period, they opened the  mold and removed the part. They then assembled the separate parts with rivets or bolts. Because of their rough surfaces, cast-iron toys couldn’t be lithographed like tin ones. Workers then hand painted or dipped the toys in two or three bright colors.  

Kenton became part of the National Novelty Corporation combine in 1903. It marketed its toys under the Wing Manufacturing brand. Fending off a series of takeover attempts, the toy division survived as a separate unit within Kenton Hardware Company. It continued to manufacture cast iron toys from 1920 to 1935.

Like most other businesses, the Kenton Hardware Company suffered during the Great Depression, so much so that it was in danger of going bankrupt. Then, just as Shirley Temple saved the Ideal Toy Company and Mickey Mouse did the same for Lionel trains and Ingersol watches, another popular icon came to the rescue of Kenton. Gene Autry saved the day with the Gene Autry toy pistol.

Vice president William Bixler persuaded the company to manufacture a copy of Gene Autry’s pearl handled six-shooter. Autry sent one of his guns to Ohio to assist in the creation of a child’s size model. Joe Solomon made the master mold in 1938. By 1939, over two million Gene Autry Repeating Cap Pistols had been sold.

Introduced in December 1937, it became a huge success in both the U.S. and then the world. One million were sold from February to August of 1938 alone, keeping the factory going night and day.

The peak of cast-iron toy production extended from shortly before the turn of the 20th century until the 1940's, when lighter-weight models that were less expensive to produce and transport superseded them. Kenton ceased production of horse-drawn toys in the early 1920's, except for a beer wagon made in the 1930's, but in 1939 the firm introduced a completely new line of horse-drawn toys, which continued through the early 1950's.

Most of these toys, except for the early banks and stoves, weren’t marked. Company catalogs, the first of which appeared in 1892, can help with identification. Prices for authentic early pieces in good condition can sell for four figures for some horse-drawn Victorian carriages and fire vehicles.

Kenton ceased operations in 1952. 

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Take Me Out to the Ball Game

 

QUESTION: One of the fondest memories I have from my childhood was going to an amusement park and the circus and buying a box of Cracker Jacks. Even though I loved eating the caramel corn inside, I was more excited to see what the surprise toy was hidden within. As I grew older and frequented flea markets, I noticed some of these little toys in glass cases with other small objects. I started buying them and now have quite a collection. I’d really like to know more about the origin of Cracker Jacks and when and where the idea of the toy inside originated.

ANSWER: Did you know that Cracker Jacks have had over 17 million little toys inside their boxes since 1912?

The Cracker Jack story began when a young German immigrant. Fritz W. Rueckheim, went to Chicago to help clean up debris from the Great Fire of 1871. With only $200 in his pocket, he and partner William Brinkmeyer started selling popcorn from a one popper stand. They made their popcorn by hand, using steam equipment. Sales were brisk, and in 1873 Fritz bought out Brinkmeyer and brought his brother, Louis, from Germany to join in his venture, forming the company F.W. Rueckheim & Brother to manufacture "Popcorn Specialties." 

Two years later business was better than ever, so they added marshmallows and other confections to their popcorn specialties. Between 1875 and 1884. The Rueckheim brothers moved their company five times, doubling and quadrupling their manufacturing space as demand for the confections increased.

But the Rueckheim brothers weren’t the first to make sugar-coated popcorn mixed with peanuts. The manufacture and sale of sugar-coated popcorn in America dates as far back as the early 19th century. 

The Rueckheim Brothers produced a new recipe including popcorn, peanuts, and molasses, and first presented it to the public at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. And though he confection was a smashing success, garnering international acclaim from the fair goers,  the molasses of this early version was too sticky. 

In 1896, Louis discovered a method to separate the kernels of molasses-coated popcorn during the manufacturing process. As each batch mixed together in a cement-mixer-like drum, Fritz added a small quantity of oil which became a closely guarded trade secret. Before this change, the mixture had been difficult to handle, because it stuck together in chunks.

That same year, a salesman munching on the snack exclaimed, "'That's a cracker jack!” which was a popular saying of that time meaning it was really good. Fritz took those two words and coined the name Cracker Jack .He also adopted as a slogan from this comment from a satisfied customer: “The more you eat, the more you want.” He registered both the name and the slogan that same year.

In 1899, Henry Gottlieb Eckstein developed the "waxed sealed package" for freshness, known then as the "Eckstein Triple Proof Package", a dust-, germ-, and moisture-proof paper package. He joined the brothers. Later, he developed a moisture-proof package that retained the crispness. freshness. and flavor of the delectable confection. Now the treat could be sold in handy boxes. setting the stage for distribution off Cracker Jack nationally. In 1902, brothers reorganized their company as Rueckheim Bros. & Eckstein.

But what catapulted Cracker Jack to fame nationwide was the release of the song, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", written by the lyricist Jack Norworth and composer Albert Von Tilzer in 1907. To this day, the lyric “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack” still echoes throughout ballparks. 

Beginning in 1910, Cracker Jack offered consumers an additional enticement, with coupons that could be redeemed for p. A rare 116-page postcard-sized catalog of over 300 desirable articles is one of the most sought after collector’s items by Cracker Jack collectors.

But it was in 1912 that Fritz dropped the coupons and introduced a prize in every box. The Idea was an immediate success. In addition to a lot of fun for kids, Cracker Jack prizes have been a reflection of history, manufacturing processes. entertainment, and popular culture in miniature.

Cracker Jack originally included a small "mystery" novelty item referred to as a "Toy Surprise" in each box. Early "Toy Surprises" included rings, plastic figurines, booklets, stickers, temporary tattoos, and decoder rings. Books have been written cataloging the prizes, and a substantial collector's market exists.

In 1914, Cracker Jack included the first of two baseball card issues, which featured players from both major leagues as well as players from the short-lived Federal League.

Until 1937, Cracker Jack toy prizes were made in Japan. From 1938, Carey Cloud designed them. Tootsie Toy, which made Monopoly game markers, also produced many metal toys for Cracker Jack, During World War II, the prizes were made of paper.

Cracker Jack's mascots Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo were introduced as early as 1916. and registered as a trademark in 1919. Fritz modeled Jack after Robert Rueckheim, grandson of Frederick. Robert, the son of the eldest of the Rueckheim brothers, Edward, died of pneumonia shortly after his image appeared at the age of 8. The sailor boy image acquired such meaning for the founder of Cracker Jack that he had it carved on his tombstone, which can still be seen in St. Henry's Cemetery in Chicago. He based Sailor Jack's dog Bingo on a real-life dog named Russell, a stray adopted in 1917 by Henry Eckstein, who demanded that the dog be used on the packaging. Russell died of old age in 1930. Sailor Jack and Bingo have appeared on Cracker Jack boxes with only slight modification since 1918.

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G-Man Toys Took America by Storm

QUESTION: I love to read crime novels, especially those dealing with gangsters from the time of the Great Depression. Several months ago, I discovered a few “G-Men” toys in a local thrift shop. I didn’t know they made such things, so I bought them. And having read about the bad guys in the 1930s, I think I might like to collect some of these toys. What can you tell me about them? Are they worth collecting?

ANSWER: The 1930s was indeed an exciting time for both criminals and law enforcement. During the Great Depression, everyone’s thoughts turned to money—or the lack of it. So the robbing of people’s savings in local banks was a prime concern.

In the mid-1930s, newspapers and radio stations reported daily on the extensive crime escapades throughout the United States by John Dillinger, "Baby Face"Nelson, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, "Pretty Boy" Floyd and other notorious and dangerous gangsters. Their brazen murders, kidnappings, bank robberies and other heinous crime sprees constantly stunned the nation and were headline stories everywhere. Newspaper reporters and radio announcers often reported these crime sprees with more drama than actually happened, heightening the imaginations of young boys everywhere, most of whom wanted to play the parts of law enforcers.

Through print and radio, the public intensely followed every detail of their crimes, high-speed chases and blazing shoot-outs with authorities. The eventual captures of these criminals were equally covered by radio programs, in the newspapers and on newsreels at the movies. People all across the country breathed sighs of relief each time agents of the then Bureau of Investigation, renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935, captured on of these criminals.

George "Machine Gun" Kelly and others on July 22, 1933, kidnapped Charles F. Urschel and another man in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and held them for $200,000 ransom. After the ransom was paid. Kelly released Urschel and the other man. Government agents Kelly captured Kelly on September 26, 1933, in Memphis, Tennessee and when he was told he was under agents as government men. The "G-Men" acronym stuck and has been used ever since that time when referring to FBI Agents.

While T.V. romanticized and popularized the exploits of Elliot Ness later on in the 1960s, it was Melvin H. Purvis, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Chicago office, that caught everyone’s attention. His most famous case was when he led the team of agents who killed John Dillinger, Public Enemy No. I, in a shootout in Chicago in July 1934. Purvis instantly became an American hero. Thereafter, every kid in the country wanted to be a "G-Man" and to play "G-Man."

 left the FBI and got into the toy and cereal premium business with General Foods of Battle Creek, Michigan, to develop and market a line of "Junior G-Man Corps" badges, toys and other cereal premiums in about 1936. Kids would send in boxtops from Post Toasties. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, and POST-O Cereal, usually with 10 cent in stamps, to become members of his Junior G-Man Corps. They could also get specially marked Junior C-Man Corps toys, including a ring, fingerprint set, wallet, watch fob, sparking machine gun, an invisible writing and secret code writing kit, and a whistle. Toy badges of different rank ranging from a "Junior G-Man” to a "Roving Operative Junior G-Man,” and then the ultimate rank of "Chief Or Operative Junior C-Man" were also available. Along with the badges, members also received an identification card for the lower ranks and an elaborate 8-x-10 "Commission" appointing them to the highest rank.

Back before all the added sugar, breakfast cereals tasted bland and kids weren’t drawn to them. Cereal companies realized they needed to create incentives to get kids to eat their products. Out of this incentive necessity grew the cereal premium. This was usually a toy which kids could get by sending in boxtops from numerous boxes of cereal. Each toy sold not just one box of cereal but many.




Around 1937, Purvis and General Foods started the Secret Operator Law and Order Patrol for kids to join and also so they could get specially marked Secret Operator Law and Order Patrol toys. Included were a ring, fingerprint set, whistle, knife, pencil and toy badges of different ranks, ranging from Secret Operator to Lieutenant Secret Operator and then finally to the highest rank of Captain Secret Operator. The consumer was prepared to send cereal boxtops and usually 10 cents in stamps. Post cereals advertised these two lines of premiums extensively in newspapers, magazines, and in free catalogs. They all featured former "Ace G-Man" Purvis' name and photograph along with various G.Man stories and pictures of the badges, toys and other premiums offered - "just like the real G Men used." Purvis was a hero to parents and young children who wanted to be like him, and the cereal promotions were successful. Children had to eat a lot of Post cereal in order to send in the required number of boxtops to get the badges, toys, and other exciting premiums.

They got their Junior G-Man badges, G-Man machine gun that sparked, their G-Man fingerprint set, Secret Operator Law and Patrol knife, and other toys so they 'could play Galan. Purvis and Post devised the various higher ranks within the Junior G -Man Corps and the Secret Opera-tor Law and Order Patrol for the kids to attain by passing certain tests and sending them in to headquarters for grading and 'issuing the higher rank badges and com-L missions. Before they could take the tests, kids had to study the "Manual of Instructions" for Junior G-Man Corps members and the Secret Operator's Manual for Secret Operator Law and Patrol members. However, there was an important catch to attaining these higher ranks besides just passing a test—the kids also had to eat more Post cereals because they had to send in more boxtops for the new badges and “commissions” of their higher ranks.



Both the Junior G Man Corps and the Secret Operator Law and Order Patrol had Girls Divisions with their own distinctive badges, were featured in 1936 and 1937 on the sides of the Post Toasties cereal boxes, asking boys and girls to join them.

Purvis and Parker Brothers developed a board game titled "Melvin Purvis' G-Men Detective Game,” with separate red and blue versions being produced. Board games by other companies included The Black Falcon of the Flying G-Men" and the "G-Men Clue Game."

Numerous other toy manufacturers, including Disney, Marx, New York Toy and Game Manufacturing, Pressman Toys, dropping toy G-Man-Detect-I-Phone had a transmitter, receiver and phone line powered by a three-volt battery that actually worked. A wiretapping set contained a badge, handcuffs, gun, identification card and a toy dial telephone resembling those used by telephone repairmen, complete with wires dangling from it and metal alligator clips on the ends of the wires so the Junior G-Man could tap into a telephone rule.

And other food companies, including the makers of Dan-Rich Chocolate Flavored Drink, used G-Man rings, tie clasps, lapel buttons and watch fobs to promote their products. Numerous rings were made, some with different color enamel around "G-Man" on the face of the rings. Some tie clasps had the same "G-Men" insignia on them as the rings, along with the same color enamel. Some "G-Men" rings were adjustable. At least eight different C-Men rings were made during this time.



To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  La Belle Epoque in the 2020 Spring Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.