Kitty Kollectibles

 

QUESTION: I love cats and have several. My friends call me the “Cat Lady.” My love of cats has spilled over into collecting just about anything that has to do with them. But my collection has sort of grown like Topsy. I’d like to make some sense of my collection and perhaps create a focused direction for it. What advice can you offer?

ANSWER: Any successful collection depends on good organization and a definite direction. But what’s most important is the passion that goes into it. Your love of cats is what fuels your collection. However, collecting without a focus leads to chaos. 

Consider a theme and perhaps the type of cat you want to collect. With this in mind, make an inventory of your present collection. Keep only those pieces that follow your theme. 

The ancient Egyptians believed cats were magical creatures, capable of bringing good luck to the people who housed them. To honor these treasured pets, wealthy families dressed them in jewels and fed them treats fit for royalty. When the cats died, they were mummified.

The Egyptians depicted several deities with sculptured cat-like heads such as Mafdet, Bastet and Sekhmet, representing justice, fertility and power. The deity Mut was also depicted as a cat and in the company of a cat. They also praised cats for killing venomous snakes and protecting the Pharaoh since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt. 

Archaeologists have discovered skeletons of cats among funerary goods dating to the 12th Dynasty. The Book of the Dead indicates the protective function of cats in the afterlife. By the New Kingdom of Egypt cats the cat cult became more popular in daily life.

Cat collectibles range from an Egyptian bejeweled cat made in 600 B.C.E. to Tony the Tiger and Garfield today. The images of cats have been around 2,500 years and have seldom been more popular than today, be it an Art Deco lamp or a bronze statue. 

For over a century, advertising executives have used images of cats. By the early 20th century, ad agencies used cats to sell just about everything. Some cats, such as Chessie the C&O Railroad cat and Everyready Battery cats, got to be major advertising stars. Felix the Cat rose to stardom in cartoonland.

Cat ephemera, or paper goods, have also inspired collectors. Besides a variety of sheet music, there were such early advertising trade cards as Standard Sewing Machine and Dr. Thomas Electric Oil. Eventually, even Coca Cola began using cats in its advertising in leading magazines in the 1920s. Turn-of-the-20th-century postcards also featured cats and kittens drawn by famous artists of the time. 

As impossible as it may seem, there was a major advertising link between cats and cigars in the 1880s. Booming cigar companies hired artists to design lavish labels and boxes featuring animals, including cats.

Some of these old and treasured cigar boxes have lasted for years, mainly because they were attractive enough and sturdy enough for people to use them to store other items for a long time.

After over 100 years, collectors can still find examples of the Brenner Brothers Cats cigars, Old Tom and Pussy of the K.H. Jacobs Company of Pennsylvania, Tabby of H. Traiser Company of Boston, and ME-OW cigars offered by Austin-Nichols of New York.

Cats were also in tune in 1915 with an issue of sheet music entitled, “Pussyfoot Fox Trot” which promoted the latest dance craze. The Frank Root Company published it. In 1923, another popular cart number, “ The Cat’s Whiskers,” was published by Ed Gladstone and Felix. 

The cat image can also be found in cookie jars to traditional ceramic figurines, from Berwick to Royal Doulton and from Royal Worcester to chalk ware. Glass and bronze figures of cats had also become popular over the last two centuries.

Cats from the Victorian Era to the Roaring 20s also made the scene in children’s books, on bottles, rugs, and jewelry. 

One of the most popular items to collect are cat figurines. Most cat figurines have very realistic features. Some are free standing while others are created with in a variety of themes. Figurines have been made from a variety of materials, including glass, wood, clay, porcelain, ceramic, fine crystal, and metal. Ceramic cat figurines are the most popular with collectors. 

There are many breeds of cats. Some collectors focus on just one or several. For those who prefer a more exotic collection, there are the big wild cats—lions, tigers, panthers, cheetahs, and such.

Besides collecting cat items for the kind of cat they represent, there are also sleeping cats, funny cats, fat cats, cartoon cats, crazy cats, and angel cats. Some figurines depict cats doing things like climbing a tree or pawing a goldfish in a bowl. 

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 old-time winter objects in the 2022/2023 Winter Holiday Edition, with the theme "Winter Memories," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Is Smokey Bear Still Smokin'?

Smokey Bear Jr. Forest Ranger Kit

QUESTION: As I was cleaning out my attic recently, I came across my old Smokey Bear Jr. Forest Ranger Kit. Do you know if this is collectible today?

ANSWER: Your "Smokey Bear Jr. Forest Ranger Kit," was popular with kids since its introduction in 1957. Today, it’s also a popular collectible. It came complete with a bookmark, letter from Smokey, membership car blotter, four poster stamps and a Junior Forest Ranger Certificate, all profusely illustrated, inside of a beautiful envelope. The Forest Service even included a brass-relief badge from time to time. .

The Forest Service used Bambi as their symbol first.

Created by a Madison Avenue advertising campaign in 1944, the idea of fire prevention
began during World War II when the Empire of Japan considered wildfires as a possible weapon against the United States. During the Lookout Air Raids of September 1942, the Japanese military attempted without success to set ablaze coastal forests in southwest Oregon. U.S. planners also hoped that if Americans knew how wildfires would harm the war effort, they would better cooperate with the Forest Service to eliminate any kind of fire.

So the U.S. Forest Service embarked on an advertising campaign for the prevention of forest fires. It borrowed the image of Bambi for a year until it could come up with a better symbol. But even though the campaign used Bambi on posters for a few months,  somehow he didn’t quite provide the rough and tough, firefighter image needed. The ad men decided a bear would be more appropriate and gave the job of designing him to illustrator Albert Staehle.

One of Staehle's original posters

Staehle created the Smokey character with the ranger hat and carrying a water bucket. He did four original posters of Smokey for the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. The first one depicted a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire and saying “"Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires." In 1947, it became "Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires." In 2001, it was again updated to its current version of "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires"

After Staehle initial creation, Rudy Wendelin took over the job as his artist. For 30 years, until his retirement from the Forest Service in 1975. Wendelin endlessly drew Smokey. Later, he even designed the commemorative postage stamp released in 1984 in honor of Smokey’s 40th anniversary.

The Forest Service supposedly named the bear after Smokey Joe Martin, New York City's assistant fire chief in the 1920's. He began appearing on fire prevention posters and billboards and in countless television public service advertisements pleading with viewers to be fire-safe in the forests.

The little cub rescued in New Mexico

In the Spring of 1950, fire swept through New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest in the Capitan Gap Fire, burning 17,000 acres. A group of soldiers from Fort Bliss, Texas, who had come to help fight the fire, discovered the badly burned bear cub and brought him back to the camp. The Forest Service decided the bear cub should be the living symbol of forest fire prevention. At first it named him Hotfoot Teddy, but he was later renamed Smokey, after the cartoon character used in the original campaign. And for the next 25 years the Forest Service used the little bear as a living reminder to Americans of the need to be careful with matches and fire in the forests.

Soon after his rescue, the Forest Service flew Smokey in a Piper Cub to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.. A special room had been prepared for him at the St. Louis zoo for an overnight fuel stop during the trip, and when he arrived at the National Zoo, where he lived for 26 years, cheering crowds of children greeting him. Over his lifetime, he received millions of visitors as well as so many letters addressed to him—up to 13,000 a week—that the U.S. Postal Service gave him his own unique zip code in 1964. He developed a love for peanut butter sandwiches, in addition to his daily diet of bluefish and trout.

Smokey Bear poster from 1976

The Smokey Bear campaign produced an enormous amount of collectibles. This treasure trove includes everything from stuffed bears and banks to bumper stickers and books of every size and type.

Early recognizing the growing popularity of its fire fighting bear, the United States government trademarked him in 1952. This was done to insure that he would not be used in any way detrimental to his goal. It also brought in royalties, which fluctuated between $40,000 and $200,000 or more each year—money used to supplement the fire prevention budget.

Smokey Bear can be found in cloth, metal, plastic, and porcelain. Most popular are the stuffed bears. Ideal Toy Company manufactured the first one in 1952. Knickerbocker and Dakin soon followed. Teddy bears of Smokey, wearing jeans and a ranger hat, have been made in all sizes. Some were often talking toys, games, records, and drinking cups and mugs flooded the marketplace in the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's.

Smokey Bear comic book

The first appearance of Smokey Bear in a comic book came in a 1950 release, entitled Forest Fire, by the American Forestry Association. Rudy Wendelin did the artwork. The Dell Publishing Company produced a series of eight comic books from October 1955 to August 1961. Then came Smokey Bear in 1962 by K.K. Publications for a 13-year run as part of their "March of Comics" series. And from February 1970 to March 1973, Gold Key issued 13 comic books.

In 1959, the Forest Service had Western Printing Company create a comic book, “The True Story of Smokey the Bear,” for use as an educational giveaway to youngsters. It became a popular premium for the next 10 years.

The Forest Service also handed out other premiums since the 1950's that today are quite collectible. These include the Junior Forest Ranger' badges. The agency also gave away pinback buttons with Smokey's face and the slogan, "I'm Helping Smokey Prevent Forest Fires," as well as a free coloring book, "The Blazing Forest," also printed by Western Publishing Company, as part of its "Prevent Forest Fires" campaign.

Despite the Forest Service’s campaign's success over the years, wildfire prevention remains one of the most critical issues affecting our country. And with wildfires raging in the West, Smokey's message is as relevant and urgent today as it was in 1944.

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  world's fairs in the 2020 Summer 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.

Stringing Along

QUESTION: I like to browse thrift shops. There are several in my area in which I’ve found some unique antiques and collectibles. One of the most unusual has been the string holder. This kitchy item has an almost comic character. I’ve purchased several over the last few years but know practically nothing about them. Can you tell me how string holders originated and how long they were made?

ANSWER: String has been a common item in homes and businesses for a long time. But string can easily get tangled, so inventors came up with ways to keep string in line. During the 19th century, the traditional shape of cast-iron string holders was the beehive. Others were egg-shaped  with openings around their sides so storekeepers could see how much string was left.

People often associate string holders with general stores, when storekeepers wrapped purchases in brown paper dispensed from a roll mounted on a frame with a cutting bar. Then, the storekeeper secured the package with string or twine. The wrapping paper generally sat on its frame at the end of the counter, and the string holder was suspended from the ceiling right over the. counter. Some of these holders were elaborate, complete with a sign promoting some product, such as Heinz pickles. Others, were simply a cast iron hole tin frame that held a ball or cone of twine and fed the string through a hole in the bottom.




By the early 20th century string holders had come into the home. These were usually figural pieces that hung on the wall and had a compartment to hold a ball of string. A person could feed the string through a hole in the figure, typically through the mouth in  a face, where it could be pulled out for a given amount, then cut off for use. While some of the early examples date to the 19th century, these decorative figures became popular from the start of the Great Depression through the 1950s. Manufacturers produced string holders from a variety of materials, including cast-iron, wood, glass, and porcelain, but the predominant choice of material was chalkware, more commonly known as plaster of paris. Many string holder manufacturers used it because of its low cost and ease in which it could be cast.

Once it cured or hardened, workers removed the plaster holder from the mold and painted to give it strong eye appeal. It was a popular item sold in five and dime stores, and the designs seemed to be endless. More often than not, manufacturers produced a broad line of wall pockets, of which string holders were one of the line. Wall pockets were designed to hang on the wall and hold a variety of items, such as stamps, matches, flowers, letters, etc. Some of the better known manufacturers of`wall pockets and string holders include McCoy, Roseville, Weller, and other established firms.

One of the companies that produced unique string holders was Miller Studio of New Philadelphia, Ohio. Miller Studio made string holders from 1947 to 1958. Some of their early designs included Jo-Jo the Clown, a wormy apple that featured "Willie the Worm, Susie Sunfish, and a kitten on a red ball of yarn. In 1949 they dropped the clown and sunfish and added "Miss Strawberry" and "Little Chef." In 1952, Miller replaced “Little Chef” with "Prince Pineapple." Then a year later, Miller dropped “Prince Pineapple,” replacing him with "Posie Pig." Because of its short time on the market, “Posie Pig” is the most difficult to find today.

String holders came in a large variety of shapes and designs. Most collectors focus their collections on a single category. Fruits and vegetables have always been a popular design for producers. Collectors can find everything from apples and bananas to green peppers and pineapples to hang on the kitchen wall. Animals have always been a top selling category, from cats and dogs to birds of every description.

While the cartoon characters and animals have always been popular with collectors of string holders, some choose to focus their collections on people designs, which include black memorabilia,  girls and women, fairy tale figures, boys and men, chefs, clowns, and comic cartoon characters.

Another category popular with col tors are designs featuring cartoon characters or advertising icons, including Elsie the Borden Cow, the Coca Cola Kid, Aunt Jemima, Smokey the Bear, Popeye, Shirley Temple, Betty Boop, and a rare 1940s Mickey Mouse.




But beware of the many reproductions and fantasy string holders currently for sale online. This is especially true in the category of black memorabilia where many of the figures of chefs, mammys and other black character figures are being copied in off-shore facilities and are flooding the marketplace. Don't confuse these reproductions with the new limited editions crafted by various artists and sold as new.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the Victorians in the Winter 2018 Edition, "All Things Victorian," online now.