Volume 16
Collector’s Magazine - Written by Collectors for Collectors Articles by Collectors Sharing their Passions on... Flashlights
Collecting Store Displays Fun & Games at Christmas
Cream and Green
Tire Ashtrays
FUN AND GAMES AT CHRISTMAS Some years ago while browsing an antiques store I stumbled upon a small card game that had a Santa figure on the cover. I had never seen anything like it and was surprised to see that is was published by McLoughlin Brothers in 1889. (See Figure 1.) Like many collectors I fell into the trap of trying to find just one more old Christmas game. That led to a 10 year chase through antique malls, online auctions and visiting fellow collectors. I read all I could find,visiting large libraries for publisher catalogs and touring museums. Christmas/Santa games, blocks, and puzzles are one of the most fascinating areas of collecting for me. They are elusive, particularly museum-quality examples, but that just makes it more interesting to search for them. Christmas games are still being produced today. The time frame I find most interesting, though, is the 1870’s through 1920. Santa is pictured on game covers in a variety of ways. Early examples show him as a small, elfin fellow like Milton Bradley’s Chinese and Old Santa Claus Puzzle with colored cardboard shapes that would make numerous geometric figures (Figure 2.) In the 1890’s, Santa began to look more as we know him today. Still, that didn’t necessarily mean a red suit. JH Singer showed Santa in a “brownish” coat with pastel background colors in a board game entitled Game of Merry Christmas or What Will Santa Bring (Figure 3.) CARD GAMES Two of the earliest American Christmas games I am aware of are card games from the 1850’s and 1860’s, such as the “Christmas Game of the Months” by Ives and “The Christmas Game of Dickens” by Whittemore, which was an “authors” type of game (Figure 4.) Parker Brothers produced the Kriss Kringle card game in 1899 (Figure 5.) It is small, at about 4 x 5” and originally sold for 12 cents. They followed with The Card Game of
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Collecting Continues to be a Link to the Past
FUN AND GAMES AT CHRISTMAS Santa Claus in about 1901 (Figure 6.) Many of the Christmas card games have a similar theme of trying to get the most presents. There are often further issues of the same game with slightly different imagery on the cover. CUBE BLOCK PUZZLES An early representation of Christmas games is the cube block puzzle. Kriss Kringle card game Parker Most well known are by The Card Game of Santa Claus Parker McLoughlin Brothers, published from the 1870s forward. However, there are also several examples attributed to Germany, which often had a scene of a family by the Christmas tree or a large Santa with toys scene. They are seldom dated but sources usually suggest the 1890s or slightly later. Cube blocks are usually made of light wood, are hollow, and have pictures on each of the 6 sides so that 6 separate puzzles can be made. One of the earliest is the McLoughlin Aunt Louisa cube puzzle series from 1874. The box is wood, sometimes cherry, and has a slide-on lid. Santa Claus and His Works has 30 blocks, each measuring 1 3/4” wide. Some of these cube puzzles are “darn” tough and you marvel at the child who could put one together (Figure 7.) If you are lucky, you will find a booklet with the story and illustrated pictures of the puzzles that could be made or 5 sheets with illustrations that represent the different puzzles that could be made, aside from the cover. The sheets are often interesting themselves, ranging from paper, to linen, to oil cloth. Often, in a particular cube block puzzle, there was only one Santa or Christmas-related puzzle, with the others being Victorian scenes, children or animals. While many of the puzzles portray Santa in a typical setting, McLoughlin produced a group of puzzles that show Santa traveling to different countries. It’s rather strange to see Santa on a camel (Figure 8.)
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FUN AND GAMES AT CHRISTMAS The largest cube puzzle I am aware of is McLoughlin Brothers Tally-Ho Picture Cubes from 1894. The wooden box measures 13 x 25” and has 32 blocks. The only thing Santa-related is the Santa atop the coach (Figure 9.) They also made a jigsaw puzzle in this image as well.
FLAT BLOCKS Flat blocks are familiar to everyone as most children have played with them at some time. Christmas blocks may have only one side with Santa images or none at all, just the cover. The Embossing Company published Christmas Blocks. The cover has an interesting Santa figure. There are 20 blocks which tell “The Night Before Christmas” story. On the reverse are embossed Christmas images (Figure 10.) McLoughlin produced the beautiful Santa Claus ABC & Picture Blocks. It is 13 x 16” and includes a fantastic Santa in “house shoes” cover (Figure 11) and a large, 9-block Santa figure (Figure 12.) On the other hand, E I Horsman produced Santa Claus ABC and Picture Blocks (Figure 13) which told the story of “Who Killed Cock Robin” on one side. This seems strange imagery for Christmas (Figure 14.) Whether the games were exclusively for Christmas or just included the odd Santa image, they are timeless in their appeal. I became so enamored with them that I continued to study them and then thought other people might enjoy looking at the wonderful images.
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FUN AND GAMES AT CHRISTMAS
Santa Claus ABC & Picture Blocks Horsman Blocks
Santa Claus ABC & Picture Blocks
This is part one of a two part article. The next issue of Antique Back Roads magazine will feature more of these great Christmas pieces. My book “The Games of Christmas: Images of Christmas Past” is available on Amazon. My purpose was to provide a coffee table book with beautiful images of the games just to enjoy. I also included some information for those who care to know a little more about each of them. I am always interested in furthering my knowledge or acquiring additional Christmas games and can be contacted at: sharon.xmas.games@gmail.com Sharon Haydon
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Read Part II of “Fun and Games At Christmas” in the next issue
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ILLUMINATING THE WORLD WITH TECHNOLOGY - PART II As a continual of my article in Volume 15, I would like to share more photos and information on my passion. Flashlights have been brightening our world for over 120 years now. They have evolved from very elementary flashes of light to a blinding 4000 lumens or greater. Flashlights have also adapted to many different types of materials for their construction. The earliest flashlights or electric candlesticks were made of gorgeous quarter sawn oak and precious sterling silver. These detailed illuminating devices were the very first of their kind to make their way into people’s homes. Not surprisingly, the need for smaller, more portable flashlights arose. These early flashlights would be made of a simple fiber board material. Later models would use black vulcanite fiber, which was more like a hard plastic. Flashlights designed with vulcanite looked bold, however, they were not terribly durable. As a result, early flashlight manufacturers began producing those using solid metals such as copper, brass and bronze. Often times, these glossy, metal flashlights would be plated in nickel or be painted. As time progressed, flashlights would be produced in plastic, lithographed tin, cardboard, acrylics and even celluloid.
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ILLUMINATING THE WORLD WITH TECHNOLOGY - PART II
Modern flashlight construction and design has radically evolved. With the development of the LED light bulb, one tiny flashlight the size of a AA battery can illuminate an entire room. There has been a real resurgence in flashlights since this new technology has emerged. Many of the current state-of-the-art flashlights are constructed of high quality steel, have unbreakable lenses, are water proof and have more candle power than people could have possibly imagined 120 years ago. Kevin Kissel Kkissel@triad.rr.com
ARE YOU A COLLECTOR? Why not share your collecting experience or collection with others? Inspire others to collect and enjoy the hobby. You do not have to be a professional writer or a computer person, we accept handwritten articles as well. You can also send us regular photos and we scan and put into your article. We welcome anyone to write! Contact us at: admin@icollect247.com or write us at: PO Box 56, Tasley, VA. 23441
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COLLECTING COMPLETE CARDBOARD POINT-OF-PURCHASE PRODUCT DISPLAYS Collector colleagues, we have all descended from an extremely long lineage of Hunter-Gatherers, and if you have created an old Country or General Store environment, it would be incomplete had you not hunted down and gathered up a number of point-of-purchase product displays for your store. Whether hung on a wall or supported by an easel on a counter, they share one thing in common: Their cardboard construction consolidated a lot of small merchandise in a small space.
Typically situated near the cash register to provoke an impulse buy, these diminutive cardboard displays were a convenient, compact self-service venue. Often die-cut and colorful, they garnered your attention. Who among us has not plucked product from these silent salesmen over the decades? If merchandise was small and lite enough to be supported by cardboard construction it was considered for these displays. We find everything from nick knacks, knives, novelties, nail clippers, key chains, charms, combs, magic tricks, locks, rabbits feet, toys, perfume vials, decals, dice, watch bands, razor blades, cigarette lighters, kids rings and many other things offered for sale this way.
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While many decades-old point-of-purchase cardboard displays have survived somewhat tattered and incomplete, finding them as crisp NOS with a full compliment of interesting merchandise is a challenge and a rewarding pursuit. Find a lot of these for your store and it will appear as though you are open for business! The complete cardboard point-of-purchase product displays pictured have been acquired over more than three decades and enhance my Country Store atmosphere. Article & Photos by Chuck Friedman
Emulating a 1950’s Dad
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COLLECTING COMPLETE CARDBOARD POINT-OF-PURCHASE PRODUCT DISPLAYS
Great Kid Caricatures
One of my favorites!
A Sharp Shooter
Scissors for Clean-Cut Kids
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COLLECTING COMPLETE CARDBOARD POINT-OF-PURCHASE PRODUCT DISPLAYS
Bakelite Dice
Cute Little Flashlights
A Delicately Die-Cut Survivor
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Die Cut & Distinctive
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COLLECTING COMPLETE CARDBOARD POINT-OF-PURCHASE PRODUCT DISPLAYS
Disney Darlings Donald & Mickey Die Cut Dame
Ultra Rare Coca-Cola Lighter Display
Nice Art Deco Stepped Display
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A PASSION FOR GREEN & CREAM - THAT’S MY COLLECTION - 2 COLORS ! ! It all started about 40 years ago when my husband, Bill, bought a cream and green graniteware coffee pot on a buying trip to New England area and gave it to me. We collected and dealt in antique advertising but I had wanted to collect something that was less expensive and more readily available. Over the next couple of decades I had amassed quite a collection including about 65 coffee and tea pots. I also had quite a few unique pieces as well---from antique buying trips, EBay, and the many antique shops and shows we had gone to locally.
Over the next few years, I had around a dozen toy stoves----all different in size, configuration, but all cream and green! I also started to buy cream and green handled utensils, scales, small wooden stools, and other “go-withs”----you guessed it, all cream and green.
I had it all----well, I thought I did!! I wasn’t finding any new pieces of graniteware at all. So, I decided to branch out but wanted to keep my color scheme of cream and green. At one of the antique malls we were set up in I found a small cream and green toy stove---it was electric, from the 40s, a precursor to the Easy Bake Oven! Loved it!! I was hooked!
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In 2005, after my husband passed away, I sold my house and moved to southern Indiana. I lived in a much smaller duplex right across the street from my sister and brother-in-law, who also loved antiques. My sister was really into primitives and as we went
Any room in your home can be unique with a collection.
A PASSION FOR GREEN & CREAM - THAT’S MY COLLECTION - 2 COLORS ! ! together to many antique shows and shops, I started to buy pieces of furniture that were cream and green or primarily green.
I also continued to find and buy more toy stoves---I now have about 65, all different, although ever so slight in a few cases. Majority of them are electric. I bought one just a couple of months ago---amazing that I still find any that are different! I also have found quite a few toy sized wooden dressers and small kitchen cabinets, both wooden and metal. Again---cream and green.
Besides my stoves, my favorite pieces are my kidssize Hoosier Cabinet, a kids small graniteware top table with drawings, a wooden bucket, and a small metal toy baby buggy. I still find a few pieces of graniteware I didn’t have----but just recently I have sold some of my collection that has been in storage to some friends that I met through the now defunct, National Graniteware Society. I still love to go antiquing and it’s amazing how one hones in on the cream and green colors----still looking for items that go with!! Article and Photos by Amy Vehling
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CARS - TIRES - COLLECTING As a boy growing up in the 60’s, cars were on my mind before girls were. I bought my first at 15 years old (a 1930 Model A truck) and have owned over 60 cars, trucks and motorcycles. I often told my wife that I wished I had a warehouse to store cars in. In reality I now have a one car garage with room for only one car, a 1986 Ford Thunderbird. What am I to do to satisfy my car hunger? Well, I started collecting items that keep me in touch with my “car side”. Starting with tire ashtrays, along with tire patch kits and gas and oil collectibles. The advantage is I can display hundreds of small items in a small area.
Starting with tire ashtrays…they were popular between 1920’s to 1960’s (when tobacco fell out of favor). I currently have over 50 that are displayable in two bookcase shelves. They can be purchased as little as $5.00 with the average of $25 to 40.
Collection of Tire Ashtrays
Tire ashtrays were free advertising for tire manufacturing. They were found in waiting rooms of tire repair shops and gas stations. Many of the older ones show signs of rubber cracking from age. They are miniatures of real tires, both car and tractors. The more rare ones can run several hundred dollars the “FISK” tire one can run $200 or more. Several of mine have been on display in our local car museum in Boyertown, PA. Firestone tires were made locally before closing in the 1970’s. They produced several different and even one as a “Souvenir of Pottstown, PA”. Goodrich was also produced not far from home until they too closed. You can find them from 1930 World’s Fair and even for “Zipper” boots by Goodrich.
Cabinet full automotive cans
Selection of Firestone Pieces
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Collecting Continues to link us to the Past!
CARS - TIRES - COLLECTING
COLLECTING TV SHOW TIE-INS
What goes with tire ashtrays? Why not tire repair kits. Again a small item that can be displayed in a small area and generally run less than to $15 to $20. Once you get the collectors bug it is easy to find more smalls to add to your collection. Oil cans, gas station and car dealer memorabilia can be found in antique shops, but the cheapest are found at flea markets and yard sales.
I collect TV show tie-in memorabilia. Due to the broad range of items that fit into this category there is NO definitive price guide. TV tie-ins run the gamut. There are puzzles, books, magazines, autographs, games, furniture, clothing, anything and everything that a name, picture or logo could be put on. The high point of manufacturing these items was 1960’s – 1970’s. There were limited items in the 1950’s. By the 1980’s production was declining. Today it has all but vanished, except in the case of Disney and extremely popular shows such as “Walking Dead”. Trying to find value for these collectibles is difficult at best and sometimes impossible. I have six or seven different price guides I need to reference. One for books, one for comics, one for toys, one for records, etc…not to mention books just for specific shows – “Star Trek,” “The Monkees” and the list goes on. One of the biggest problems is with having to use so many different reference books, is that their values are based solely on that particular item. As an example, A “Partridge Family” paperback book may only be worth $2 to $5 as a book, but to a collector of “Partridge Family” memorabilia it could be worth $20 or more depending in the title. “Welcome Back Kotter” album would be worth $10, but to a Kotter collector it could be worth $40. Therein lies the problem. I turn to you the readers for your ideas and expertise. Please contact the magazine at: admin@ antiquebackroads.com and they will forward me your information and I will be in touch. Thank you, David
Collection of Esso Advertising
Also neat are print ads from Goodyear bicycle tires, a puzzle from Goodrich or a “Road Rescue” weather alert radio from Goodyear. Once you start collecting you will grow and you will get satisfaction seeing what you can display in just a one car garage.
Collection of Tire Repair Kits
Bill Evens Pepsinow43@comcast.net
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