| The picture below shows a larger view of all (5) Mixed Old Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal Toy Prize Gardening & Mining Tools in this lot. These prizes are not dated but they are believed to be from the 1920s and 1930s. They are not marked, and the makers for each is unknown. These are larger size prize tools. Included here is a shovel with a flower and vine design on both sides with no finish, as made. There is a pick axe with red ink, and one with no finish. Both of these have a charm loop on the handles. There is a shovel with a blue ink finish (Because of lighting, it doesn’t show up well), and finally a pitch fork with no finish, as made. The small thing on the handle is an old piece of string tied on it. It can easily be cut or pulled off. Many of the early pot metal or lead prizes were manufactured by Dowst (Samuel Dowst), or the Tootsietoy Company of Chicago, Illinois, but there were other companies in the United States, and including ones from Japan and Germany prior to World War II as well. Some of these type prizes were made specifically for Cracker Jack, while others were made as small novelties, bought in volume, and used as prizes by The Cracker Jack Company. Pot metal or lead prizes were some of the earliest prizes that were used in Cracker Jack boxes from the 1910s to the late 1940s. Many of these type prizes or novelties were also sold out of old Johnson Smith & Company catalog as well as some other early novelty catalogs, also used in fortune telling sets, and some were also sold and used as board game parts. Many of these can be found factory painted, inked, or with no finish at all. All five of these miniature Gardening & Mining Tools for one price! To judge the sizes, the shovel in the center measure about 2-3/16'' x 5/8''. These appear to range from good to mint condition as pictured. |
