| The picture below shows a larger view of all (2) Matching Small 1931 Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal Toy Prize Candle Sticks or Holders in this lot. These prizes are not dated but they are from 1931. They are not marked, but the Cracker Jack ID Number for these is: Z-0035 from the Cosmo Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois. One of these has a gold finish. The other one had some blue ink at one time, but it appears to have worn off, except on the bottom. 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. Both of these for one price! To judge the sizes the largest one included here measures about 5/8'' x 1-5/16''. They appear to be in excellent condition as pictured. |
