| The picture below shows larger views of both sides of this 1931 Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal or Lead Toy Bus. This early bus prize is not dated but it is from 1931. This prize has the old Cracker Jack Company ID number: Z-0013. It is from The Cosmo Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois. The bus is inked in blue. Many of the pot metal or lead prizes were manufactured by the Tootsietoy Company of Chicago, Illinois. There were other companies, including from Japan prior to World War II. Some of these type prizes were made specifically for Cracker Jack, while others were made as 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 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. This miniature toy bus prize measures about 1-3/4'' x 5/8'' x 3/8''. It appears to be in good condition with ink wear as pictured. |
