| The picture below shows larger front and back views of this Early Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal Toy Prize Pocket Watch with Pencil Sharpener. The prize is not dated but it is believed to be from the 1910s to the 1930s. The pocketwatch has time that reads about 12:23:00. The watch has a red inked finish. It is made of pot metal or lead. The pencil sharpener on the back is marked JAPAN, but the manufacturer is unknown. 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. The miniature pocket watch measures about 1-1/8'' x 1-7/16'' x 7/16''. It appears to be in excellent condition. The 2 of the number 12 has a tiny hole where the mold did not fill when it was made, as pictured. |
