| The picture below shows larger front and back views of all (5) Early Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal Toy Prize Violin or Fiddle Musical Instrument Charms in this lot. The prizes are not dated but they are believed to be from the 1920s or the 1930s. Four of these are two sided and the smaller center one has the design only on the front. The Violins or Fiddles are not marked, but they have scrollwork designs. The larger four have the Cracker Jack prize ID number ZP-020 and they were from the Cosmo Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois. The maker of the smaller one is unknown. The violins have tan, blue, gold, and silver paint, and the smaller one has no finish as made. They are all made of pot metal or lead and have a charm loop to put them on a charm bracelet, or as a pendant on a necklace or earrings. 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 musical instruments for one price! To judge the sizes, the larger four each measure about 1/2'' x 1-1/4'' x 1/8''. They appear to be in mint condition as pictured. |
