Cracker Jack
ALPHABET ANIMALS were made by the National Organ
Supply Company (NOSCO) and first introduced in 1953 as Cracker Jack
ID #1179. According to Alex
Jaramillo, in
The Prize Collectors Journal, this was the sixth series of plastic
stand-up prizes that NOSCO's Plastics Division made for Cracker Jack.
As with other NOSCO
series, ALPHABET ANIMALS had a successful run, and the
prizes were reordered by The Cracker Jack Company again and again -- probably
accounting for the existance of the two types of NOSCO
ALPHABET ANIMALS.
Literally millions of these
were made. They were not
only found in boxes of Cracker Jack, but could also be purchased from mail-order
retailers advertising through print media -- accounting for finds in recent
years of groups of 60, 80, or 100 Type II ALPHABET ANIMALS
at a time. A very
popular series in the 1950s, Cracker Jack lovers could find each of the
ALPHABET ANIMALS in every color of the rainbow -- and even
some colors not found in a rainbow.
IN THE PHOTO AT RIGHT: This Carol Beatty -- of 7410 Santa
Monica Blvd., Los Angeles 46, Calif. -- mail order ad shows NOSCO
ALPHABET ANIMALS as they were sold by catalog in the 1950s. Wouldn't
it be great to buy 100 for a dollar today? Another company that sold
NOSCO prizes by mail order was Breck's of Boston -- 729 Breck Bldg.,
Boston 10, Mass. |
ALPHABET
ANIMALS come in an endless array of colors, tints, and shades.
The most common colors
are red, yellow, green, cobalt blue, ivory, and
white. Click
HERE for more information on the colors in which
NOSCO ALPHABET ANIMALS were produced.
Most Cracker Jack
collectors have no trouble assembling a set of ALPHABET ANIMALS
in mixed colors.
Because they are fairly common, ALPHABET ANIMALS have not
previously been seriously studied.
I am collecting information
to determine letter and color distributions of ALPHABET
ANIMALS. I am also
interested in collecting all the ones I don't have yet -- which might be,
well, thousands! If you consider
all of the color possibilities, you can see why this set provides me with
endless hours of collecting fun.
Have fun, and happy
collecting! |