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Kitty Cat - Composition Toy marked "GERMANY" - 1-5/16" high

Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:34 pm
by Jeffrey Maxwell
Hello All!

I was sorting through an accumulation of Cracker Jack prizes that I purchased recently and found this item. I was going to chuck it into one of my boxes of non-CJ toys, but this was the first composition figure I have seen in my accumulation that looked to me like it might actually be a Cracker Jack prize.
GermanyCatFront.jpg
GermanyCatFront.jpg (570.68 KiB) Viewed 6788 times
This is a composition figure that measures 1-5/16" high, and has "GERMANY" marked on the back -- although the "Y" is not defined. The shape is a common house cat with stripes -- makes me think he might be an ancestor of Heathcliff or Garfield. Most composition toys made in Germany like this were made of sawdust and glue. It is made to look like clay, but you can tell by the texture that it is a resin based composition material and probably not clay. Most of the items made like this of which I am familiar were from the late 1910's into the early 1940's. They pretty much disappeared by 1948 with the introduction of mass commercial injection molding for plastics. Based on the material and appearance of this item, I think it might be as early as 1920.
GermanyCatBack.jpg
GermanyCatBack.jpg (562.3 KiB) Viewed 6788 times
I don't have much first-hand experience with pre-WWII prizes, so although I think this is Cracker Jack, I am hoping someone who knows about this stuff can give me a more definitive answer. Any information is appreciated.
GermanyCatSide.jpg
GermanyCatSide.jpg (514.38 KiB) Viewed 6788 times
I had to lighten up this last photo quite a bit to show detail so the color is a little off. Notice that when it is standing, the figure leans a little forward -- as seen in the photo.

Let me know if you can tell me -- Is it or isn't it?
Happy collecting!
Jeffrey

Re: Kitty Cat - Composition Toy marked "GERMANY" - 1-5/16" h

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 2:13 pm
by Luke
I think that I might have something similar to this. I'll have to dig through my box of wonders later. If I do, and if they are Cracker Jack prizes, we should do a study group on them.

Re: Kitty Cat - Composition Toy marked "GERMANY" - 1-5/16" h

Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2013 3:25 pm
by larrydw
Hello All,
The earthenware prizes marked "GERMANY" are CJ prizes or probably CJ prizes up to a certain height. The ones 3" or under (really more like 2 1/2") would be. Now for Jeff's, I would say that it was from the same mold (I had a similar cat) as the earthenware litter, and may have been a prototype or fantasy piece. I say that only because there are not a lot of those around. I would say possibly CJ and put it in my collection (Jeff's collection as I would not steal it from him).