The picture below shows larger front and back views of the (3) Different Scarce Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal Toy Prize Pocket Watches & Clock in this lot. These prizes are not dated but they are believed to be from the 1910s to the 1930s. They appear to be made by the same company. Each of these have a tiny square glass piece embedded inside. They are marked “JAPAN” but the maker is unknown. The first one is a pocketwatch with a clear glass piece inside. It has time: 11:20. The second one is a wall clock with a weight. It has Roman numerals, and a red piece of glass inside. The time is: 8:00. The third one is aanother smaller pocket watch. It has Roman numerals, and a blue piece of glass inside. The time is: 8:05. 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 three of these for one price! To judge the sizes, the miniature wall clock in the center measures about 5/8'' x 1-1/4'' x 1/8''. They appear to be in mint condition as pictured. |