| The picture below shows larger top and bottom views of the (2) Old Cracker Jack Pop Corn Confection Miniature Pot Metal or Lead Toy Prize Military Airplanes in this lot. One has stars on the bottom of each of the wings, and the other one has a circle on the top of each of the wings. These planes are not dated but they are believed to be from the 1930s and the 1940s during World War II. The smaller one acquired from a family of an older former Cracker Jack Company employee. The Cracker Jack ID numbers for these, if there are any, are unknown at this time. They may have been made by The Tootsietoy Company, of Chicago, Illinois. One has no paint or ink finish on it and the other one has green paint as pictured. Many of the pot metal or lead prizes were manufactured by the Tootsietoy Company of Chicago, Illinois. There were other companies, including from Japan prior to World War II. Some of these type prizes were made specifically for Cracker Jack, while others were made as 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 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. To judge the sizes, the smaller airplane measures about 7/8'' x 7/8'' x 1/4''. That one appears to be in mint condition. The green one is missing the landing gear section from the bottom as pictured. |
