| The pictures below show larger front and back views of the (2) Small Old Al Capp Li'l Abner Comic Cartoon Shmoo Character Items in this lot. These items are not dated but both are from the 1940s or 1950s. We do not know how these were originally acquired. They may have been mail away premiums or purchased in a store, we do not know. The first item is a Shmoo magnet toy or magic trick. There is a magnet inside the cream colored plastic Shmoo figure. It is not marked. The second item is a tin pinback button. It pictures Shmoo with a building, a fence the Sun, and what appears to be a few mushrooms. We do not know if this pin is part of a Li'l Abner Comic set or not. It is marked as follows: HIGH SHMOO
© UFS (for United Feature Syndicate) The toy magnet figure measures 1-1/2'' tall and the pin back button measures 13/16'' wide. The figure appears to be in excellent condition and the pin has a surface rust spot on the front as pictured. Below here, for reference, is some information about the Shmoo character: Shmoo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The shmoo (plural: shmoon, also shmoos) is a fictional cartoon creature created by Al Capp (1909 - 1979); the character first appeared in its classic comic strip Li'l Abner on August 31, 1948. Description
A shmoo is shaped like a plump bowling pin with stubby legs. It has smooth skin, eyebrows and sparse whiskers, but no arms, nose or ears. Its feet are short and round but dextrous, as the shmoo's comic book adventures make clear. It has a rich gamut of facial expressions and often expresses love by exuding hearts over its head. Cartoonist Al Capp ascribed to the shmoo the following curious characteristics. Its satirical intent should be evident: They reproduce asexually and are incredibly prolific, multiplying exponentially faster than rabbits. They require no sustenance other than air. Shmoos are delicious to eat, and are eager to be eaten. If a human looks at one hungrily, it will happily immolate itself, either by jumping into a frying pan, after which they taste like chicken, or into a broiling pan, after which they taste like steak. When roasted they taste like pork, and when baked they taste like catfish. (Raw, they taste like oysters on the half shell.) They also produce eggs (neatly packaged), milk (bottled, grade A), and butter, no churning required. Their pelts make perfect bootleather or house timber, depending on how thick you slice it. They have no bones, so there's absolutely no waste. Their eyes make the best suspender buttons, and their whiskers make perfect toothpicks. In short, they are simply the perfect ideal of a subsistence agricultural herd animal. Naturally gentle, they require minimal care, and are ideal playmates for young children. The frolicking of shmoon is so entertaining (such as their staged ''shmoosical comedies'') that people no longer feel the need to watch television or go to the movies. Some of the more tasty varieties of shmoo are more difficult to catch. Usually shmoo hunters, now a sport in some parts of the country, utilize a paper bag, flashlight and stick to capture their shmoos. At night the light stuns them, then they can be whacked in the head with the stick and put in the bag for frying up later on. |
