Chicago Printer Develops Toy Business

A die-cast toy is a small model made of metal. The earliest die-cast toys in the United States are credited to Samuel Dowst, a Chicago trade journal publisher. (Among other publications, he put out the National Laundry Journal!)

Dowst had the bright idea of adapting a linotype typecasting machine to make all sorts of other miniature castings. His first pieces, such as a tiny flat iron, related to his publications.

Tiny cars, trains and aircraft were also produced and he began selling them in dimestores around the country. The most successful early piece was a Model T Ford. He sold over 50 million.

In 1911, he produced what was to be the first of a famous line of toy vehicles with free-turning wheels, a small limousine just under two inches long. In 1914, a Ford touring car was added, along with a matching pickup truck.

In 1922, he produced some doll’s house furniture under the trade name Tootsietoy, after the name of his brother’s granddaughter, Tootsie. This trade name proved so popular and so unforgettable that the whole line of toys came to be sold by this name.
The Tootsietoy company was among the first of those making die-cast vehicles to use logos of real companies, such as J.C. Penney, on their toys. It was also one of the first to use character merchandise based on popular comic-strip characters, such as Buck Rogers. Well-modeled airplanes were also an important part of the Tootsietoy line.

The last all-metal vehicle was made in 1969. More recent toys use plastic, along with some metal parts.

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Staffordshire Potters Made Gaudy In Different
Styles As Welsh Or Dutch

Gaudy Welsh and Gaudy Dutch are the names given to two kinds of pottery made in the early 1800s for export to the United States. The Gaudy Welsh china was made for the immigrants, mainly Welsh, who settled in New York, Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Gaudy Dutch was made for the Germans who settled in northeastern Pennsylvania. Both products were made by the Staffordshire potters of England.

The two types of pottery are often confused, mainly because both are old and colorful. The following items may be helpful in distinguishing between the two.

Lustre is never employed in the Gaudy Dutch decorations, while copper and pink luster are frequently found on Gaudy Welsh pieces.

Gaudy Welsh is decorated under the glaze, while Gaudy Dutch is decorated over the glaze.

Gaudy Welsh was made of earthenware, porcelain or ironstone, while Gaudy Dutch used a lightweight earthenware only.

To further confuse the collector, a third type of pottery is also very similar in decoration. Sometimes called Gaudy Ironstone, it was made by the Staffordshire potters around 1850

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Cleansing Product Does Not Scratch

One of the most recognized cleansing powders, Bon Ami, has been made since 1886. It combines the mineral feldspar with soap to produce a powder that doesn’t scratch the surface.

That gave rise to its famous slogan, “Hasn’t Scratched Yet,” used in conjunction with a newly hatched chick. The company explained that a chick will not scratch for food for the first few days after it comes out of its shell, while it is still living off the nutrients of the yolk. Therefore, neither the baby chick nor Bon Ami has scratched yet.

Note: This remains a good product for collectors to use. We use it on much of our glassware and pottery to remove stains, and have found that, indeed, it doesn't scratch.

Donna Miller

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