R.F. Outcault Yellow Kid Mechanical Hat Tipper With RARE Composition Head 1900

Description

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THE ITEM DESCRIPTION:
The Yellow Kid mechanical hat tipper toy works by pressing down on the lever in the back which causes the Kid to tip his hat forward while the other arm/hand moves in the opposite direction. The head is molded composition which is quite unusual in my experience. The heads were most often cast metal.  The hat is painted tin while the hands are cast metal, probably lead. The body is a round wood post & the base is wood. The arms & mechanism are thick wire. The cotton/linen nightshirt is original & it is frayed at the hem & the ends of the sleeves. The nightshirt has a lace collar. The toy works well. The tin hat is a replacement made by Tin Toy works of Allentown, PA. It is painted yellow. The toy is 6” to the top of the head & 6 1/2" to the top of his hat. This may be the smallest size that I found to date. The mechanical YK toys have varied in size & there does not appear to be a standard size. The final height was always dependent on the height of the post & base which could easily vary by as much as 1" to 1 1/2". I believe this toy was made in Massachusetts circa 1900 by a toy company whose trademark was C & W. Furthermore, I believe this company became the Converse Toy Company. See all my other Outcault Yellow Kid toys & collectibles on eBay now.
063021
/19CJJ(17)
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Yellow Kid toys are the oldest comic character toys in my collection, nearly 120 years old. The YK was the first newspaper comic strip character & the first licensed comic strip character to appear as a toy. 120 years ago the American toy industry was still in its infancy, toys were not mass produced or mass marketed & the toys were made in nearly endless variations. There are materials variation(cast metal head or composition head). There are size variation(I have found toys in at least 4 different sizes). There are variations in the nightshirt color or pattern. Each one qualifies as scarce or hard to find or even rare.
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R. F. Outcault was the artist/creator of the comic pages first appearing in a NYC newspaper in February 1895 & titled Hogan's Alley. The YK started with Joseph Pulitzer's New York World but jumped to William Randolph Hearst's competing New York Journal. The lead character was Mickey dugan also known as the Yellow Kid, a street urchin of indeterminate age who always wore a yellow nightshirt & went around barefoot. He was bald & was usually depicted with just 2 front teeth. The densely populated neighborhood was also known as McFadden Flats. The nightshirt served as the place for the kid to speak & there was usually a message on the nightshirt. It was the original comic strip word balloon. The YK did not have a long run in the Sunday pages ending abruptly in 1898. Outcault's other creation in this time frame was Buster Brown who would prosper & evolve for many, many years. Both characters were product endorsers & inspired numerous toys & other playthings. The YK was a product endorser long after his run in the comics ended. Based on my limited research I believe that the YK was the first character to be licensed to a toy maker resulting in authorized toys & royalties paid to Outcault & the newspaper. Other, somewhat earlier characters may have had toys made in their image but they were not licensed & their creators did not earn royalties. I believe that R. F. Outcault was responsible for many firsts in comic strip history & one of his most important firsts is the first to license his characters to toy & doll & game makers.
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