Manufacturer
Hazelle, Inc.
" When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you … never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
--Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)
Young Boy
Made by
Hazelle, Inc..
1950's
WELCOME TO
Hazelle, Inc.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
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MEET THE PUPPETS: Gallery One
(To learn more about each puppet, click on any image in our
unique "Clic-A-Pic" Galleries. Most provide links to
classic cartoons or movies in which the characters on which the
puppet was based are shown!)
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MEET THE MANUFACTURER: Adolf Gund
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Born in 1869 in Germany, Adolf Gund came to the U.S. in 1894.
Four years later, he married Luise Bigler, also from Germany. To Ridgefielders in the 1930s, the old man with the German accent might have been Geppetto. Working in his shop in the barn behind his house, the white-haired retiree created marvelous stuffed animals. People came from far and wide to acquire his creations, made mostly because he loved to make them.
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The man was Adolf Gund, who years earlier had founded the Gund Manufacturing Company, “creator of novelties” that included some of the earliest Teddy Bears.
Today Gund stuffed toys are sold around the world, both new and as antique collectibles, thanks to a man who loved making things for children but who had no children of his own. He began a toy store in 1890's, but sales were so good the business moved from loft to loft in the lower east side of NY.
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Factory workers pose with Adolf Gund, 9th Street Loft, 1922
Gund holds, or has held licensing agreements in the past, with companies such as Sesame Street, Peter Rabbit, Curious George, Studio Ghibli, Hello Kitty, PAW Patrol, and Toca Boca. This award-winning company, now located in Edison, New Jersey, was also the face of a United States Postal Service stamp. Gund is currently a division of Spin Master, which acquired the company from Enesco in March 2018. In the 1980s, China became one of Gund's primary sources for stuffed toys.
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- from the Ridgefield, NJ Press
(1907 - 1997)
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Gallery One in our unique "Clic-A-Pic Gallery"
To view puppets from this period, click on any image below and scroll.
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Licensed by Disney in 1947, this is one of several Disney movies which now is less accessible to young children due to its racially insensite stereotypes. Read more about how Disney has chosen to handle this issue in the link below
(1964) The year this puppet was created, the cartoon "The Pink Phink" won an Academy Award. Watch the video by clicking below, and don't miss the Henri Mancini theme song! Enjoy!
Pluto's in love! Catch his antics in this short animated film released by Disney in 1950... Click on video link below...
(1959) Katnip the Cat and his foil Herman the mouse first appeared together in this animated cartoon (click below) called ":Mice Meeting You!" The cartoon series featuring these two characters were some of the most violent cartoons of that period. Watch the video to discover for yourself.
Produced in 1961, Disney's Babes in Toyland starred the popular Annette Funicello, from the Mickey Mouse Club. Learn more by clicking link below.
Walt Disney's Pinnochio was released in 1953 It was Disney's 14th animated feature film. Watch Wendy meet Peter... and offer to sew on his shadow. Click below.
Gund was well-loved for their plush dolls. Jiminy Cricket in plush - harder to find. Click on link to view Jiminy's "Always Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide"
Plush version of Pinnochio, which was released in 1940. Click link to watch Pinocchio become a real boy.
"Plane Crazy" was actually Disney's first sound animated cartoon, created in 1929. Click on video link below to view.
From the 1959 Disney film, Sleeping Beauty. Daughter of King Stefan and Queen Leah. Protected by 3 fairy Godmothers, Merryweather, Flora and Fauna
Felix hails back to the silent film era (1919) - and was made into a cartoon character. He first appeared in a film called Feline Follies, available by clicking below.
Based on 1960 Disney movie, Toby Tyler, where a young boy runs away to join the circus, and meets a mischievous monkey named Stubbs. See movie below...
My-Toy Company, Inc., was principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of dolls, stuffed plush toys, and puppets. The company was established in 1929 and seems to have existed as late as 1975. It was one of many toy companies located in Brooklyn, NY in the early 1900's. My-Toy Company, Inc. 944 Third Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11232
Remco was founded by two cousins, Isaac "Ike" Heller and Saul Robbins. Armand Daddis soon joined the two. Their name comes from "REMote" and "COntrol" as they first made remote control walkie talkies.
A Canadian firm founded in 1922 by the original name of the Canadian Statuary and Novelty Company In Toronto: within 15 years was the largest toy producer in the British Empire, producing dolls, and toys. Due to its experience making injection molded rubber bullets during WW2, it used this skill, and leftover bullets, to dominate the plastic doll and puppet industry in Canada and beyond.
For over 35 years, Learning Resources, located In Lincolnshire, Illinois, has been manufacturing educational toys and games for use by parents, children and adults. Many of their vintage multicultural family sets are available online.
Dakin began as a family business in 1955 importing expensive handcrafted shotguns from Europe. Roger B. joined the firm in 1957 and began to diversify the types of products. In a shipment of battery operated trains from Japan were six velveteen stuffed animals, often used by exporters in the Far East as packing material. Roger ordered the soft toys, they sold out, and they focused on soft dolls - and puppets, too!
Other puppets produced by National Mask and Puppet including Popeye, Olive Oyl, the Lone Ranger, Wimpy, Al Jolson, Milton Berle, Joe Palooka, Humphrey, The Great Foodini, Jolo, Pinhead and Mr. Pitch.
(1970's) Created a line of rubber-head hand puppets labelled as the "Magic Catch" Game...
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Fun Facts:
1. Gund was the first licensor of cartoon characters, producing plush toy versions of Popeye, Mickey Mouse, Felix the Cat, and Tigger.The deal with Disney allowed Gund to supply every major toy retailer in the United States with licensed Disney merchandise. Plush puppet versions of the Disney characters took of in the 40s, and with the opening of Disneyland in California the puppet line expanded tremendously.
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2. During the early years of the company, Adolf Gund was the mentor to Jacob Swedlin, a Russian immigrant who came to the United States in 1907. He bought the company in 1927, and it is now run by his great-great grandson.
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3. In the early 1900s, Gund received numerous patents that introduced various mechanisms into plush toys such as the ride-on duck (see below). It had wheels that operated a working duck bill which moved up and down as the wheels turned.
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4. During WW2 Gund produced products that promoted the purchase of US War bonds.
5. In 1972, Gund produced stuffed Panda bear dolls in honor or President Nixon's historic trip to China, which set off "panda-mania" across the United States.
6. Read more about the exciting history of the GUND company, which celebrated its 100 year anniversary back in 1998.
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from Wikipedia. More here...
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