Toymaker:
IDEAL TOY AND
NOVELTY COMPANY
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning.
But for children play is serious learning.
Play is really the work of childhood”
-Fred Rogers
Mighty Mouse
Made by the
IDEAL TOY
COMPANY
1965
WELCOME TO THE
Ideal Toy and Novelty Company
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
(1907 - 1997) Morris & Rose Michtom, 19th century Jewish immigrants, moved to NYC where Morris first worked at a candy company. Inspired by Teddy Roosevelt's Outdoor Adventures, they began manufacturing teddy bears, sending one to the president. In 1904, the president bought hundreds and used them during his 1904 re-election campaigns. They founded the Ideal Toy and Novelty Company and set up shop in Hollis, Queens.
They moved from making bears to begin making composition dolls in 1907.
They produced over 200 variations of dolls throughout the composition era.
Their Shirley Temple and Judy Garland dolls were hugely successful, as was the Betsy Wetsy, made of rubber in 1934!
Pictured below are many of the rubber head hand puppets created by Ideal: more of the company history can be found by clicking here. Other toys they created? Click here.
Click Link below to watch a full episode of Mighty Mouse, called "Wolf! Wolf!"
Superman puppet with cape. Faster than a speeding bullet (click below to watch original series)
Zippy the Chimp was discovered by Buffalo Bob Smith while on vacation in Florida. Stole a cherry out of Bob's drink and was "awarded" a five year contract on the Howdy Doody show. Click link to watch him on the Ed Sullivan show!
View Mighty Mouse full length cartoon. Click below for "Wolf! Wolf!"
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Fun Facts:
1. The Hopalong Cassidy Doll, created by Ideal in the 50s, included a Hopalong Cassidy puppet (below)
2. Hopalong Cassidy is a fictional cowboy hero created in 1904 by the author Clarence E. Mulford, who wrote a series of short stories and novels based on the character.
3. As portrayed on the screen, white-haired Bill "Hopalong" Cassidy
was usually clad strikingly in black (including his hat, an exception to the Western film stereotype that only villains wore black hats).
4. On June 24, 1949, Hopalong Cassidy became the first network Western television series. The series and character were so popular that Hopalong Cassidy was featured on the cover of national magazines such as Look, Life, and Time.
5. In 1950, Hopalong Cassidy was featured on the first lunchbox to bear an image, causing sales of Aladdin Industries lunch boxes to jump from 50,000 units to 600,000 units per year.
6. In 1950, more than 100 companies manufactured $70 million of Hopalong Cassidy products, including children's dinnerware, pillows, roller skates, soap, wristwatches (made by Timex), and jackknives.
from Wikipedia. More here...
Hopalong Cassidy
Made by the
IDEAL TOY
COMPANY
1950s
Click on puppet for VIDEO.
