Vintage Halloween Rubber Devil Ben Cooper Style Jiggler

Description: Vintage Ben Cooper style (replica) devil rubber Halloween jiggler This jiggler is in great condition. Color is good with no paint loss. 6.5 inches long x 3.25 inches wide Vintage from the 1970sMaterials: rubber WHEN IS A REPLICA AS VALUABLE AS THE ORIGINAL? Sure, this replica is a collectors item because it's a pretty good fake and at a glance looks like the real thing. But, there's more noteworthy reason as well. See the words "Ben Cooper "STYLE" in the description? Now look at the comparison photo (two photos next to each other) showing the back of the item. The original has the Ben Cooper logo and the words "Made in Hong Kong". This replica does NOT have the Ben Cooper logo and instead has the words "Made in China" - and the most significant part of that is the "N"s in "IN" and "CHINA" are BACKWARDS! Not exactly an airplane flying upside down on a US postage stamp, but still. And what I really prize, is while it says "Made in China" it exhibits all the signature crudeness of manufacturing post war "Made in Hong Kong" toys are famous for. Why I think it was made in Hong Long despite it saying Made in China. In the years following the Second World War Hong Kong saw its development take flight at breakneck speed. Mass migration of war-torn refugees from mainland China meant extra hands for fewer bucks, whilst development in plastic manufacturing technology translated to greater output using less effort. Foreign investors from the West relied on Hong Kong as a cheaper production base, catapulting the tiny island onto the map of international trade. Despite the bustling potential of the city, there remained prominent fissures in wealth amongst the population, rendering many types of locally made toys a luxury for the majority of the population. Items that were the cream of the crop were reserved for the rich or for global export. However, this did not stop manufacturers from finding new ways of production to create more affordable versions—as every child deserves the right to play, after all. Although the output replicated existing varieties, the quality of the cheaper toys left something to be desired, earning these copies the nickname of “rural” toys. While the moniker associated the toys with a crude quality of backwardness, this did not hamper their popularity with local Hongkongers at all. By 1972, Hong Kong was the largest toy exporter in the world. Much of it was due to the successes of the flourishing plastic trade. The story behind the original Ben Cooper version (not this one) and why it is collectable. Ben Cooper, Inc. was a privately held American corporation which primarily manufactured Halloween costumes from the late 1930s to the late 1980s. It was one of the three largest Halloween costume manufacturers in the U.S. from the 1950s through the mid-1980s. The company's inexpensive plastic masks and vinyl smocks were an iconic American symbol of Halloween from the 1950s to the 1970s, for which Cooper has been called the "Halston of Halloween" and the "High Priest" of Halloween. There's a great history of the Ben Cooper company on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Cooper,_Inc.). 10% of the sale of this item will be donated to the Wikipedia Foundation Please see and examine all pictures for details, they are considered part of the description Items are sold “AS IS” and NO RETURNS unless otherwise listed with conditions We used recycled boxes to help keep shipping rates as low as possible, we will always try to use suitable boxes for your item, but may have company logos, writings, or markings. CHECK OUT OUR STORE, Burman's Basement, FOR MANY UNIQUE TREASURES, WE ARE HAPPY TO COMBINE SHIPPING WHEN POSSIBLE

Price: 49.95 USD

Location: Miami, Florida

End Time: 2024-09-04T18:47:58.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD