Antique ca. 1920’s Arcade Chester Gump in His Pony Cart “The Gumps” Andy Gump Sidney Smith Cast #406 Iron Toy *SOLD*

Antique ca. 1920’s Arcade Chester Gump in His Pony Cart “The Gumps” Andy Gump Sidney Smith Cast #406 Iron Toy

Our Chester Gump is an oddity that took about a week to fully appreciate and research.  Arcade and toy collectors are familiar with the Gump Race car toy, but not this one.  Andy Gump, the comic character, had a son who was less prominent in “The Gumps” comic strip.  The boy gained some following, and later was a spin-off character that had his own kid’s book series.

This toy come around the same time, mid-1930’s, and was actually an oddity in the Arcade cast iron car and truck lineup.  It was an “Outdated” pony car toy with Chester Gump driving.  We see images of Charlie Brown in the face.

Our horse and cart condition is not all original it does have some repairs and the paint has been restored.  Chester is original but has been repainted as well. This many paint applications were costly, and often shunned.  Here, with a license, they wanted to get things right and true to comic.

The Gumps was a comic strip about a middle-class family. It was created by Sidney Smith in 1917, launching a 42-year run in newspapers from February 12, 1917, until October 17, 1959. Chester wore a starched collar often as well as a hat covering his frizzy blond hair.  He was a stereotypical kid of the time often exaggerating and getting into trouble.  Chester had to rein him in. As a treat, we have two additional photos showing the history of this toy.  One is a comic strip picture, showing Chester’s cap, then a second, a catalog showing Chester and Andy being sold in an ad.

The wheels are pretty straight by cast iron standards and roll nicely. On the left inside edge it says, “Arcade Mfg. Co.” It is approximately 7 x 3 ½” x 3”. We invite you to view the photos to further determine quality and condition.

A brief history of Arcade Manufacturing Company of Freeport, Illinois:

The Arcade Manufacturing Company of Freeport, Illinois was originally founded as Novelty Iron Works by Edward H. and Charles Morgan in 1868, and conducted business in two small buildings with a staff of ten people.

The company operated between the years 1868 to 1946. They began making toys and coffee mills and then moved to a new site in 1893 (after fires, financial issues, and changing their name from Novelty Iron Works).

Arcade toy catalogs appear to start at 1902 and as late as 1939. Arcade`s toy line included over 300 toy items. Yellow Cab was their first successful toy followed by Andy Gump in 348 and Chester Gump in His Pony Cart. Arcade also made toy banks, doll house furniture, and cast-iron penny toys.