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Unique Art Tin Lithographed Windup “G.I. Joe and His Jouncing Jeep” *SOLD*

Unique Art Tin Lithographed Windup “G.I. Joe and His Jouncing Jeep”

Our glossy Jeep is a great find and lightly used.  It works and is ready for action again!

The toy moves forward, then back, then bucks the driver and his pivoting helmet.  It jounces!  Think of the similar Marx toys and it has a similar random action.

Lithography is original, clean, and glossy.

This piece shows the usual patina, fading, dust, chips, scuffs, surface rust, scratches, missing accessories, and wear that are to be expected from age and play. We invite you to view the photos to further determine quality and condition.     

 

 

A brief history of Unique Art Manufacturing Company Inc. of Newark, New Jersey:    

Unique Art Manufacturing Company Inc. was an American toy company, founded in 1916, and based in Newark, New Jersey.  They made inexpensive toys, including wind-up mechanical toys, out of lithographed tin. The “Rap & Tap in a Friendly Scrap” was one of its earliest products. Other toys they manufactured were, comic/character tin mechanicals including “Li`l Abner Dogpatch Band” and “Gertie, The Galloping Goose”.   

The company scored a hit in the 1940s when it acquired the rights to a popular comic strip and released the Li’l Abner Dogpatch Band for Christmas 1945. The windup toy featured Abner dancing, Pappy on drums, Mammy with a drum stick, and Daisy Mae playing the piano. Unique followed with a Howdy Doody band several years later.   

Unique’s president, Sammy Bergman, was a good friend of toy magnate Louis Marx, and the two men’s companies at times cooperated, with Marx providing tooling to Unique and sometimes acting as a distributor for Unique’s products. Unique Art’s eventual fate is unclear but the company appears to have disappeared by 1952, with some evidence of Marx picking up the line later on. 

Additional information

Weight 2.8 lbs
Dimensions 12 × 9 × 9 in
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