Vintage ca. 1940’s Unique Art “G.I. Joe & the K-9 Pups” Tin Lithographed Windup Toy *SOLD*

Vintage ca. 1940’s Unique Art “G.I. Joe & the K-9 Pups” Tin Lithographed Windup Toy for Sale

This is a vintage ca. 1940’s “G.I. Joe & the K-9 Pups” tin lithographed windup toy manufactured by Unique Art Manufacturing Company, Inc. of Newark, New Jersey.

When wound this red haired, blue eyed soldier with his dedicated key marches forward with his two dog carriers in tow. The windup works as it should, but you have to really crank it to make him walk across the floor. When picked up his legs move strongly. We believe his hesitant movement on the floor is due to the small wheels on each carrier being slightly hard to turn and his lack of grip on the feet. On the back of his jacket it has the Unique Art stamp and reads “Unique Art Mfg. Co. Inc.”, “Newark, N.J.”, “New York, N.Y.”, “Pats Pend.”, and “Made in U.S.A.”.

Our example of this “G.I. Joe & the K-9 Pups” is in great all original condition with no restorations, repairs, breaks or touch ups. The lithos on this piece are strong and show the usual patina, chips, scuffs, scratches, dents and wear that are normally found with age and play. It is approximately 8 1/4″ H. This would be a great addition to any collection. 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”. 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.