Character Toys
Character toys and collectibles were based upon the principal
characters in comic strips, the movies and in real life. The
Yellow Kid was very earliest comic strip character that
resulted in by product collectibles. He was introduced by
his creator Richard Outcault in 1895 and led the way into
modern collecting. Buster Brown and Tige, his dog, followed
in 1902 and were also a product of Outcault’s fertile imagination.
The subject of today’s video, Hopalong Cassidy, who was a cowboy
hero, was created by Clarence Mulford in 1904 and was incorporated
into a series of stories and novels. In 1935 William Boyd, along
with his magnificent white horse Topper (particularly note the
spectacular silver mounted Bohlin tack), began to portray Hopalong
Cassidy in a series of 66 very well received movies that spanned
many years. Including a very successful comic book series,
Hopalong Cassidy merchandise sold very well over a long time
period and is the collectible stuff we covet today. Included were
toy pistol and holster sets, lunch boxes, kid’s dinnerware, wristwatches,
knives and many other things, making it possible to create a very
complete and interesting collection.
The Hopalong Cassidy movie series began in 1935 with productions
that were primarily filmed by independent producers who released the
films through the major studios which, at that time, controlled distribution
of most movies. William Boyd purchased all of the rights for film, print
and television to the Hopalong Cassidy related characters and the existing
movies. In 1984 Boyd sold NBC on the idea of Hopalong Cassidy shows
for television. This turned out to be a huge success and boosted demand
for reissued films and for the associated merchandise that Boyd licensed.
As with most, if not all, collectible antiques the condition of a Hopalong
Cassidy related object will have a major impact upon its value. That is,
the better the condition the higher the relative value. Rips, tears, fades,
chips, etc. significantly decrease the value.
