The Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread 3 3

[ComicBookGuy]

Bill C., I'm glad you're enjoying the show!

And now, let's get back to those Dennis puppets that you posted a few months back. If want to see great examples of them, we need to look no further than Mark's display case. I will share some individual pics of some of them. Sorry I don't have pics of all of them yet.

The ad Bill scanned below is from the back cover of Dennis the Menace #31, from November 1958. The great thing about these ads is they tell us when the puppets came out, which ones were in the set, and the materials they're made of. They certainly make our job easier. Toy collectors may not have access or interest in the comics, so we may have info they don't have access to.

Joe

 

 

And in a very ususual attempt to promote better sales of the puppets, issues # 31 and # 32 also featured "Puppet Tales" - very strange little Dennis stories where the characters are drawn (and move) like hand puppets. Notice the expressions on the puppets do not change from panel to panel:

 

 

I actually owned the "Dennis" puppet when I was kid. I also saw a batch of 4 of these (Dennis, Henry, Mr. Wilson & Joey) go for over $100 on eBay (and the Henry puppet was missing its glasses) this weekend. I would imagine the puppets of the lesser characters (especially Tommy) would be very hard to find.

[ComicBookGuy]

Here is the Dennis puppet. There you go, Bill C.!

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Here's another shot of the Dennis puppet:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Here is another, the Henry Mitchell puppet:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

And here comes Alice Mitchell:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

The Margaret puppet:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Here is the next generation of Dennis dolls. This is from 1959 and is 14 inches tall. Mark clearly has much nicer examples in his cabinet, and I'm willing to bet the clothes on the one I'm posting are not the originals.

 

 

And here is the original ad for this doll. It is from the back cover of Dennis the Menace #32, January 1959. The clothing on Mark's Dennis matches those of the ad...

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Dennis Fingerpainting Kit by Pressman, 1954. Included in this are short, stubby jars of fingerpaint with caps. Invariably the paint on these sets has been used or dried up. I would imagine a set with liquid paint still inside the bottles would fetch quite a premium.

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Dennis the Menace Mischief Kit, 1955.

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Included in the Mischief Kit are such wonders as performing monkeys...

 

[ComicBookGuy]

And "snap" gum...

 

 

I'm not sure what they put in this, but I know a lot of joke shops used to sell very salty or very peppery gum to use as pranks. Anyone know the contents of this gum?

[ComicBookGuy]

And a snake bow tie, just to name a few!

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Before we get off the topic of puppets, I should post this set of Dairy Queen Dennis Puppets as well. With Dennis as the Dairy Queen spokesman for thirty years, 1972-2002, we would need a whole new thread just to post all their Dennis merchandise. Suffice it to say that it's cool they kept the Dennis puppet tradition alive.

 

[BillyBatson4360]

The gum is the part of the Mischief Kit I remember the best! The label gives you a clear clue.

 

The pack did not contain any edible gum at all. (I'm sure the perishability of the item would have presented packaging problems back in the 50's.

 

The gum pack instead contained a phony stick with a mouse-trap-style spring-loaded snapper. The gag idea was that you filled up the rest of the pack with real Wriggley's Spearmint gum sticks. The top piece was the phony one, which you left sticking out part of the way. You offered gum to your family or friends. They pulled the top stick and - SNAP! - they got stung on their finger.

 

Oh, it was a laff riot! (Actually, it didn't sting very much. The idea was more to startle that to hurt.)

 

That's why the pack says it's "snappy gum."

 

The other gag I remember well was an ink bottle with a fake ink blot that made it look like you had spilled the ink all over something nice (like Mom's dining room tablecloth).

[Jon-migration]

I had both a fake-spill ink botle and a snappy gum at one time, though I'm pretty sure I never had the Dennis Mischief Kit. My brother did have one of those Dennis spoons though. I clearly recall that.

 

Jon

[Jon-migration]

I just posted Dennis the Menace #34 on ABPC.

 

Jon

[Jon-migration]

I just posted Dennis the Menace #34 on ABPC.

 

Jon

[ComicBookGuy]

Here is a better shot of the entire Mischief Kit:

 

 

The exploding cigar, fake spiders, and fake-spilled ink bottle can

be seen in this one.

 

The box says the game was advertised in Life Magazine, that it

was made by Hassenfeld Brothers of Pawtucket, RI, and that it

is a Hasbro product. The contents include Exploding Cigar, Rubber

Razzer, Rubber Duck, Performing Monkey, Imitation Bugs,

Snake Bow Tie, Palpitator and Plate Lifter, Snap Gum, Finger

Trap, Imitation Ink Bottle with fake-spilled ink, and a Dennis the

Menace Pencil that is really an eraser. It was made in 1955.

The box is about an inch deep and measures 15" by 11 1/2".

[ComicBookGuy]

In 1954, these boxes of napkins were released...

 

 

Before I get off the topic of cocktail napkins and early 1950s Dennis stuff, here are some more napkins from 1954:

 

[ComicBookGuy]

Here is a sideview of the box where you can read the manufacturer: Monogram of California: