MUSEUM LEVEL 4

With the emergence of cinematic animations in the 1920s as well as the golden age of comic books in the 1930s, cartoon animations and comic books eventually became the primary entertainment for both children and adults alike. A variety of characters portrayed in the animations and comic books had also become icons of popular culture. With the popularity and the marketability of these iconic characters, many toy makers and manufacturers found character toys to be most profitable to mass produce. Today, toys which depict popular comic books, cartoons and movie characters remain the most mass produced and manufactured toys in the industry. These toys not only served as complementary merchandises but also eventually became novelty objects for collectors. 

LOOK OUT FOR THESE TOYS AT THE MUSEUM

POPEYE & OLIVE OYL TANK

Curated under the Theme of: Comic Book Extravaganza

Popeye the Sailor is a fictional American cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre in 1919. 

Popeye has always been portrayed bereft of manners yet he often comes up with solutions to problems that seem insurmountable to the police. He also projects a near-saintly perseverance in overcoming any obstacle to please Olive Oyl. 

This toy is a Linemar battery-operated tin toy of Popeye lifting up a tank with Olive ‘popping out’ from the hatch.

MAKER: Linemar
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: JAPAN
YEAR OF MAKE: 1950s