The Stuff of the Bicentennial: American History Kitsch

 

 I try not to collect many things these days, but I have a handful of Bicentennial/American History things that I've picked up here and there.

This serving tray is the only thing from my personal childhood celebration of the Bicentennial. Made of the plastic melamine by the Brookpark Company in 1976, it was purchased by my mother, probably on clearance sale after the 4th, knowing her. The company manufactured multiple versions in various shapes and sizes.

If you haven't guessed, 1776 is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's so great and so historically accurate and astute that I used it to teach the Declaration in my US History classes. Consequently, I've seen it at least 50 times. A year or two ago, we were privileged to attend an appearance by William Daniels, John Adams on Broadway and in the movie, and his wife Bonnie Bartlett, in which they discussed their lives and memoirs. Both are still with us; he is 99. It was an honor to meet them and to have him sign the poster I purchased on Ebay, along with the books.

These are "toby mugs". Toby mugs date back to 1700s, but they became popular collectors items in the 20th century, with Royal Doulton being the most famous manufacturer. The Indian on the right is a Doulton from 1967, the left one was produced in 1973 by a company called Byron Molds. The George Washington model, with rolled up Declaration of Independence as the handle, was produced by Royal Doulton in 1982 to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth.

Another of the few American History/Bicentennial related vintage items that I've picked up here and there: a chalkware plaster Uncle Sam. Probably from the early 40s, when Uncle Sam rolling up his sleeves, whether to get to work or to open up a can of old-fashioned whoop-ass, was a common theme. It was most likely a carnival prize. Chalkware statuettes of various characters were popular prizes for winning various midway games from the late 1800s to the late 1940s.

The famous pottery manufacturer McCoy produced Uncle Sam planters, in a variety of colors, but mostly yellow and green, during the early 40s. However, the pictures of McCoys that I've found have the stars in a different pattern than mine. Pictures of planters like mine are usually called McCoys by the people posting them, however. Mine has no marks or labeling, so I'm guessing it's a knockoff, but from the same time.

For some reason, highly decorated beer steins became big collectors items during the Bicentennial, and I own 3 different versions, all made in 1975 or 1976. The white mug/stein was manufactured by the well known company Fenton. The manufacturers of the other two are unknown.