The toys that come in packages of Cracker Jacks caramel popcorn were collected by many of us when we were young.
A lot of the prizes were lost, thrown away or broken. I managed to keep mine and I'm still collecting.
Cracker Jacks started in 1896. They started giving out prizes in 1902. They were first handed out by the dealers and then appeared in some of the boxes. In 1912, they had a prize, un-wrapped and loose in every box. In 1948, they put the prizes in paper wrappers.
Many of the older prizes have no marking. Some were made
in Occupied Japan. Cracker Jacks, C.J. Co., and many others
have supplied Cracker Jacks toys. At the right are some of
my prizes, starting in the 1920s to the last prize one week
ago.
Robert is a car inspector at the Crest Yard in Fort Worth. He and his wife Gloria operate "The Colony", a bed and breakfast located in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards.
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