This die-cut cardboard store
sign, or poster, measures approximately 6 1/2" wide by 11" high. Though the Cracker Jack box in the ad is
earlier, the sign itself is from the 1930's. A prize spin top is shown. The sign has a hole at
the top for hanging it, maybe from a general store's ceiling fan cord
so the air currents would turn it for all the customers to see.
Close examination of the dog's collar tag reveals part of an "I" and "NGO" written on it. So it is Bingo who has left Sailor Jack's side to make an appearance.
There is another companion sign which shows a rosy-cheeked little girl eating
Cracker Jack, and the prize shown is a fold-out circular paper fan.
It is very much like the sign above; in fact, the design layouts of these two
signs are practically mirror
reflections of each other. Interestingly, though Bingo is in both
signs, in the one with the little
girl Bingo has a spot over the left eye, rather than over the right one as in the sign shown above.
There are two other signs from the same time period with similar
circular borders at the top.
One has a young woman wearing a
bathing suit with "CJ" for "Cracker Jack" on the front on it, sitting atop a Cracker Jack box with a nightscape
background. The black and white dog, assumed to be Bingo, is there in profile, standing
on its hind legs and begging for Cracker Jack. This sign is unusual
in directing its marketing more toward adults than children. This
sign does not show a price on it, nor a prize. This image has been reproduced on a nostalgic metal sign currently available.
The other sign with the circular border motif is not an ad for Cracker Jack, but rather for Angelus Marshmallows, a Cracker Jack product. It shows a box of Angelus Marshmallows and a boy sitting by a campfire roasting
a marshmallow on a stick. He is quite well dressed for the marshmallow roast, wearing a cap, sweater, and tie.
The slogan on this sign is "One Taste Invites Another."
All four of the signs are pictured in Larry White's
