This is a 1943 Cloudcrest paper punch-out rocker toy, created by C. Carey Cloud, one of the most prolific Cracker Jack prize designers. It is approximately 1 3/4" x 2 7/8" on card stock. This prize is one of a series of four that includes a seal, an elephant, and a crying baby (pictured in Cloud's autobiography, Cloud Nine, p. 53). It is labeled "Action Toy" on the back and says, "GENTLY TOUCH HIS HEAD AND WATCH HIM ACT!"

(You can print out the image to make your own clown rocker, using the illustration in the lower left corner above as a guide. Kids, always get permission before using scissors!)

Goofy Circus

A Section of the Goofy Circus Advertisement

The clown rocker, as well as the seal in this series, had previously "toured" with Little Orphan Annie's Circus, "the first All-Goofy Circus in the whole wide world," four years before he became a Cracker Jack prize! The clown and seal are pictured in a Sunday comics Ovaltine advertisement from 1939, submitted by Mary Lewis, granddaughter of Carey Cloud.

Close-Up of Clown and Seal Rockers from the Goofy Circus advertisement

The Goofy Circus book, designed by Carey Cloud, was available for 10 cents and the foil seal from under the lid of a can of Chocolate Flavored Ovaltine. On the edge of the book is "Form No. P87 Litho in U.S.A. Constructions in this book protected by Cloudcrest Patents Nos. --- other patents pending. Copyright 1939, the Wander Company." It contains the following 58 cut-outs, including 36 "star performers" that move:

1 Goofy Circus Tent 1 Gaudy Green Giraffe 1 "Batty" Purple Buffalo 1 Bashful Elephant 1 "Terrific" Teeter-Totter 1 Rocking Circus Horse 1 Lady Bareback Rider 1 Side-Show Stand 15 Side-Show Action Acts 1 Orphan Annie 1 Gal Band

1 Tumbling Bear Act 1 Ventriloquist's Dummy 1 Dachshund Circus Ring 6 Balancing Figures for Ring 9 Tricky Tickets 9 Pieces of Funny Money 1 Refreshment Stand 1 Cock-Eyed Mask 1 Wart-Nose Mask

Thanks to Mary Lewis for sharing the Goofy Circus information and images.