The advent of the injection molding process in the late 1940's opened a whole new world of possibilities for colorful yet inexpensive plastic Cracker Jack prizes. One of the first types of these was the "stand-up," a figure with a flat bottom - some with bases, some without - that could "stand up." Most of the early ones were the same on both sides, though some later stand-ups were more three-dimensional, with different fronts and backs. Some stand-ups are very realistic interpretations of animals, people, or other subjects, while others are comical or stylized.

The elephants parading above are some of the earliest injection-molded prizes. They were made by Formold Plastics, Inc. in 1948 and 1949. They are 1 1/4" tall, and their bases are approximately 1 1/4" wide. The series also includes stylized stand-up giraffes, goats, geese, pigs, rabbits, and squirrels. As with the elephants, the bottoms of their bases are recessed, or hollowed, with "Cracker Jack" molded in raised letters.

Most of the prizes in this series are not purely solid colors, but instead are "marbled" with varying shades of the main color or with entirely different colors, much like a marbled cake, resulting in some very beautiful and interesting effects. Though they are predominantly opaque, some can be found which are slightly translucent.

Because of the large spectrum of colors used in some stand-up series and the seemingly infinite variety resulting from the marbling, many Cracker Jack collectors enjoy focusing on a special favorite and accumulating as large a color assortment as possible of that particular prize. Such collections are never complete, since there is always another one to be found that is different from all the rest.

Off to the elephant hunt.....