We are pleased to offer an extraordinary series of rare antique celluloid pinbacks tastefully set as cufflinks. To our knowledge, we are the only company offering these historic and highly collectible products.
The pins we convert into cufflinks were mostly given away as “premiums” in cigarette and gum packages from 1896 until around 1925.
They were often issued in themed series. Examples include cartoons, humorous sayings, athletes, ships, birds and state seals. The wonderful color absorption of celluloid also made them ideal vehicles for promotional advertising. Products as diverse as boilers and bicycles were advertised, in full color, via the humble lapel pin.
Virtually all of the “series” pins were distributed by about a half-dozen major cigarette manufacturers and one gum maker (Pepsin). Some of the larger series comprise hundreds of different pins. Hassan, Sweet Caporal and Pepsin Gum were the largest distributors of illustrated pins in series.
The illustrated comic pins we have converted into cufflinks were distributed mainly by five cigarette manufacturers: Hassan, Perfection, Obak, Tokio and Clix. They were drawn by nine of the top cartoonists of the period. These included Bud Fisher, Rube Goldberg, Tad Dorgan, Tom McNamara, Hal Hoffman, George Herriman and Rudolph Dirks.
Fisher was the first true celebrity cartoonist, thanks to his invention of the comic strip “Mutt & Jeff” in 1907. Dirks was best known as the creator of the “Katzenjammer Kids.” Goldberg, an engineer by training, is remembered today for his needlessly complicated machines, rather than his life's real pursuit—cartooning. As a sportswriter Dorgan was one of the most prolific inventors of slang, such as “cat’s pajamas”; “Applesauce!” and “Twenty-three, Skidoo.”
The comedic themes illustrated reflect mundane worries of an urbanizing America in 1910: noise, crime, automobiles and disease. Yet they also touch on timeless personal obsessions: body weight, sexiness (or lack thereof), matrimony, hair loss, etc.
Currently, our website only presents a small fraction of our large pinback collection. If there is a subject you are interested in but don't see, please drop us a note and we will try to find it for you.
To browse our online Pinback Cufflinks Collection, click here.
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