c.1947 Novel Products Co., Dare-Devil-Dick in Original Box
Unusual steel litho toy, not the typical tinplate. Appears to have been used a few times and then stored. Dare-Devil-Dick is a loop-the-loop amusement park toy and it works great! A Chicago company, Novel Products Co. was the manufacturer. Never heard of them before, nor could I find anything about the company except that they employed 100% women on their product lines during WWII. It's a two piece toy. The top disconnects about a third of the way up the incline. Dare-Devil-Dick is a polished stainless steel car with reinforced rolled metal edges. The company calls it a "rocket". It has two sets of wheels, top and bottom so it'll complete the loop. The lower set consists of four pressed discs fitted to the side of the vehicle without axles. The top set of wheels are two solid brass pulleys. These do all the work as it whips around the loop. A decal on either side of the car shows "Dick" wearing a scarf over the top of his head to "mask" himself. He holds the hand brake. A rocket trailing fire is pictured below him. A small notch at the top of the ramp allows you to balance the toy on the tip. Just give it a tiny nudge and it'll do it's thing. If you place it on a smooth surface it'll continue to scoot beyond the ramp. Original box shows a terrific illustration of an amusement park silhouetted behind the Dare-Devil. It shows "Dick" shooting down the ramp and blasting past several on-lookers. Size: 15" tall, 17" long assembled, 2¼" wide base. Sold: Feb. 2006
Price Sold: $ 133
