1905 Genuine,Scarce Kenton Yellow Kid Cast Iron Goat Cart Toy ~Yellow Journalism

Description

Here we offer a genuine, original Kenton cast iron goat cart toy, offered in the Kenton Catalogue in 1905, featuring the
Yellow Kid, who is credited with being the first popular cartoon character. The Yellow Kid (a.k.a. Mickey Dugan) was a carefree Irish street urchin--dressed only in a soiled yellow nightshirt, and shaved bald, as lice-infested poor kids routinely were--but with a natural cheer nothing could upset--who became so sensationally popular at the close of the 19th century in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World newspaper that when Hearst's New York Journal went to war with the World, the Journal shamelessly stole the character. The poor journalistic quality of these two overly-sensational tabloids came to be known as "yellow journalism", a term referring directly to the Yellow Kid comics they shared.
The Yellow Kid's marvelously creative cartoonist,
Richard F. Oucault, would go on to further success, with a whole slew of characters in the comic strip "Hogan's Alley", most notably, mischievous rich kid Buster Brown and his talking dog, Tige (pronounced as in "Tiger"). Hogan's Alley would much later inspire "Our Gang" and "The Little Rascals". The goat cart is a similar charm to this character, as poor people in cities often kept goats for milk, and a goat cart was seen as a novelty of plucky urban life.
At the turn into the 20th Century,
Kenton Hardware Company produced a slew of cast iron toys from its Kenton, Ohio home.
This model featured rolling wheels and removable Yellow Kid character. This is the scarce version actually painted yellow.  Please examine pictures. Excellently-preserved condition. Measures approximately 7.75-inches long x 5 high.
This treasure of Americana will make a wonderful addition to your collection or a very thoughtful gift.
Please click HERE to peruse our entire shelf of Americana!
** Have you seen all the amazing first and rare editions of iconic books we offer? We gladly combine shipping and refund the shipping overpayment, so please check out our
other items
! -- other auctions of classic antiquarian literature and special gifts!**
Thank you for your interest!
***Priority shipping options are available at checkout!***