Roy Rogers Ranch Set
This Post premium was advertised as a Roy Rogers Ranch Set and appeared on the back of the July 1953 Dell Roy Rogers comic (shown below). For fifty cents and two Post Cereals box tops, the 23-piece set could be yours.
Included in the ranch set were miniature western figures that ranged in size from two inches to two and a half inches high. When positioned to rear, the rearing horse was four and a quarter inches tall, and the running horse was two and a half inches tall. (See top photo.) The metal jeep had tires that rolled. Also included, was a lithographed cardboard ranch, entry gate with fence, farm animals that could be assembled to stand, and an instruction sheet with reorder form.
In 2000 I spoke with the company owner that created this premium.* He said that they tried to use local businesses as much as possible. He was an inventor, who created patented parts used in recognized company products, like the Ken-L-Ration double sided dog feeder, a Turtles candy machine, and various patents for Univac machines (early computers). He also created additional premiums and packaging for Post, Quaker and others. His son, Dr. Joseph E. Block, said that his father was a great tinkerer. He was always figuring out ways to make things work better.
I contacted Joe Bell in 2001, nephew of Piper company owner, Arthur Piper. He identified the premium photo I sent him and wrote that for a few months they were so busy assembling the RR Ranch Set premium orders, that the whole family was recruited to help. He thought the orders were packed in plain boxes. Joes emailed that there were other similar premiums but he was more interested in the Roy Rogers Ranch Set. Bell also said that the company that produced TootsieToy metal jeeps was located on N. Pulaski Road – about a mile from Piper Manufacturing. Joe was a child in the 1950s and remembered a stack of multi-layered boxes of Nellybelle jeeps at the Piper factory. When the premium job was finished, every time he'd go to his Uncle's factory, he'd ask for a box of jeeps. (Please note: This came from a lead from the premium creator but no documentation exists except for Joe Bell's emails.).
The 1953 Roy Rogers Ranch Set premium plastic figures, horses, saddles and bridles were molded in Columbus, Indiana. The molding company was Columbus Molded Plastics Corporation in 1946, but the name was shortened in 1951.* A comment column in the August 20, 1953 Evening Republican newspaper stated that the molding company was currently manufacturing and mailing Post Cereals Roy Rogers Ranch Sets.
I contacted the molding company in May 2001. The company name had been altered once more and they were specializing in household and other plastic products. Employee, Steve Bluhm, found an old handwritten work order sheet, dating back to the early 1950s, which listed mold no. 20231 – "Roy Rogers Characters – Horses", mold no. 20245 – "Bridle & Saddle", and who ordered them.
James L. Russell, one of three founders, salesman and president of the molding company during the 1950s, offered the plastic premium toys to Dexter Balterman at Stuart when the premium ended. Stuart added these to their own newly-created western toy line and sold them in a variety of colors and sets. (See Stuart History and Stuart Sets.)
*Please note: I've had to omit or alter some of my original Stuart research at this website due to a 2019 publishing copyright.
