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 and farm animals that could be assembled to stand, and an instruction sheet with reorder form, shown below.
I spoke with the person who's company created this premium for Post Cereals. He was an inventor and mechanical engineer, who created patented parts used in recognized company products.* His company also created additional premiums and packaging for Post and others. The company tried to use local businesses as much as possible. I also spoke with his son, Dr. John E. Block, of Chicago, who said that his father was always trying to figure out how to make things run better.
Premium cardboard ranch, above, and instructions, below.
Columbus Molded Plastics Corporation (founding name in 1946), in Columbus, Indiana did the molding of the plastic figures for this Post premium. The company 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 the Post Cereals Roy Rogers Ranch Sets.
I contacted this molding company in May 2001. The company name had been altered once more and they'd been 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.*
When this Post premium ended, James L. Russell, salesman, president, and one of three company founders of the molding company, offered the plastic premium toys to Dexter L. Balterman at Stuart. Stuart did not market the premium figures and horses the same, but sold them in sets, such as Home on the Range, Texas TV Rancher, and Canadian Mounty.
*Please note: I've had to omit or alter some of my original Stuart research at this website due to a 2019 publishing copyright.