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.
In 2000 I spoke with the person who ran the agency that created this premium for Post.* He was an inventor and mechanical engineer, 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). The company also created additional premiums and packaging for Post. He said they tried to use local businesses as much as possible. His son, Dr. Joseph E. Block, said that his father was always figuring out ways to make things work better.
Lithographed cardboard and instructions of the premium.
I contacted Joe Bell in 2001, nephew of Piper Manufacturing company owner, Arthur Piper. He identified the premium photo that I emailed him and wrote that for a few months they were so busy assembling Roy Rogers Ranch Set premium orders, that the whole family was recruited to help. He thought the orders were packed in plain boxes. Joe told me that there were other similar premiums but he was more interested in the Roy Rogers Ranch Set premium. Bell also said that the company that produced TootsieToy metal jeeps was located on N. Pulaski Road, Chicago, Illinois – 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 his Uncle's factory. When the premium job was finished, every time he'd go to visit at the factory, he'd ask for a box of jeeps. (Note: This information came from the recollection Dr. Joseph E. Block's father and Joe Bell's emails.)
The 1953 Roy Rogers Ranch Set premium plastic items were molded by Columbus Molded Plastics Corporation (founding name in 1946), in Columbus, Indiana. 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 for some time. They no longer made toys. 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, salesman, president, and one of three company founders, 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. In addition, I confirmed with Steve Bluhm that the plastics molding company also made Stuart's miniature western toys and the Anchor Buggy and Carriage Company horse for Sam Levinson. (See the Stuart History and Stuart Sets pages.)
*Please note: I've had to omit or alter some of my original Stuart research at this website due to a 2019 publishing copyright.