Keep This Button!

Cartoon illustration of a man in a bowler had smoking a cigar. Black text on a green background. 

In 1931 the Los Angeles Herald & Express was formed when two historic newspapers, the Los Angeles Daily Herald and the Los Angeles Evening Express, combined to become the largest evening newspaper in circulation on the West Coast. The back paper of the button reveals the manufacturer to be Green Duck Button Company, who hailed from and was active in Chicago throughout the 20th century, with the back paper showcasing the company’s 1917 patent on the logo. Other online sources for similar buttons confirm it to be from the 1930s, where we are also able to trace this according to the newspaper’s name on the button, the Los Angeles Herald & Express only existed from 1931 to 1962 in total and only with this particular version of the title from 1931-1950.

Moon Mullins, an early 20th century comic strip character, sits at the top of the image printed on the button along with the statement, “Keep this Button!” Beyond this example, various other comic strip characters are able to be found amongst other websites, showcasing myriad raffle numbers for the same contest. The button is an advertisement for a sweepstakes, or contest, touting “Cash Prizes,” and directing the onlooker to check the comic pages of the Los Angeles Herald & Express daily to win. Without this era of the newspaper digitized as of June 12, 2025, we are unfortunately not able to witness the ad in the comic section that the button refers to, but we can assume that this was part of an effort to advertise the newly merged newspaper conglomerate and to bring in new readership.