Little Pinkies Boot Black Shine

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Text on Button LITTLE PINKIES THE BOOT BLACK SHINE
Image Description

Illustration of boy with blue fez in pink pajamas carrying soap box and pencil

Back Paper / Back Info

AMERICAN PEPSIN GUM CO BUTTONS MADE BY THE WHITEHEAD & HOAG CO.NEWARK, N.J. PATENT JULY 17, '94 APRIL 14, '96 JULY 21, 1896

Curl Text PAT. JULY 21, 1896.
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Additional Information

The Little Pinkies were a series of 20 pinback buttons made by Whitehead & Hoag Co. for American Pepsin Gum to give away in their packages of gum. The Little Pinkies are not very well documented. All sources say that they appeared in 1896. Some say that they were a very early comic strip. Others suggest the characters were inspired by the popularity of Palmer Cox’s Brownies.

Pepsin powder was used in many chewing gums in the 1890s as is was thought to cure indigestion, or dyspepsia as it was called then. In fact, Pepsi-Cola was marketed as a digestion aid around the time this button was made.

For other Little Pinkies buttons in our collection, you can visit the Policeman, the Colonel, and the Boot Black.

Sources

Little Pinkies Ball Player button. Keymancollectibles.com. (2020). Retrieved from http://keymancollectibles.com/pinsbuttons/pepsingumlittlepinkiespin.htm.

Little Pinkies Pepsin Gum Pinbacks. Marklansdown.com. (2020). Retrieved from http://www.marklansdown.com/pinbacks/pages/littlepinkiespepsingum.html.

Little Pinkies The Policeman | Busy Beaver Button Museum. Buttonmuseum.org. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.buttonmuseum.org/buttons/little-pinkies-policeman.

Catalog ID AD0940