1938 "Four-Line Verse" Snow White Dairy Glasses

Disney milk glasses had proven themselves early on to be a highly successful marketing premium for dairy companies. The first Disney tumblers were produced in 1931 and featured images of Mickey Mouse. In 1936, a series appeared which included Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck and several other characters from the cartoon shorts.

Then in 1938, the first Snow White dairy series was issued. It included the princess and each of the dwarfs. A four-line verse referencing the individual character was printed on the opposite side. They were produced by the Libbey Glass Company and the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, both of Toledo, Ohio.

Snow White:

Over the seven jewelled hills.
Beyond the seventh fall.
In the cottage of the seven dwarfs.
Dwells SNOW WHITE, fairest of them all!

1938 Snow White glass from Filmic Light Collection.

Dairy farms and companies would purchase the glass sets by the case, and then offer their dairy products with the tumbler as a premium giveaway. They came in a wide variety of sizes including 3.5", 4.375", 4.5", 4.625", 4.75" and 6". Colors varied too from red, light blue, dark blue, green, black, orange, light orange, red brown, yellow and white. Juice glasses were also produced.

Glasses 4.625" tall. Image via Hake's Americana and Collectibles.

Bashful:

When BASHFUL has to say "Hello,"
He'd rather jump a steeple;
For he is timid, don't you know,
And terrified by people.

Sleepy:

When SLEEPY'S told it's after dawn,
He's in a dull condition.
He never does a thing but yawn.
And wholly lacks ambition.

Sneezy:

This little fellow, I am told,
Is full of tears and wheezy.
Because he always has a cold--
And so they call him SNEEZY.

Happy:

And here's a chap who's always bright,
Agreeable and snappy,
Who shakes with laughter day and night
And makes you love him--HAPPY!

Doc:

Now this is DOC whose charming style,
Just cannot be resisted;
But when he talks you have to smile--
He gets his words all twisted.

Dopey:

This fellow isn't very smart
But rather dull and mopey--
It's quite apparent from the start
That he's the one called DOPEY.

Grumpy:

A fellow never known to smile.
Who's always sore and jumpy
And very grouchy in his style,
Is this one--known as GRUMPY.

A "white graphics" Snow White glass, 4.625" tall. Shown best, of course, when used with chocolate milk...

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An orange-colored metal serving tray was produced to accompany the set of glasses. See more detailed pics of this tray in a another Archive entry. A tin lunch box was also available.

Image via Tomart's Price Guide to Character and Promotional Glasses, 1990, from back cover.

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The four-line verse design also came in a "two-color" series, which was sold in stores. More on this in a future Archive entry. Also see a complete boxed set by Libbey in another post.

Two-color Happy and Bashful.

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There was a full-color set too, probably sold in department stores. Each glass featured the name and character on a single decal. No four-line verse. Very rare.

Image via Hake's Official Price Guide to Disney Collectibles, 2007.

Additional images via Disneyana Collectibles + The Glass Junkie.

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• Additional 1938 sets were issued including a more rare second series of four-line verse glasses, referred to as the musical notes set. Each dwarf is depicted as they appeared in the Silly Song scene playing an instrument, and Snow White is singing. A Canadian set was also released.
• Bosco, a brand name for a type of hot chocolate drink, issued a set of 3.5" premium glasses. They used the same character graphics as the first dairy series, just smaller.
• Individual Snow White glasses were produced in 1938-41 as part of larger sets with other Disney characters. These included the Disney Classics series and the All-Star Parade series.
• Also see the Archive entries on the Snow White dairy bottles, dairy pitchers, cereal bowl premium, soda-style bottle, and another rare dairy bottle design.