1937 Post Toasties Snow White Masks

In an earlier Archive entry, we saw the 1937 Snow White paperboard "Par-T-Masks" that were produced by Einson-Freeman Company of Long Island City, New York. They were used as contest prizes and give-aways in various promotional campaigns. That series appears to only have included Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, and the Witch.

However, we see below that another Snow White set was also produced, this one for the Post Toasties breakfast cereal campaign. And it included all of the dwarfs. Dopey, Grumpy, and Doc are identical to the above-mentioned Par-T-Masks, but Snow White now wears a yellow bow and blue eyes (rather than brown). The masks in this series all have grommet holes; the earlier ones did not.

Dopey, Grumpy, and Doc are the same designs found in the Par-T-Mask set.

Bashful, Happy, Sneezy, and Sleepy are included with this Post Toasties series.

Post Toasties promotional info is found on the back of each mask. The Witch is not mentioned.

Special thanks to Dant Melys for letting us know about this one.

Also see an uncut Snow White Post Toasties box in an earlier Archive entry.

Post Toasties Cereal Box

In an earlier Archive entry, we saw the complete set of 1937-38 Snow White cut-out dolls that were found on the backs of Post Toasties cereal boxes. They made for inexpensive Depression-era toys. Below, we get a look at one of the uncut, intact boxes. Measures approximately 11" x 7.5" x 2.5".

Images via Black Sparrow Auctions.

1938 'Snow White' Cereal Ads

Snow White Post Toasties newspaper advertisement from 1938 Springfield Daily News, MO.

Image courtesy of Rick Payne via dadric's attic. Used with permission.

Also in 1938, Post offered its first Disney cereal premium on its Huskies boxes. Children could send in 10 cents and one box top to receive a Snow White cereal bowl.

Huskies Snow White cereal bowl ad, 1938. (14" x 9 3/4").
 Image courtesy of Western Clippings. Used with permission.

Post Huskies Cereal Bowl

Made by Vitrock Glass Company, this appears to be the bowl offered by Post as a premium with its Huskies cereal. It's interesting because the illustration of Snow White inside the bowl is different from that in the ad (below). My guess is that this is the actual bowl from 1938, but the artist's rendering for the ad was probably produced before the bowl artwork.

Cereal bowl images generously provided by CarrieAnne Curtis.

Huskies ad from previous post...

Huskies Snow White cereal bowl ad, 1938. (14" x 9 3/4").

Here's a look at a bowl where the inner Snow White graphic is in much better shape.

Image courtesy of the Rick Payne Collection via dadric's attic.

The glass is embossed with a Vitrock marking.

Snow White Post Toasties Cut-Outs

The year is 1934, and we're in the thick of the Great Depression. This, however, does not stop marketing wizard Kay Kamen from closing a sweet deal with General Foods. The cereal maker has agreed to pay the whopping sum of one million dollars to the Disney boys--revenue they will need as they start the ball rolling on their first feature-length film! That's a million 1934 dollars--a whole lotta money--and this just for one year of rights to place Mickey Mouse cut-outs on the backs of Post Toasties corn flake boxes. Children's cereal marketing would never be the same again.

The cut-outs were an immediate success. The cereal boxes would cost the parents about 12 cents each and after they were emptied, the kids had something to play with.

This rare paper sign (17"x24") promoting the debut of Disney cut-outs dates from 1934. Features early renditions of Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Pluto. Sold for $1,075.25 (USD) September 2010.

General Foods Post Toasties would continue to employ Mickey Mouse and other Disney character cut-outs through 1941. Each box usually featured two to four cut-outs on the back and one along the side panel. It was around the 1937 release of the film that Snow White first appeared on Post Toasties.

Eight oz. box measures 8.5” tall, from 1938 series.

The Snow White Post Toasties Cut-Outs:

Two Post Toasties Side Panels.

Images via Hake's Americana and Collectibles.

The set of eight 1937-38 Post Toasties Cut-Outs sold for $95.60 in July of 2009.