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FDR'S Fala and the Fad for Scotties
There has been any number of well-known presidential pooches in modern history, including Richard Nixon's infamous spaniel, Checkers; LBJ's beagles, Him and Her; Gerald Ford's golden retriever, Liberty (much spoofed by Chevy Chase in the early days …Read more.
Recollecting and Collecting Mutt and Jeff
Even today, more than a century after they entered the realm of popular culture, this comic-strip team's name is part of the common vernacular — put a tall guy and a short guy next to each other and they'll almost inevitably still be called …Read more.
For Collectors, the Milkman Cometh
You may have noticed that glass milk bottles are gradually reappearing on supermarket shelves, bringing them back into the modern era. But for people of a certain age, there is still no sound quite as nostalgic as the clink of milk bottles jangling …Read more.
Ma Bell Collectibles
What with land-line phones rapidly becoming an endangered species, it's not surprising that the standard phones of both the recent and distant past are evoking a large measure of nostalgia and growing interest among collectors.
Not surprisingly, the …Read more.
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The Yo-Yo StoryThe yo-yo, like many other things, has been around for so long that we tend to take it completely for granted, not thinking about how it originated or, for that matter, how it got its distinctive name. But now that the yo-yo is becoming something of a hot collectible, it seems like a good time to look into its origins and history. Its roots actually date back to China around 1,000 B.C., where toys similar in concept were used. This form consisted of two ivory discs connected by a central rod, around which a silk cord was wound; similar objects in terra cotta have also been discovered by archaeologists on ancient Greek vases. It found its way to the Continent, where it became very popular. In France, it was known by names such as "incroyable," "bandelore" and "emigrette" — and in England, for some reason, it was called a "quiz." The Europeans adorned theirs with ornate, sometimes bejeweled, decorations and dazzling geometric patterns. Yo-yos took a somewhat circuitous route to this country, arriving via the Philippines, where hunters had for centuries used a rugged boomerang-like wood and rope weapon, based on the same disc and string principle, with which to trip and entrap animals. The name "yo-yo" came from the Tagalog language used in the Philippines, a word meaning "come, come" or "come back." Though it arrived in America in the 1860s, it didn't really take off until the late 1920s, when a Philippine immigrant hotel worker named Pedro Flores began to manufacture them on a small scale in Los Angeles under the name Flores Yo-Yo Corporation. They were spotted by an entrepreneur named Donald F. Duncan, who saw Flores demonstrating yo-yo tricks in the lobby of a San Francisco (some sources say Santa Monica) hotel. Duncan brought the rights from Flores, which included ownership of the term yo-yo, and the two entered a partnership, making a key improvement — a sliding loop, or slip string, around the axle instead of a knot, which enabled the toy to "sleep" and perform other tricks. Duncan (who also originated the Good Humor ice cream truck, invented the Eskimo Pie and marketed the parking meter, among other things) was one of America's true masters of promotion, and when he focused his creative energies on the yo-yo, he set it spinning into wild popularity.
Duncan produced about 20 different models in wood and metal, and sold at least 200 million of them — one in particular demand is his Jeweled Tournament model made of wood in the mid-1950s. Although the majority of collectible yo-yos were Duncans, there were some other competitive brands as well. Flores re-entered the market with the Bandelore, and others (none of which could use the name yo-yo) were the Kayson Streamline Top from New York, the Musical K-Yo-a metal yo-yo made in Michigan; Cheerio (later purchased by Duncan), producer of the rhinestone-embedded Glitter Spin; Royal Return Tops; and Hi-Ker — another company taken over by Duncan. Later came the "Filipino Twirlers" made by the Goody Manufacturing Co., with such models as the Atomic, the Joy-O-Toy and the rhinestone-encrusted Rainbow. One specialty particularly favored by collectors is the character or advertising premium yo-yo. Over the years, the images of Superman, Snoopy, Mickey Mouse, Roy Rogers, the Beatles and many others have made it into the Yo-Yo Hall of Fame. And comedian/yo-yo fanatic Tommy Smothers went even further, incorporating the character of "The Yo-Yo Man" into his act. Linda Rosenkrantz has edited Auction magazine and authored 18 books, most recently "Beyond Ava & Aidan: The Enlightened Guide to Naming your Baby" (St. Martin's Press). Visit her baby names website at http://nameberry.com. She cannot answer letters personally. To find out more about Linda Rosenkrantz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com COPYRIGHT 2010 CREATORS.COM
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