The Green Duck Company, or the Green Duck Metal Stamping Company, was a prolific company that produced a wide variety of metal products, most notable among those being their political campaign buttons. Started in Chicago, Illinois in 1906, the company bounced around various Chicago addresses for nearly 70 years before moving to Hernando, Mississippi in 1975, closing it doors in 2004.
During its heyday, from 1906 into the 1960s, the firm dominated the lithographed tin button business much like the way Whitehead & Hoag dominated the production of celluloid covered buttons. Both of these firms constantly expanded their product lines, Whitehead & Hoag going the direction of advertising specialty items predominately made of celluloid, while Green Duck’s products were primarily stamped from metal.
A Green Duck advertisement from the 1930s proclaims “Branch Offices In All Principle Cities” and lists 48 different products such as ashtrays, automobile license plates, book marks, lapel buttons and watch fobs. Over the years, Hake’s Americana & Collectibles focus on Green Duck items has mainly been lapel buttons and in their upcoming auction they are featuring a small unique group of lapel buttons and related items preserved as part of the Green Duck Button Company Archive. This is quite an exclusive group of collectibles survivors. From the many decades of pin-back button making by the biggest (and smallest) industry names - Whitehead & Hoag Company, St. Louis Button Company, Bastian Brothers and all the rest - this small group is the sole time in Hake’s history that they have offered material once part of a button maker’s archive. Each lot comes with a Hake’s Certificate of Authenticity.
Some of the highlights being offered by Hake’s include – a small number of very special lots once part of the archive of the famous Green Duck Button Company. There are paper items including button sales sheets, individual items including a true rarity - a one of a kind Sgt. Preston of the Yukon button as well an extremely rare Sgt. Preston button, one of only four or five known examples. The entire selection can be seen by clicking on the “Featured Collection” link at www.hakes.com.
Also included are two groups of locals tabs, and buttons of jet planes and 1950s space buttons, cocktails, 1950s music personalities, Quaker movie stars set, Nabisco dexterity puzzles including 10 of 12 Rin-Tin-Tin puzzle produced, a 1952 Western Medals set, Post Cereal comic rings, novelty buttons, Armour Franks funny sayings buttons, Cracker Jack Army insignia buttons, kid’s shield and star design tabs and metal foil insert cards titled “American Marvels.”
Hake’s is presenting these items in their upcoming January, 2010 auction and will be available for viewing and bidding on their website in the coming days. The auction goes online December 28 with catalogs being mailed out in early January, 2010. The auction closes January 19-21. This auction returns to Hake’s usual selection of nearly 2,400 great collectibles in more than 200 collecting categories, restoring all of the categories that were omitted in the mini auction Hake’s had in September, 2009.
Be sure to check back here with Scoop in the coming weeks as we will be presenting many articles on featured collections, auction highlights and individual collectibles being offered in the upcoming auction.
