Offered .......A fabulous vintage antique PAIR of lithograph cardboard Edgar Bergen ventriloquist cut out doll puppets in the form of Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snead from 1938. 

RARE to find these two together along with their original mailing envelope.  These are original toys and include the paper mailing wrapper & protective cardboard insert showing they were sent from Chase & Sanborn, a coffee company that sponsored the Chase and Sanborn Hour on the radio where Edger Bergen, the world renowned ventriloquist, performed with his "dummy", Charlie McCarthy and a supporting and cast, including Mortimer Snerd. They belonged to my father and were sent to him as a "mailaway" premium.

Both figures have a hinged cardboard piece on the back that allow their eyes and jaws to move. Charlie McCarthy is 21 inches tall, and being the main character, is decked out in a top hat, tux, white gloves and monacle with his business card tucked in his hat.  His sidekick, Mortimer Snerd is 18 3/4 inches tall and is wearing overalls, a plaid shirt, boots and a straw hat.  Both have a fold at the waist area to allow them to extend to their full heights.  

Charlie is hand signed in ink on the back by my father-done when he was a teenager.  It is stamped with PATENT APPLIED FOR KETTERLINUS PHILA. N.Y. . They are lithographers.  It also says LITHO IN USA on the front under the folded area.  Mortimer Snerd is stamped on the back with U.S. Pat. No. 2,135,604 and is also marked on the front under the fold with LITHO IN USA .   This US Patent number was assigned in 1938.  The outer envelope is about 8 1/2"  by 15 1/4".  It was posted from Chase and Sanborn in New York by US Mail.

Charlie is in structurally very good condition.  Although from the moveable cardboard pieces on the back, he appears not to have been played with, he has some litho loss at the top of his hat, left side of the hat, ears, left glove, sleeve, pant leg and right shoe.  The cardboard is free of bends or tears and the moveable parts operate as they should.  Mortimer is in outstanding condition.  He has a very minor crease at the neck, but is otherwise almost as good as new.  The packaging has a piece torn off and has some tears, but it really adds authenticity and perspective to the piece.

 We are proud of our feedback from 23 years on eBay. Buy with confidence. 

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