Dennis the Menace "Pressman Paint Set" by Joe B.
(Note: Two "Yays" today! Yay #1: My site seems to be working now (more or less- the images are still screwing up somewhat). And Yay #2: It's the second in a series of posts by esteemed Dennis the Menace merchandising expert Joe B.!
(I'd like to thank Joe once again for writing so informatively on an aspect of Al Wiseman's career that most of us would never otherwise have the chance to know about- the early rare Dennis collectibles. Plus he sent along some mighty keen images, too!
(Oh, and even more thanks for the kind words Joe has written about me. I didn't put him up to this- Honest!)
Dennis the Menace "Pressman Paint Set"
by Joe B.
For my second post to this amazing and scholarly blog, I want to expound on two points. The first has to do with you, the reader, and the second has to do with Al Wiseman.
If you are reading this blog, you are lucky. It is a labor of love from the world's premier - and only? - Al Wiseman scholar, Bill Alger. I love this site and have read every entry. The only thing that is lacking is how few people respond to the posts. I would love to see more comments from the many readers, and I'm sure Bill would too. Bill does not get paid for this; he does it because he is passionate about comic art, as we all are. I can't speak for him, but personally if I spent hours every day writing a blog for free and there were only a few responses to it, I would stop. That's me. Clearly, Bill is a better man than I am because he hasn't stopped. All I'm saying is, it would be cool if more of you many Wiseman fans joined the party. It would make it a lot more fun, and we would all learn a lot more about Al because everyone, I'm sure, has something to bring to the table.
That being said, what I have here is a rare 1954 Pressman Dennis the Menace Paint Set. I say rare, but of all the Pressman Dennis merchandise that was made in 1954, this is by far the most common. Some of it I have never even seen.
When this came out, Pressman executive Fred Kroll wrote Hank Ketcham and said, "[T]he smashing good artwork you supplied for the boxes [is] the talk of the trade." And today the artwork is still being discussed, fifty-two years later right here. First, try finding one of these sets in nice shape. Can't be done. Yet, as I said in my previous entry, some of the nicest renderings of Dennis ever created were these paintings Al made for the merchandise. It's a shame not many of these are around for more people to enjoy.
What's interesting about the art is that Dennis looks like the old, evil version of the kid, and he is making a huge mess with the paints. It's a wonder any parent would encourage their kids to act like that 'cause we all know who would have to clean up the mess! Yet, somehow the set was a hit, and that is clearly testimony to the popularity of Dennis and the great art on the box.
Opening up the box we can see some interior art and three small paint bottles with little Dennis the Menace heads on them. Again, the art is as good as I have seen on Dennis the Menace. It is Al Wiseman in his prime doing highly polished art for the purpose of breaking Dennis the Menace into the big dollar world of toy merchandising. What's interesting is that there are crayons inside the paint set. Why, I can't say. Even though this set was used, it is rare to find so much of the paint remaining in one of these. Only one of the daily panels was actually painted by the kid who originally owned this.
Pressman would create three versions of this paint set, in addition to two versions of a chalk & slate set, a dentist kit, and two sets of finger paints. Pressman got out of the Dennis business for a while and returned in the 1970s with a set of painting kits, then in 1993 with the board game version of the 1993 Warner Brothers movie. Despite all the modern advances in toys, though, the post-Al Wiseman Pressman items are common and have little-or-no demand among collectors. The ones Al designed, though, are rare, precious, and highly-sought-after collectibles primarily because of the dazzling art that graces the boxes.
-Joe B.
Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread
Joe B. posts:
Real Action Toy
Pressman Paint Set
Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).
"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.
(I'd like to thank Joe once again for writing so informatively on an aspect of Al Wiseman's career that most of us would never otherwise have the chance to know about- the early rare Dennis collectibles. Plus he sent along some mighty keen images, too!
(Oh, and even more thanks for the kind words Joe has written about me. I didn't put him up to this- Honest!)
Dennis the Menace "Pressman Paint Set"
by Joe B.
For my second post to this amazing and scholarly blog, I want to expound on two points. The first has to do with you, the reader, and the second has to do with Al Wiseman.
If you are reading this blog, you are lucky. It is a labor of love from the world's premier - and only? - Al Wiseman scholar, Bill Alger. I love this site and have read every entry. The only thing that is lacking is how few people respond to the posts. I would love to see more comments from the many readers, and I'm sure Bill would too. Bill does not get paid for this; he does it because he is passionate about comic art, as we all are. I can't speak for him, but personally if I spent hours every day writing a blog for free and there were only a few responses to it, I would stop. That's me. Clearly, Bill is a better man than I am because he hasn't stopped. All I'm saying is, it would be cool if more of you many Wiseman fans joined the party. It would make it a lot more fun, and we would all learn a lot more about Al because everyone, I'm sure, has something to bring to the table.
That being said, what I have here is a rare 1954 Pressman Dennis the Menace Paint Set. I say rare, but of all the Pressman Dennis merchandise that was made in 1954, this is by far the most common. Some of it I have never even seen.
When this came out, Pressman executive Fred Kroll wrote Hank Ketcham and said, "[T]he smashing good artwork you supplied for the boxes [is] the talk of the trade." And today the artwork is still being discussed, fifty-two years later right here. First, try finding one of these sets in nice shape. Can't be done. Yet, as I said in my previous entry, some of the nicest renderings of Dennis ever created were these paintings Al made for the merchandise. It's a shame not many of these are around for more people to enjoy.
What's interesting about the art is that Dennis looks like the old, evil version of the kid, and he is making a huge mess with the paints. It's a wonder any parent would encourage their kids to act like that 'cause we all know who would have to clean up the mess! Yet, somehow the set was a hit, and that is clearly testimony to the popularity of Dennis and the great art on the box.
Opening up the box we can see some interior art and three small paint bottles with little Dennis the Menace heads on them. Again, the art is as good as I have seen on Dennis the Menace. It is Al Wiseman in his prime doing highly polished art for the purpose of breaking Dennis the Menace into the big dollar world of toy merchandising. What's interesting is that there are crayons inside the paint set. Why, I can't say. Even though this set was used, it is rare to find so much of the paint remaining in one of these. Only one of the daily panels was actually painted by the kid who originally owned this.
Pressman would create three versions of this paint set, in addition to two versions of a chalk & slate set, a dentist kit, and two sets of finger paints. Pressman got out of the Dennis business for a while and returned in the 1970s with a set of painting kits, then in 1993 with the board game version of the 1993 Warner Brothers movie. Despite all the modern advances in toys, though, the post-Al Wiseman Pressman items are common and have little-or-no demand among collectors. The ones Al designed, though, are rare, precious, and highly-sought-after collectibles primarily because of the dazzling art that graces the boxes.
-Joe B.
Ultimate Dennis the Menace Thread
Joe B. posts:
Real Action Toy
Pressman Paint Set
Please order Dennis the Menace books from Fantagraphics (and ask them to reprint the Wiseman Dennis comic books and Sunday strips).
"Dennis the Menace" & related characters are ©Hank Ketcham Enterprises, Inc.
6 Comments:
Thanks Joe and Bill! Product packaging for kids is one of my favourite areas of illustration and when you throw in AW it can't be beat. It's nice to see a full colour AW gouache ( I presume ) treatment of Dennis.
Hey Glen,
Looks like gouache to me. Especially since Wiseman often worked in that medium (I've got a couple of small 1950's (non-Dennis) Wiseman pieces done in gouache)...
I can't speak for everyone, but I know that visiting the AW blog is the way I start most weekdays.
Thanks to the thread that Joe started over at GCC and Bill's blog I now have a much more complete picture of one of many favorite artists - a guy about whom little was written until recently.
Just because I don't have time to respond to each day's entry - never think that I don't read them all and really appreciate the effort!
Bill,
We, at the Al Wiseman Blog, appreciate your comments!
(Hmmm... Before I started this blog, I never got to refer to myself as "we". It sounds so much more official!)
I think that the more people respond and participate with this blog, which is being read by a lot of people in the industry, the more obvious it becomes to publishers that there is interest in Al Wiseman and the more likely someone will be to publish a book on the subject. Bill A, you said you shopped a book on Al around but publishers felt there wasn't sufficient interest. As people find out who he is, let's hope that this changes. A book tracing Al's career I feel would be a very welcome addition to the history of comic art, and I can think of no better place to start than with the Dennis Sundays from the 1950s OR with something that you put together. That's why I was urging more people to participate. That AND the fact that we'd all like to learn more about AW.
A book full of Wiseman Dennis Sundays would be incredible!
In fact, I'm going to go on record as saying that I'd buy a copy.
Amazing, but true!
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home