LITTERS OF PUPS
by Doris Mosier
Pup collecting began for me in 1989 with a $30 green no-name purchased on the route 5 NY trail of antique store hopping. Since then, I’ve seen that these little 1-5/8 inch guys command more than a second look among iron miniature collectors.
Made as advertising paperweights, probably by Hubley, I’ve located many variations on the Griswold 30 pup theme. Collecting these has been a fairly inexpensive hobby and I can’t resist adding a new one to the group.
Recently I purchased a ceramic look-alike in white porcelain detailed in gold. I have a Hubley kitten in a similar pose as the pup with a ribbon around its neck and exact size as the pup. I call it jokingly my Griswold kitten (since the lady who sold it to me said so). I even own 2 different jeweler’s knock-offs of the Griswold pup in silver. I once had a lead repro that was so bad (wrinkly) that I called it my Chinese wrinkle pup. I gave him away without regrets. I have one that clearly shows across with letters in each quadrant – GEM Co.
The BIG DOG of my litter overlooks the rest. Unlike the Griswold and look-alikes, this guy towers over them with his whopping two-inch stature. His base is proportionally larger too. Nevertheless, he retains the same pose and feature details of his 1 5/8-inch counterparts.
Although Griswold 30 pups sell for $275-$325 range, the most expensive look-alike was $125. A few others were in the $75-90 price range, but you can still find many for around $30-50. No names and aluminum castings are usually cheapest, but some of the no names are SO cute you just have to own them.
HINES VARIATIONS: 1917 HINES, HINES ACCO PUP, HINES HF PUP, ALUMINUM HINES, BRONZE HINES, NOT 57, BUT LOTS OF VARIETIES OF HINES!
Among my favorites are a painted and crazed no name, an absolutely gorgeous bronze Hines (back row above and to far right), and my Kaiser-Frazer pup paperweight. I think I enjoy owning the later because he almost got away. A seller offered us a collection of iron and he was listed in that collection. The only thing of interest to me that I didn’t have was the Kaiser-Frazer pup paperweight and I wanted it. We agreed on a price then traveled to OK to pick up the collection. He had everything laid out to inspect, except the one thing I wanted, the Kaiser-Frazer pup. Questioned, he said he didn’t know where it was. Well, I didn’t want his pile of iron WITHOUT the pup, so he finally remembered it might be in his car. Maybe he’d taken it to show someone in town. Well, guess what. It was. The rest is history. I don’t remember what we traded the pile of iron for, but the Kaiser-Frazer went with my growing litter of pups.
Many of the advertisers on these pups can be figured out, but others defy anything I can come up with. Probably the most prolific advertiser was for Bucki Carbon Ribbons Company, a typewriter supplier. I see the Bucki pups more than others. Hines would be second, but a little more difficult to locate than Bucki. I have Hines pups in several finishes and even with variations. Several say Hines Pup on the back, while others simply say Hines and still others say Hines but with a line encircling Hines. I have no idea who the Hines company was, nor can I shed any light on RENOWN, WADS FDRY, K, WEMCO, DALL B-N, or MAX HAYES. Other names on pups are encircled with a line or circle, like RENOWN, MAX HAYES, and AR. Some say PUP and some don’t. Ones that include PUP are L.V.R.R. (Leigh Valley Rail Road), Neilson’s, St. Louis, Hines (sometimes), Bucki, Blue, and, of course, GRISWOLD.
Usually the writing stands out on the rump of the dog, but on occasion, the letters are incised into the rump. Incised lettering is on the Griswold pup, the Hines pup, and the Kaiser Frazer. Only the Griswold pup has a pattern number, which is 30 and is found on the back of the head. I have an Anderson Insurance pup that has these numbers inscribed on the bottom 5-2127. I’ve seen a couple with embossed dates, Detroit 1931 and Hines 1917.
A few pups have some alteration of the pup shape on the back where the “logo” is placed. The U.B. pup is found on a squared off back area just above the tail. The K pup is placed
on a squared off protrusion above the tail area. I have just one pup that has writing on the front as well. It is a Hines pup that has ACCO arched above the legs on the breast. ACCO is raised lettering, while Hines is the typical incised lettering.
A new article on pups has been compiled at the G&CICA Forum 1 and you may want to visit that site to check it out………..doris
Note: This post was written by collector Doris Mosier during the 20+ years that she ran the site at griswoldcookware.com . All information and opinions are those of Doris Mosier.
