Carnival Chalkware
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Midway Prizes

Carnival Chalkware and Bingo prizes were first given out at the Chicago World's fair in 1891.

In 1955, most Midway Game Owners switched from the cumbersome chalk prizes to stuffed toys. Today some Midway Bingo booths may still have chalkware pieces for lucky winners.

Chalkware Figurines are still being produced and reproduced for novelty shops and dime stores. Many of today's reproductions are just as tacky (and delightful) as the originals.

Enjoy Your Trip Down Memory Lane!
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Pictured above is Tom Morris, one of the early collectors of Carnival Chalkware. Tom was a great mentor and a personal friend.

Tom wrote two of the earliest books about collecting carnival chalkware and midway prizes. Sadly, Tom passed away on February 8, 2006 at the age of 76. Tom was a wonderful person who was kind and generous in sharing his chalkware treasures with any and all who loved these tacky, chipped, cracked, cheap (and often dirty) treasures from long-gone, fondly-remembered times at the Midway Games.

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Below is the extremely rare 'Rearing Circus Horse' sent to me by Tom  in the late 1990's.
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This is another very rare piece representing Nelson Eddy, the lead man, a Canadian Mountie, from the 1936 movie 'Rose Marie' starring Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald.
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ASSORTED SELECTION OF VARIOUS COLLECTIBLE CHALKWARE PRIZES 
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TV Lamps were often won at the Midway Bingo Games. This is an extremely rare 'FURY' lamp from the  American Western Television Series that aired on NBC from 1955 to 1960. 

The introduction to the show depicts the beloved stallion running inside the corral and approaching the camera as the announcer reads: "FURY!..The story of a horse..and a boy who loves him."​  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fury_(TV_series)
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Miscellaneous Character and Cartoon Pieces. Most are quite rare. 
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All my chalkware treasures have new devotees to admire them. (And store them, and dust them, and clean them, and mend them when they break.....!!!)

​I highly recommend the book "Necessary Endings" by Dr. Henry Cloud. (The things we have to give up in order to move forward.) At lot easier to say than do. But it makes me happy to think that others are now enjoying these wonderful old charmers. And I have many happy memories of the endless treasure hunts and sense of victory for every "find I scored" when out and about in 'hot pursuit' of these illusive treasures. 

Here's just some of them at the auction. A fun day was had by all!!! 


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THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!
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