From the exhibition
Pinky the Pet Squirrel Cut-Out Toy
· early 20th century

This cut-out toy represents a common newspaper feature: the interactive comic strip. Readers could carefully excise the printed figure and its articulated limbs from the page, then assemble them with fasteners to create a movable plaything. The design shows characteristic newspaper illustration technique—bold ink lines and shading suitable for mass printing. The labeled construction diagrams and assembly instructions reflect the period's faith in children's manual dexterity and patience. Such toys were economical premiums distributed through comics pages, requiring no manufacturing cost beyond the printing itself. The format demonstrates how newspaper comics extended beyond static panels into three-dimensional play, merging commercial appeal with entertainment that engaged young readers across multiple formats.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com public-domain