Mickey McGuire (Toonerville Folks) - Westinghouse - Mazda Lamps Advertising Paper Mask (1930s)

This vintage paper mask features Mickey McGuire, a cigar-chomping, scrappy character from Fontaine Fox’s “Toonerville Folks” comic strip, which ran in newspapers from 1908 to 1955. Toonerville was wildly popular in its heyday, and its cast of eccentric characters became household names. Mickey, with his perpetual scowl and oversized derby hat, was one of the strip’s most recognizable troublemakers — a tough little kid who often got into comic mischief.

Promotional Origins
In the 1930s, the Westinghouse Electric Corporation used its Mazda Lamps division (light bulbs) as a way to advertise through playful giveaways like this mask. Produced by the Einson Freeman Co. Inc. — one of the largest makers of advertising novelties and paper premiums of the era — this mask would have been distributed as a promotional tie-in, capitalizing on the popularity of the comic strip while reinforcing brand visibility for Westinghouse Mazda lamps.

Cultural Context
By the 1930s, paper masks were a well-established form of advertising crossover — part toy, part marketing tool. Characters from comics, film, and radio were commonly adapted into ephemeral premiums, encouraging kids to collect and wear them. The Toonerville Folks series was especially influential, later inspiring a string of short films, with the Mickey McGuire character even portrayed by a young Mickey Rooney before his Hollywood stardom.

Measures 9 inches by 10 ½ inches.

A rare survivor of early 20th-century comic strip culture, this mask captures both the humor of Fontaine Fox’s Toonerville world and the ingenuity of Depression-era advertising.