Pirate - Weatherbird Shoes - Promotional Advertising mask (1930s-40s)

Weatherbird Shoes Pirate mask.
Circa 1930s–early 1940s.
Issued by Weatherbird Shoes, St. Louis, Missouri. Lithographed paper advertising mask

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A fierce and colorful pirate mask issued as a store premium for Weatherbird Shoes, the long-running children’s footwear brand famous for its black rooster mascot perched on a weather vane. This early Depression-era example features a dagger held between the teeth, fiery orange bandana, and bold lithography typical of late-1930s printing. The Weatherbird logo appears clearly on the lower bandana—an extremely rare survival mark for an advertising mask of this age.

Weatherbird was among America’s earliest brands to use a continuous advertising character, with its mascot first appearing in newspapers in 1901. Promotional paper masks like this were distributed to children at shoe stores and fairs to build loyalty and excitement—years before cereal companies and comic book advertisers took up the same idea.

Measures: 8.5 x 10.5 inches

Condition: Age wear, creasing, and tape repairs; elastic remnants still attached.

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A hauntingly beautiful relic from the golden age of American advertising premiums, when even a shoe store gave kids the thrill of becoming a pirate for an afternoon.