Carlton Cards Heirloom Ornament Collection - "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" (2004)

If you're still decorating your tree and have any money left over after getting that "Muppet Christmas Carol" ornament on the secondary market, you can spend even more cash to acquire this "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" ornament issued by Carlton Cards in 2004:

Pretty fun!

Hallmark Keepsake Ornament - "The Muppet Christmas Carol 25th Anniversary" (2017)

We turn from the little talking Tonie guy to a talking ornament from a couple of years before - Hallmark's 2017 "The Muppet Christmas Carol 25th Anniversary" ornament!

Hallmark makes awesome ornaments, of course, and their licensed designs are always totally on-model, this one featuring Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit and nephew Robin as Tiny Tim is no exception:

The ones where you press the little button for sound snippets are extra fun!

You have to snap these up when they're new, as they quickly become collectors items fetching much higher prices!

Tonies - "A Christmas Carol and Tales"

Here's a fun little thing I came across while browsing around - a "Tonie" who will read "A Christmas Carol" to you:

Apparently you put this little guy on top of your Toniebox and he will indeed read "A Christmas Carol" and four other classics:

Other Tonies will read other stories and/or sing songs!

You can read more and hear an audio sample here.

I like how they call it a "screen-free" experience. I love video, but I love the "theater of the imagination" as well!

Looks like fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Collectibles Corner: Scrooge Blotter

We visit the Collectibles Corner for the most ephemeral of ephemera - an ink blotter!

Blotters used to be a big thing back in the day before ballpoint pens when the Bob Cratchits of the world had to keep dipping their pens in ink and needed something to absorb the extra ink.

Somewhere along the way, someone got the idea that you could give away blotters with advertising on them, leading to such examples as this one, which is pretty clever!

Loose-leaf definitely better than old school binding!

This blotter is obviously old, but it's hard to figure exactly when it's from. Lucas Brothers was in business in Baltimore from 1804-1993, so that's no help!

Here's one of their ads from 1936, with fountain pens still in full use:

Thanks to whoever didn't toss this blotter away!

"Scrooge and Marley's Ghost" - A.S. Hartrick

"Scrooge and Marley's Ghost"
Artist: A.S. Hartrick

OK, time for something more traditional!

Here's an illustration of a family scene from "A Christmas Carol" - Scrooge meeting Marley's Ghost, as depicted this time by A.S. (Archibald Stanley) Hartrick:

Funny thing is that I can't determine what this is from. As in, is it from some edition of "A Christmas Carol" and it's only one of a series? Is it a one-off for some other purpose? I can't track down any other "Christmas Carol" scenes  by him.

I'm not when it's frim either, but A.S. Hartrick was around from 1864-1950, so who knows?

What makes thing even more intriguing is that there's another version of this illustration by Hartrick, this billed as a "lithograph":

The two are quite similar, but not exactly the same.

Hmmm...

"Scrooge" - Lord Buckley (1960) - Part 2

If you got the chanced to listen to Lord Buckley's 1960 recording of "Scrooge," I'm sure you'll think it's at minimum... offbeat!

I'm not really sure what he was going for with his persona, but it was something different. I'm not sure if he was celebrating that culture or mocking it...

I see some inconsistencies in the recording date of the "Scrooge" cut, but ones that seem fairly reliable indicate 1960. Richard "Lord" Buckley passed away on November, 12, 1960, so this was a late recording for him.

It wasn't released until 1966, which I can understand, as the 1960 comedy album climate was ruled by the likes of Bob Newhart and his "Button-Down" humor, which was much more accessible to hi-fi owners and, I think, still holds up today. Newhart has a good delivery and funny lies.

Buckley's style is all delivery and doesn't involve punchlines

But, Lord Buckley still has a following, as he is a fascinating character.

I feel like we get some insight into him from his appearance on this 1956 episode of "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx:

Two takeaways: That cat is wild, especially for 1956! And, he still can't put anything over on Groucho!

I presume this was an attempt to publicize Buckley's 1955 album with the extremely awkward title of "Hipsters, Flipsters and Finger-Poppin' Daddies Knock Me Your Lobes" with its awesome cover art by Jim Flora:

At any rate, an interesting nugget of pop culture history!

"Scrooge" - Lord Buckley (1960) - Part 1

"Scrooge" - Lord Buckley (Recorded 1960)

Album: "Lord Buckley Blowing His Mind (and yours, too)" (Released 1966)
World Pacific Records

We turn from Phil Moore and his hipster slang to a more "out there" purveyor of such: Lord Buckley.

He was an extremely odd comedian who had a part noble/part hipster persona. I'm not sure if he was ahead of his time, as that time still hasn't arrived.

Anyway, a lot of his shtick was translating classic works into jive and he turned his sights on Charles Dickens and "A Christmas Carol" with this cut from 1960:

Fascinating!

Bonus Phil Moore!

The question from last time was whether we were done with Phil Moore. The answer of course is a resounding NO!

When I think of Phil Moore, I actually think of a couple of snappy WWII era songs that he wrote.

If you were to do word association thing with me and said, "Phil Moore," my answer would be "Shoo-Shoo Baby!"

That was a song sung by the Andrews Sisters in the movie "Three Cheers for the Boys" and their single of the song on Decca Records was a huge hit in 1944:

From my penchant for reading record labels and such, I knew that someone named Phil Moore had written this sing before I knew there was a group called the Phil Moore Four. I don't know how I ever found out anything in those dark, pre-Internet days!

I also like the song "I'm Gonna See My Baby" (also 1944) which I was familiar with by way of Johnny Mercer's version on Capitol Records, the flipside of his huge hit "Candy" (sung with the great Jo Stafford and the Pied Pipers):

Thanks to the Internet, I was finally able to hear Phil Moore's version of "I'm Gonna See My Baby" with the Phil Moore Four from his earlier stint on RCA Victor Records:

Phil's version is definitely jazzier than Johnny's big band record. I get a strong King Cole Trio vibe, which is a beautiful thing!

Here's "Billboard's" take:

Interesting to know it was his wax bow!

OK, we'll leave  Phil Moore alone for a while!

"Chinchy Old Scrooge" - Phil Moore with the Phil Moore Four (1953) - Part 4

While mining the pop culture reference points for Phil Moore's 1953 RCA Victor recording of "Chinchy Old Scrooge," I can't let it pass without pointing out the one person who gets name-dropped...

One particular line goes, "This ain't a fit night out for Clyde McCoy!"

Being somewhat hip by 1953 standards myself, I immediately recognize Clyde McCoy as the embodiment of corny music. He was a popular bandleader and trumpet player who featured the ultimate "wah-wah" sound on his horn. (This circuitously led to the non-corny wah-wah pedal for guitars in the 1960s, but that's another story!)

His type of square music is typical of what the bop cats were rebelling against. The difference between Clyde McCoy as a trumpeter and, say, Dizzy Gillespie is incalculable!

The thing is that I think Clyde McCoy is awesome! I absolutely love his theme song "Sugar Blues." He recorded it a few times, but my favorite is his 1935 version for Decca Records:

I love hipsters vs. squares circa 1953!

Just to provide a bit of context, here are "Billboard" magazine's top ten best selling singles from November 28, 1953, when "Chinchy Old Scrooge" was released:

I know all those records very well and they're not without merit, but they are pretty square!

The spiritual successor to Clyde McCoy is Pee Wee Hunt with his version of "Oh!"

So, are we done with Phil Moore?

"Chinchy Old Scrooge" - Phil Moore with the Phil Moore Four (1953) - Part 3

Let's look at a couple of contemporary clippings that give an idea of the reaction to Phil Moore's 1953 coupling of "Chinchy Old Scrooge" and "The Blink Before Christmas" for RCA Victor Records.

The first is a review from "Billboard" of December 12, 1953:

Next is from "Jet" of December 24, 1953:

What I find most interesting is that these both imply that "Chinchy Old Scrooge" is a bop retelling of "A Christmas Carol," which it really isn't. It just uses the Scrooge name as shorthand for somebody stingy, oops! I mean chinchy!

There's no ghostly intervention or anything, although Scrooge does reform. Not that it was meant to be an adaptation and failed in achieving that goal.

The novelty song "Ebenezer Scrooge" also from 1953 (and discussed here) does actually tell the story of "A Christmas Carol" if ever so briefly.

Listening to "Ebenezer Scrooge" and "Chinchy Old Scrooge" back-to-back shows the wide span of releases from major labels in 1953!

I think the "Billboard" review is otherwise spot-on. I think it's meant as a novelty for hipsters, as it's not actually a song.

The mention of Al "Jazzbo" Collins and Steve Allen is in refence to the then-current vogue of spoken-word novelties kicked off with this recording from earlier in 1953:

The picture sleeve and other promotional material show that this was definitely marketed as a collaboration between Allen and Collins, although they started making their own records in the same vein very quickly.

I'm presuming that Phil Moore's record was an attempt by RCA Victor to jump on the bandwagon.

The piece from "Jet" is interesting as well, with the thinking that Moore's record was harmful to children. Imagine what those squares would have thought if they knew what kids listen to these days!

"Chinchy Old Scrooge" - Phil Moore with the Phil Moore Four (1953) - Part 2

If you got a chance to listen to "Chinchy Old Scrooge," the 1953 recording by Phil Moore and the Phil Moore Four, I'm sure you'll agree that it's a fascinating novelty!

I do think it's meant as a novelty as the slang is so thick that you can't imagine anyone ever really sounding quite like that, even the heppest cats in 1953!

The flip side of this single, "The Blink Before Christmas" sheds a bit of light on things. Give it a listen:

The key is Don Burley, Phil Moore's co-writer on this track. Burley was a pianist like Moore, but he was also a journalist and among his accomplishments was "The Harlem Handbook of Jive" first published in 1941.

He included takeoffs of poems and stories including "The Jive Night Before Xmas," based on "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore (no relation to Phil!).

It would seem that Phil Moore used Burley's poem as the basis for the "Blink" side and took that inspiration for the "Chinchy" side.

Next, some reactions...

"Chinchy Old Scrooge" - Phil Moore with the Phil Moore Four (1953) - Part 1

"Chinchy Old Scrooge" (1953) 
Phil Moore with the Phil Moore Four
Songwriter: Phil Moore
RCA Victor Records

We haven't dipped our collective toe into the audio pool in a bit, so let's give a listen to this 1953 recording of Phil Moore performing "Chinchy Old Scrooge" with the Phil Moore Four:

Interesting!

Next: our deep dive into this recording...

"The Red Skelton Hour" (December 14, 1965)

"A Jerk of All Trades" (December 14, 1965)
 The Red Skelton Hour
CBS Network

Moving from the odd Scrooge/Emmett Kelly mashup, we move to a more typical use of the Scrooge character, this time involving legendary comedian Red Skelton.

On the Christmas episode of "The Red Skelton Hour," as broadcast on CBS TV in 1965 was a skit featuring Red as a curmudgeonly newsstand proprietor named "E. Scrooge."

This was the "Silent Spot" segment of the show, Red being an expert pantomimist (like Emmett Kelly).

Here are some stills:

As I mentioned, this is a more common use of Scrooge in a modern setting - a mean-spirited surrogate rather than the actual Victorian-Era Ebenezer Scrooge.

In addition to Tallulah Bankhead (seen at the top with Red as the jerk), a guest star on this episode was pianist Horst Jankowski, who performed his hit "A Walk in the Black Forest."

As a bonus, let's listen to that great record:

Scrooge meets... Emmett Kelly?

 Here's a crossover even I think is wacky: Ebenezer Scrooge meeting Emmett Kelly!

Emmett Kelly (1898-1979) being perhaps the most famous circus clown ever, but not particularly known for hanging around Victorian London!

But here he is in his "Weary Willie" persona, serenading Mr. Scrooge, as depicted by painter Barry Leighton-Jones.

Adding to the wackiness is that here are a couple of other variations on this theme.

I'm not sure which came first, the painting or this collector's plate depicting a similar scene:

The back of the plate helpfully tells us this is the tenth in the annual Christmas series and bears the title of "Merry Christmas Mister Scrooge" and was issued in 1995:

It's interesting that the painting and plate have the same theme, but a number of differences, not the least of which is that Weary Willie switched from violin to flute!

Scrooge doesn't seem impressed by either!

We're not done yet, however!

There was also an ornament issued in 1995:

Yes, it's the same scene, as the box tell us:

It's certainly unusual to have a twentieth century figure meet the actual Ebenezer Scrooge rather than a Scroogesque surrogate.

Very clever and lots of fun!

"Charles Dickens Characters" Tumblers - Hazel-Atlas Glass Company

"Charles Dickens Characters" Tumblers
Hazel-Atlas Glass Company

So, if we have "A Christmas Carol" plates off of which we can eat and spoons so we don't have eat with our hands, we need something to wash down the food!

Fitting the bill are these cool tumblers from the Hazel-Atlas Glass company:

Scrooge looks a little crazy here! I believe he's looking out the window at the phantoms.

I like the Tiny Tim a lot!

And just to keep things interesting, there are also these:

Same theme, still just Scrooge and Tiny Tim, but a bit different.

Not sure if the two sets were issued in different years or had a different purpose (one set for milk, one for adult beverages?).

I'd guess from the look that they're form the 1950s. Hazel-Atlas went out of business in 1964, so they're from at least before that.

The fun collectibles never stop!

"Charles Dickens" Spoons (1982) - Franklin Mint

"Charles Dickens" Spoons (1982)
Franklin Mint

Hey, since those Wilton Armetale pewter plates say they're safe for serving food, here are the spoons you can use:

These are part pf a series of spoons featuring assorted Dickens characters from various books. 

No surprise that Scrooge and Bob/Tim make the cut!

I know that's Bob's comforter under his chin, but it kind of looks like a beard and with the green coat and jaunty little hat, I get a strong Leprechaun vibe!

Funko Pop! Heroes #355 "Batman as Ebenezer Scrooge" (2020)

Batman as Ebenezer Scrooge" (2020)
Funko Pop! Heroes #355

Just got my mitts on this brand-new Funko Pop! figure:

Batman as Ebenezer Scrooge? Brilliant I say!

The above picture is my personal figure, but here's the stock photo, which are always stylish:

My first post with a "2020s" tag!

Fun!

"A Christmas Carol" Ornaments - Wilton Armetale (2000-2008)

We were just looking at the series of pewter collector's plates issued by Wilton Aremetale in the 2000s. As promised, here's what I could dig up for the corresponding ornaments.

Must keep hunting to add to my virtual collection!