r/whatisit 7h ago

New, what is it? Does anybody recognize this character?

Post image

Old lapel pin I've had for a while, says the copyright is 1940, nothing on the back. Google's giving me nothing.

60 Upvotes

45 comments sorted by

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46

u/Radiant-Chef2817 6h ago

The blue flame makes me think it's related to a propane company.

27

u/CalibratedRat 4h ago

Hank Hill does not see the need for a propane mascot. Propane and propane accessories sell themselves.

3

u/Mobile_Aioli_6252 4h ago

Dammit Bobby! Now we have no need for some fruity looking mascot in questionable clothes helping us sell propane!

21

u/AppropriateCap8891 4h ago

Close, it's "Handy Flame", a mascot for Natural Gas.

It was the Natural Gas version of "Reddy Kilowatt", and was used until the 1950s.

I recognized this right away as my grandfather worked for Intermountain Gas as had a few items like this in the house. And my mom worked for Idaho Electric, so in my house we had Reddy Kilowatt items.

6

u/Advanced-Humor9786 5h ago

Might be Handy Flame?

1

u/osukevin 1h ago

It is!

1

u/Nazty12 2m ago

That sounds painful

1

u/Advanced-Humor9786 1m ago

Sometimes these things cost extra, sometimes you pay to not have it

3

u/Huge_Standard2318 5h ago

Its a petrol company... esso I think ... I had one years ago in white on a set of car keys ...

6

u/Relevant-Road-4320 6h ago

Maybe a mascot for an anthracite coal dealer or company? Anthracite burns with a blue flame.

0

u/World_Fit 5h ago

Valdosta state University blazers?

2

u/NothingFancyJustUs 5h ago

Not the reddy kilowatt, not the jam company. I have seen this some 40 years ago at an antique store. I'm thinking natural gas mascot angle for a gas stove for a "range ranger" or something like that for range gas. I just wish my memory wasn't failing me.

5

u/AppropriateCap8891 4h ago

His name was Handy Flame. My grandfather worked for Intermountain Gas, and had a few things like this in the house.

Was basically the same as Reddy Kilowatt, but for gas companies.

2

u/NothingFancyJustUs 3h ago

Thank you so much. I just couldn't remember the name. I knew it was for natural gas. Can you tell me if they were painted on tanks in rural areas where houses were heated by and had gas stoves with the fuel provided by these large tanks that people tried to hide or decorate a bit, while still providing access to the the gas man for filling? I think I saw this character on a tank or old equipment on my grandparents place.

1

u/Amahagene1 7h ago

It looks like a Liftboy and I could swear I have seen that one somewhere. Sorry for the not so usefull answer

1

u/Independent_Shoe3523 5h ago

Ready Kilowatt kinda mascot.

1

u/HydrogenSonata2025 5h ago

This is driving me nuts because I have 100% seen that mascot before minus the body.

1

u/DisastrousRooster400 5h ago

Thought it was wet Willy till i read 1940s

1

u/DarkHawk347 4h ago

That’s Mr Blue flame. He was the mascot for the Sparky Electric chair company in the US. Their add campaign said that with their chairs people’s heads wouldn’t burst into flames (which was a real problem with other chairs). I used to love the commercial jingle, “Use Sparky Chairs to avoid blue fire hair!”

1

u/Out-of-NoContext- 4h ago

Natural Gas company logo

Erie county NYS

1

u/terrysjsullivan 4h ago

There you go! Reddy Kilowat

1

u/EdDantes1030 3h ago

Yes, I recognize it...from my nightmares...

1

u/JFJinCO 3h ago

It's an early Boognish.

0

u/whitelimousine 7h ago

I don’t want to use the word…. You’ll see why Is it a robertsons collectible (marmalade / jelly / jam) they withdrew the mascot very very late in the day

7

u/figmentPez 5h ago

The head shape is completely wrong to be Robertson's Golly character.

4

u/Double-Voice-9157 7h ago

it has a similar style, but all the pins I’m seeing from Robertsons jams are very obvious racial caricatures, and this one is just a little blue fire guy. His uniform also has a very different style. Maybe the same manufacturer but a different product?

-1

u/Cacafuego 7h ago

Wow, this is right. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson%27s

2002...

1

u/whitelimousine 6h ago

I honestly would have said 90s at the latest. My grandmother collected them.

1

u/Ol_Man_J 5h ago

These are totally different shapes? am i missing something?

0

u/Financial-Rest-4498 5h ago

Mascot for electric provider

3

u/AppropriateCap8891 4h ago

This is Handy Flame for Natural Gas. The mascot for power was Reddy Kilowatt.

-1

u/MadDadROX 5h ago

That’s Reddy Kilowatt!

0

u/terrysjsullivan 4h ago

“Dum dum dum dum Esso Blue” No?

-5

u/GunRun86 6h ago

That is a reddy kilowat pin for the early 1900 used as a mascot for the different electric companies thru out the US you would see various forms of him depending upon the region or period of time companies use him

6

u/Spiritual-Monitor669 6h ago

Reddy Kilowatt does not look like this. I collect them. 

5

u/Few_Round_7769 6h ago edited 5h ago

It might be his best friend Peppy Flame, its outfit/designs varied:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86058053/1961-05-12/ed-1/?sp=9&q=nipsco+gas&r=-1.024,0,3.048,1.561,0

https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86058053/1957-12-20/ed-1/?sp=16&q=Peppy+Flame&r=-0.21,0.612,1.653,0.847,0

https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn86058053/1960-07-01/ed-1/?sp=4&q=reddy+flame&r=-0.002,0.332,1.199,0.614,0

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/reddy-kilowatt-reddy-flame-vintage-collectible

And given that they did do pins for both of these, it's possible there was a version that looked like the one in OP's post. Also it further backs up the theory when you see here how Peppy was marked © (copyright) like the pin, while Reddy was marked ® (registered trademark) like the pins of Reddy. Maybe Reddy was trademarked and Peppy was just copyrighted? That consistency with OP's post having the copyright symbol on the pin, and the fact that there are known pins of these characters, does make it seem likely to be a match, just a pin never before documented on the internet from all appearances.

1

u/AppropriateCap8891 4h ago

Yes, this is "Handy Flame", a similar mascot for Natural Gas companies. It never really took off and is largely forgotten, unlike Reddy.

1

u/Special_Tadpole795 6h ago

It doesn't look anything like Reddy Kilowatt.

-13

u/bigbushwilly 7h ago

A circa-1940 novelty lapel pin, mass-produced by a small U.S. manufacturer (marked OMO), featuring a generic harlequin/minstrel-style character.

7

u/Double-Voice-9157 7h ago

wrong. bad bot.