Antique Toy, Melvin Purvis Junior G-Man Corps Badge, Post Toasties Promo, 1936

Antique Toy, Melvin Purvis Junior G-Man Corps Badge, Post Toasties Promo, 1936 (image 3/[null, null, null])

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Beautiful 1936 Kelloggs Post Toasties Promotional, Melvin Purvis, Junior G-Man Corps Badge. Measures 1 1/2 inches tall by 1 1/4 inches wide. It is made of copper. It is in excellent condition. I see no damage. The back pin is intact. Pin measures 3/4 inch long. This is original. I purchased this badge at an auction in Ohio. I also bought two other badges, the Secret Passport and the package they came in from General Foods, Battle Creek, Michigan. These badges are hard to find in this condition. See my other auctions for the other two badges (they are different), the Secret Passport and the original shipping package. You will receive the original package this badge came in from General Foods, Battle Creek, Michigan. The package measures 5 1/2 inches long by 3 1/4 inches wide.Melvin Purvis hosted a children’s radio program called “Junior G-Men” in 1936. Purvis had become a national hero for his record as an FBI agent during the so-called "war on crime" in the early 1930s for leading the manhunt that ended with the death of John Dillinger. Purvis was seen as a real-life counterpart to the fictional detectives, such as Dick Tracy, that proliferated in the popular culture targeting boys during this period. As part of the radio program, listeners could join a "Junior G-Men" club and receive badges, manuals, and secret agent props. Shortly thereafter, Purvis became the face of breakfast cereal Post Toasties, promotional detective club. The cereal company’s fictional “Inspector Post” and his “Junior Detective Corps” metamorphosed into an image of Purvis inviting boys and girls to become “secret operators” in his “Law and Order Patrols.” Despite his fame and success, Purvis, who was 30 when Dillinger was killed, retired from the bureau in 1935. Still, he was featured in 1936 and '37 in a series of Post Toasties Corn Flakes advertisements that ran on the Sunday comics pages. The comic strip regaled the exploits of Purvis, called the nation's No. 1 G-Man. The final panel always showed Purvis sitting down to a Post Toasties breakfast. Children could send in two box tops to get a Junior G-Man Corps badge. As a result of this mass exposure, Junior G-Men clubs sprouted up throughout the United States and Canada as a "law and order" themed alternative to the Boy Scouts. Junior G-Men clubs found support from police departments and non-profit organizations that saw them as a means of combating juvenile delinquency. The clubs structured children's time with activities designed to instill law-abiding attitudes, as reflected in their slogan "It's easier to build boys than to mend men." Junior G-Men was part of the larger “war on crime” campaign being waged through the mass media, which included movies, comic books and strips, radio programs, and pulp books, all of which was encouraged by the FBI and especially its director, J. Edgar Hoover prior to World War II. Most of these featured adult "G-Menn" even when marketed to children. The difference with the Junior G-Men was that it was designed to give boys a sense of participating in the exciting adult world of crime-fighting. That said, aside from the original radio program, a book, Junior ‘G’ Men’s Own Mystery Stories (by Gilbert Lathrop, Edward O’Connor, and Norton Hughs Jonathan) was published in 1936 and a big little book by Morrell Massey and Henry E. Vallely the following year. Eventually they also appeared on the big screen. This information came from Stephen Benzkofer & Wikipedia. I provide free shipping on all items sold in the United States. The shipping I provide is Media Mail and Parcel Post. I do not purchase delivery conformation on items under $25.00. If you prefer different shipping method or insurance on an item you win it will be at your expense by e-mailing me prior to paying for your item. I do not ship internationally unless you e-mail me first and we agree on all costs associated with shipping outside the United States. E-mail me if you have any questions about this item, condition, method of payment or shipping. I try to describe items the best I can and I hope you u... read more

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