Marvin Glass' claim to fame was assembling and then marketing some of the most famous board games of the post-World War II era. His Chicago based company – Marvin Glass and Associates - was the most prolific independent toy and game developer from the 1950s through the mid-1970s. Through the use of injected plastics, Glass was one of the first to move from flat, one-dimensional games to the ‘wow’ of three-dimension. In the 1960s, he developed such games as Mouse-Trap, Operation, Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots, Lite Brite, Mystery Date, Ants in the Pants, Toss Across, and Mr. Machine. He built the prototypes, added his refinements, and then marketed the heck out of the new game to the highest bidder. The highest bidder was invariably a major toy company – the likes of Ideal, Mattel and Hasbro.

A few years ago, I paid $25 on eBay for one of the strangest products, in my opinion, ever sold by Marvin. It definitely could be deemed a novelty. It was called The Smoking, Coughing Beethoven Bust and Ashtray. On the box it stated (1) Insert Any Real Cigarette, (2) Light It -- He'll Really Smoke It, (3) Then Hear Him Cough -- and Cough. Wow!! (the 'wow' was my comment)

This is what we wrote about it in our book about Fishlove. [It should be noted. Irving Fishlove and Marvin Glass had a very fruitful working relationship that spanned from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s. One of their most famous collaborations was Yakity-Yak, or The Chattering Teeth]

One of the most bizarre novelties to come out of the Marvin Glass combine was the Smoking, Coughing Beethoven, Bust and Ashtray. Glass, who had a life-long fascination with the 18th century genius, had a motorized plastic bust made of the composer. The bust, which came out in 1972, stood approximately five inches tall. When a cigarette was placed in Beethoven’s mouth, and the motor was activated, the head would start puffing and coughing. It stated on the box, "Beethoven’s cough was even great. Watch him try to cheat his fate. See him smoking like a master… Puffing fast and coughing faster!"

In a telephone conversation with Jeffery Breslow, a former Glass employee, he recalled the contraption but remembered it wasn’t very successful because the tar from the cigarettes would gum up the mechanism!

Note: In a 1960 Life Magazine article about Glass it mentions he had a fascination for Beethoven. It also mentions he smoked five packs of cigarettes a day.

Glass died of cancer in 1974.

Stan Timm

The origin of the classic joke, the Whoopee Cushion, can be traced back to the onset of the Great Depression. Sam Adams, the founder of S. S. Adams the famous gag and joke firm, was approached in 1930 by a Toronto rubber company and offered the rights to what was to become the famous "Bronx cheer". Regretfully, he turned down the offer and admitted, as a result, to losing a large sum of money. This is from an interview with Mr. Adams in an article titled From Gags To Riches http://www.ssadams.com.

The identity of the Toronto firm was unknown up until recently when we purchased an original Whoopee Cushion on eBay. The manufacturer was the JEM Rubber Co., Limited of Toronto, Canada. The imprint on the cushion is quite striking being a Scottish kilt clad boy wearing boots with spurs and carrying a rifle. He is also carrying a rather mischievous smile! This same picture appeared in 1932, in the famous Johnson Smith novelty catalogue. This was the first time they advertised the Whoopee Cushion and they offered it in two versions - the economy model for 25 cents and the deluxe model for $1.25. We believe the one we have is the deluxe version because instead of just rubber it is made of a rubber impregnated fabric. If you are wondering, it no longer works. The mouth is brittle and the rest is stuck together.

Bits and Pieces -- The JEM Rubber Company, to our knowledge, never made any other joke items. They specialized in rubber products for manufacturers, particularly those in the printing business.

When the Cushion appeared on eBay I wanted it so badly that I bid $92! Apparently no one else in the world wanted it, since I got it for the asking price of $5.00.

The Whoopee Cushion was an instant hit, helped on by the Depression when gags were understandably popular.

The name Whoopee Cushion was not, in the beginning, universally accepted. It was only later that this name was adopted. Early on, other names appeared with different manufacturers including Poo-Poo Cushion, Whoopee Pillow, and Boop-Boop a Doop.

The SS Adams Company eventually came out with their own version which they tagged the Razz Cushion.

Mardi and I wrote an article for the Toronto Star on March 30, 2008, about the Whoopee Cushion and its origins.

Stan Timm

Today is the first day of our new venture. We are Stan and Mardi Timm and we have been collecting and writing about novelties for over 20 years. We have been told that we are the world's foremost collectors of Johnson Smith & Company novelties and catalogs and of H. Fishlove and Company's novelty items. Those of you who know these companies will appreciate our collection. Those of you who are not familiar with them will become familiar very quickly once you begin to browse our posts and pictures. Over time we will be posting unique historical information about both of these companies and many others.

We are currently writing a book about each of these companies. We are very interested in your response to this website and its content. We would also like to hear your stories and anecdotes regarding these companies and novelties in general. This is a fun subject. I hope you enjoy coming here again and again. We look forward to hearing from you.

Stan and Mardi Timm