Approximately 475 were made: 200 went to St. May, 1954, and it was produced in Redbud, Black (Onyx Black), and mostly Green (I assume she meant Prairie Green) and sold wholesale for $1.75 each. “Boots” Adams (now deceased) was President of Phillip’s Petroleum Oil Company and involved with the Jesters (a fun group associated with Masonic organization). In the newsletter it states, “The Billiken was designed by John Frank (probably from a metal example ), brought to him by “Boots” Adams.” K. 3, April, 1983) Susan Cox recounts information given to her by Leona Thomas of Frankoma. In a newsletter ( The American Clay Exchange, Vol. Most Frankoma publications state that Frankoma produced the Billiken from 1951 to 1955. It is located in the Shinsekai district of Naniwaku, Osaka.įrom “The Pot & Puma,” Summer/Fall, 1998: The billiken below is at Tsūtenkaku, translated “Tower Reaching Heaven,” a well-known landmark in Osaka, Japan. However, I have not found enough documentation to verify the word history. Per a linguists professor at Kansas University, I discovered that the original word may have come from the Far East, as the name of a sky goddess (dating from about the 14 th century), and was possibly corrupted at least twice in spelling, in India and then again in Europe. Then I began to think about the word “Billiken” itself. I had written a paper on Famous Kansans with him included. In Oklahoma, he began working in the Phillip’s Oil business and rose through the ranks until he became president. How I got started collecting the Frankoma Billiken: I began with the 1954, Ada clay, prairie green one that is marked “Jester’s Day, May 7-8, 1954, Host Kenneth Stanley (K.S.) “Boots” Adams.” It was not the billiken that intrigued me at first, it was the man’s name on it, because he came originally from Kansas, attended Kansas University in Lawrence, Kansas, and left school before he would graduate because he was needed at home. Tiny Billikens were also put in houses that were being built as a protector for the inhabitants of the home. I have always had a “billiken” in my life, because my father was in the Air Force and many Air Force pilots flew with a tiny one for Good Luck, especially during World War II. I would not classify it as an advertising piece, but more as a memento of a special day, and it was GIVEN ONLY to the participants of that “Mirth is King” or “Book of the Play” day celebration of the Royal Order of Jesters. First, the Frankoma Billiken was never allowed to be sold to the general public. What IS the Frankoma Billiken? I have used a lot of resources for this article, trying to answer as many questions as possible. The history of the Billiken in the United States began with Florence Pretz, a Missouri art teacher and illustrator, who patented her “design for an image” of the happy creature in 1908, but she was unable to patent the name “billiken,” or its various spellings, because it was already considered a very commonly used word. And I try to keep informed as much as possible. In my years of collecting Frankoma, I always look at the piece itself (how rare), the glaze color (how long used) pre-fire and after fire, the clay (Ada, Sapulpa, Pink), how it is marked/not marked, as well as any additional features such as sterling silver trim or the rarity of the lunch-box pieces that Frankoma employees made for themselves. Frankoma’s Billikens, Part I by Laura McLaughlin
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |