In the late 1950s, the company, suffering from union problems, financial difficulties and toy pirates, closed down. United Rubber Workers Local 58 represented the Sun Rubber Co. Sun also made a Gogg doll, clown, riding horses, and sport-car bodies for children. The mannequins had wigs and were dressed in bra and bikini pants. In 1958, it produced more than 100 different products, including vinyl, life-size mannequins for a California company. In 1955, Sun Rubber gave birth to the Gerber Baby in a variety of sizes and packaging. The doll drank from her own bottle, wet her diaper, blew bubbles from a plastic pipe, and cried when squeezed. In 1954, the Bannister Baby, named after a famous baby photographer, was introduced. The mid-1950s represented a post-war “golden era” for Sun Rubber. Coupled with the introduction of Disney-related toys, including the famous Mickey Mouse fire engine, Sun Rubber enjoyed an era of modest prosperity.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Newton also designed several models of the Sunbabe doll, including “So-Wee,” “Cindy-Lee,” and “Babee-Bee,” and several inflated rubber toys such as Chunky (girl) and Rompy (boy). Employment at the plant increased from 800 to 1,150 to meet production demands of 12,000 dolls per day.

Newton, a children’s book author and illustrator, was the designer. The 10-inch doll had a soft rubber head with painted features, was fully jointed, and drank, wet and cried when squeezed. In February 1949, Sun Rubber introduced Amosandra, the radio daughter of Amos and Ruby from Columbia Broadcasting’s Amos n’ Andy show.

In 1947, Sunbabe dolls were produced at the rate of 20,000 every 24 hours to meet Christmas orders. It came with a flannelette diaper and safety pin and included the “Sunruco” drinking and wetting feature utilizing a glass nurser bottle with rubber nipple. The initial model was jointed, flesh colored, had a hard rubber head, metal sleeping eyes, and painted hair and mouth. However, it was the doll line that guaranteed Sun Rubber Co.’s strong position in the toy market. This is one of the key reasons why 1940-41 represents a significant dividing line when differentiating “antiques” from “collectibles” in the 1990s. As a result, household products and toys from the pre-war period are vastly different from the toys of the post-war period. Few new household or toy products were developed and manufactured during this period. Manufacturers across America produced war-related goods between 19. What happened to Sun Rubber was not unique. The plant operated 24 hours a day and employed about 900 workers. One casualty was toy production.ĭuring the war effort, the company made molded rubber goods (face blanks for high-altitude oxygen masks and respirators, corrugated rubber mask tubing, rubber bellows for testing the fitness of high-altitude oxygen masks, grommets for batteries and flashlight equipment, and pipeline gaskets), rubber bonded to metal (bullet-sealing cell fittings), self-sealing fuel cells for airplanes, and all-rubber athletic balls for troops in training camps and fighting zones. In 1942, Sun Rubber “went to war,” entering the battle of production waged by American industry. with its Sunruco products focused on three consumer areas: educational and recreational toys and playthings office specialties, and custom-molded rubber articles and surgical goods.

Now, the rest of the story.īefore 1941, the Sun Rubber Co. of Barberton, Ohio, from its founding in 1923 until the advent of World War II. As the filters break down from age you could get lung fulls of whatever is inside so better safe then sorry.In a previous column I covered the history of the Sun Rubber Co. Also have the Czech copy of the US M10 mask for cheap.Īnd of course if you have a particular mask in mind google that -, you might be able to find a decent deal on a military surplus or other website.īe wary of older filters especially Soviet ones, there have been rumors for years of them being loaded with asbestos. I got me a black Soviet GP5 from them for around 13 bucks where as most other places especially US based it was through the freaking roof. They do tend to have a limited selection on some stuff so if you spot something you want grab it asap.īud K surprisingly has some decent masks. Sportsman Guide tends to have a decent selection, along with plenty of other unique military surplus if you are into that. You can find the civie versions, the GP7 with round eyes, fairly cheap though if you are on a budget I just think they aren't as cool looking. I got me a very sexy PMK gas mask from a Ukrainian seller for pretty darn cheap. Of course if you are wanting surplus Sov masks they are usually your best bets. Ebay of course always has interesting masks but like with anything on there be a bit wary ordering from some Eastern Europeon areas.

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