Syroco
The term "Syroco" has also been
used in a generic manner by numerous collectors to describe the
beautiful, stylistic pressed wood collectibles, though the figures
originated from at least a couple different manufacturers, chiefly The
Syracuse Ornamental Company (hence "Syroco") of Syracuse, New York and
Multi Products, Inc. of Chicago
“Adolph
Holstein, a skilled European immigrant woodcarver, founded the Syracuse
Ornamental Company in 1890, specializing in making hand-carved
decorative components for the furniture industry. Demand for the
company’s intricate products soon exceeded production capacity, so
Holstein developed a process to mass-produce replicas of the carvings by
compressing a mixture of wood, flour, waxes, and resins into molds. In
the 1930s and 1940s the company changed its name to Syroco Inc. and
manufactured a line of novelty items - igarette boxes, pipe racks,
plates, serving trays, and figurines of popular entertainers, comic
strip characters and public personalities, for sale in roadside souvenir
shops. Syroco Inc. continues in business to this day, but production of
the figures was discontinued by about 1950.
During the
'30s and '40s, Multi Products and Syroco produced several pinbacks
with permission from Walt Disney Enterprises. Numerous souvenirs
were also manufactured for events and locations, including the New
York World's Fair 1939. Several plaques were produced by Multi
Products featuring Pinocchio.
Our
interest is in the Walt Disney Enterprises pinbacks made by Syroco
in the 30's and we want to share them with you on this page.