A special thank you and a prize of some ‘engagement ring bling’ goes out to my childhood friend Dianne Lannon for helping me find the calendars which I have been puzzling over. They were advertising calendars for Charles E. Frosst featuring “Dingbats” who were busy little creatures performing medical care or other investigations. I had recalled them as having pointy heads but no, their heads were nice and round but they did have 2 long wisps for eyebrows and another few just over their ears and, as Lance says, they may have evolved. They apparently have been around since 1915 so really, why should I have so much trouble finding them? Even Googling them specifically there are scarce few to be found on the internet. Now my mission will be to find a real one for my “captain’s cabin” office, preferably one from the year of my birth. Thanks again Dianne, working in the pharmaceutical field has its rewards!
Here’s a bit on the illustrator from “Ask/Art”
William Dudley Burnett Ward (1879 – 1935)
William Dudley Burnett Ward (AKA: Dudley Ward) was an illustrator, cartoonist and poster artist.
He was born in Graveley Bank, Staffordshire, England and died in Montreal, Quebec. He emigrated to Canada about 1910 and lived in Toronto, Ontario as well as Montreal.
His mediums were watercolor and gouache*. His most famous subjects are gnome-like fantasy figures he called “Dingbats”.
They were actually from Charles e frosst I believe. Merck sharpe & dohme and frosst merged to become Merck frosst some years later. I really liked the calendars and usually had one each year. Glad I could help and glad my memory is not failing yet (lol).
Thanks, I’ll make the correction in the Blog. I must confess that until you gave me some better clues I thought that I might have made them all up. They really were fascinating as a kid but usually hung too far away for me to see properly and one sat where one was put in those days. I’m surprised they haven’t been published in a collection somewhere. I’ll keep looking.
Judy
I looked for those a few weeks ago and found nothing until your website today. What is the date on the calendars in your photos. I remember them from the 60s and can’t believe there’s nothing about them on the net. Thanks for this. Margo
I don’t actually have the calendar; that was a pic from an online auction. I do know that the calendars were produced from 1915 to 1996. There is a book on Google Play called Dingbat Calendar reprints which I may have to investigate – it only has 16 pages. I can’t believe that there aren’t more of them kicking around considering how long they were produced and how widespread they were issued.
When Merck Frosst was no longer permitted to hand out the calendars, they published the dingbat posters in the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties for a few years. I have some ranging in date from 1994 to 2000.
I was wondering if you could tell me the names of each of your posters and their year as well as the artist’s name? I’m on a bit of a dingbat quest.
Would like to know how to get a calendar. I have a picture in my cps
Haven’t been able to find a calendar anywhere. Do you mean a recent one or an old one? I check eBay from time to time but no joy.
I have a Dingbat calendar in the mailing tube from 1981, “Surgery in Dingbat Land”. The month starts in February, but otherwise it’s in perfect condition. My father was an MD and as a kid, I was always excited to see the new Dingbat calendar every new year when it arrived in the mail. I would be willing to part with it. Send me an email if you are interested.
The cheque is in the mail!!
There is a large dingbat collection in a university in montreal…in the pharmacology area…i saw it over 10 years ago…it includes many original artist paintings submitted originaly by the various artists 4 or 5 , to frosst for approval as calendars…my sister has an original that was refused by frosst , artist alex maclaren for being ” too violent ” . I know all this as the artist was our neighbor, and we often watched him painting dingbats through his studio room window..he gave that painting to my sister as a gift…and our family treasures it.
The university collection was donated by frosst when they stopped production of the calendars…over the years i have collected many dingbat calendars and a few other dingbat items and paintings…
I once found 22 calendars all different at a flea market, but usually lately i find very few…if you like “dinbats” ,a visit to the university on mount royal in montreal is well worth the effort…
Merck holds the rights to the dingbats , their characters and the name , so this is why there are no books or movies as they will not authorize any commercial ventures using dingbat stuff..I welcome any questions about dingbats at yvan.beaudry@hotmail.com
Thanks for the Dingbat info. Sounds like a good excuse to visit Montreal sometime soon. I am surprised the calendars are so hard to come by as they were so widespread in Canada. I purchased one from a fellow out west whose Dad was a rural family doctor. He said they likely got disposed of every year as the new one arrived. I looked at one on eBay today which was a reasonable price but they wanted $50 in shipping. I am content to have just the one but the collector in me occasionally whispers that it might be nice to have one from my birth year so I look around from time to time. I loved your tale of watching the artist through his studio window – there was nothing I liked better as a child than watching someone draw. I had to be content with Mr. Dress-up. Thanks for sharing.
You may be interested to know that Dudley Ward also painted landscapes etc, and before he emigrated from England in 1910 he had several cartoon type postcards published,
well the sickness continues….i recently acquired 2 dingbat original watercolors on ebay dated 1921 by dudley ward. as well as one calendar…the seller says he got them from the ward family driver….one of the drawings portrays a nude nymph..yes a nude dingbat original .. it cost me a pretty pretty penny ..these never made it frosst for calendars as they were extrem;y picky….
they now hang in nice professional frames…and are my prize possesions …
I have 2 frame from dudley dated 1935 how must your could worth me i am trying to find a place to get my 2 frame authenticate certificate and i m having problem place that do know of those dingbat anybody a clue near montreal where can i get those certificate
i was just at a auction and came across the top portion of these calenders the original owner was nice enough to date the back of them 1968-1975 1978 and 1 that is unknown date… can anyone advise more info about them what they may be worth etc and info would be great as i love learning new things 🙂
I have come across not one but 3 different Frossts prints in frames, 2 by L. Bachelor and the other by Ross Wiggs. I beleive these ones to be the re-issued ones from the 60’s from what I have read. I see mainly information about the calendars but very little about the prints. I can send pics and would like to know if there is a real value to these at all.. I have “Mass production in dingbat land” ” Outpatient Department in dingbat land” & ” A ticklish situation in dingbat land”…. have not taken them out of the frames… any feedback would be appreciated : )
I have a Dingbat print that I rescued from the vacated office of a fellow Radiologist entitled, “Fluoroscopy in Dingbat Land”. It was done by Alex McLaren. If you send me an email address I can send you a picture of it.
Hello,
I have 16 advertising poster/prints from the 30’s and 40’s from these three artists; Ross Wiggs, Dudley Ward and L. R. Bachelor. Can anyone suggest where I can find their value and where I can sell them. They have been rolled up in a cardboard canister and never hung. Thank you for your help, Suzanne
Wow, that’s a real treasure trove of Dingbats, Suzanne! Wish I could help you regarding their value but I have no idea. I daresay the Dudley Ward ones would be of greater value. I hope someone out there can assist you in finding out what they are worth. I have only ever seen one or two on eBay and don’t recall now what they were asking. Good luck.
Judy
Thanks Judy, I will keep on trying.
i also have 16 posters from the same 3 artists. did you find out if they have any value?
I personally haven’t looked into it but I will put it out there for other readers to answer..I think the original drawings would have a lot more value than the posters.
Hi, I was wondering if you could list the titles of all your posters with the year they were made and the artist that designed them.
I have posted a new blog entry called Dingbats 2 with the calendar picture Bruce sent and another I purchased.
Hello,
Would anyone like to purchase a Dingbat poster? They are 14 1/2 X 18 1/2. If interested please contact me at slaf1@videotron.ca
Thank you, Suzanne
I have the following framed Dingbats and I am ready to sell them to the best bidder (bidding closing on January 6th, 2015 at 7:00 PM). Satisfaction guaranteed:
1) A Tragedy in Dingbat Land, 2) Haemoglobin Count in Dingbat Land, 3) Diagnosis in Dingbat Land (slightly water-stained), 4) Mass Production in Dingbat Land (slightly water-stained, 5) Asepsis Defences in Dingbat Land, 6) Unshaken Optimism in Dingbat Land (water-stained), 7) Fifty Years’ Progress in Dingbat Land, 8) A Fishy Episode in Dingbat Land, and 9) Dingbat Confidence.
Gainesville, Florida/December 20, 2014
hi, did you sell or do you still have some available?
thx, helen
Eli from Gainesville, Florida/December 20, 2014
do you still would likw to see picture
alain-louiselle@hotmail.com
Hi Helen, I have 2 watercolours. I took them to an art dealer and he said they are not reproductions.
Eli from Gainesville, Florida/December 20, 2014
do you still would likw to see picture
alain-louiselle@hotmail.com
I have two original watercolours. They were inherited and I was wondering if anyone knows how to get them appraised and sold. They are quite rare because they are watercolours of the digbats in the woods. Very whimsical.
Hi,
I would love to see pictures of these watercolours. If they are the ones I’m thinking about you should look up Dudley Ward (Dingbats in a log and Dingbats on a stone) Anything by Dudley Ward is usually quite expensive.
Dudley Ward also produced a series of advertisements for Moirs King Choice bars which the dingbat characters were called snicksnacks
I didn’t know that! Thanks for that tidbit.
Has anyone figured out the value of one of these calendars in mint condition?