1930s Vindex Toys "Twin Scotties" Cast Iron Doorstop

1930s Vindex Toys "Twin Scotties" Cast Iron Doorstop

MADE BY: Vindex Toys - a division of NSM Co.( National Sewing Machine Company)
Circa: 1933-35
MODEL: #157
NAME: "Twin Scotties" and "Listen" and "Scottie Twin"

ILLUSTRATOR OF DOGS: Morgan Dennis
ILLUSTRATED FOR: Texaco

Picked this up the other day along with another doorstop that I'll post soon. This doorstop has a lot of stuff going on, so bear with me.

These 2 Scotties are modeled after a Texaco advertisement. The slogan for their winter oil was "Drain, fill - then listen". Both dogs have their heads tilted and left dog has one ear cocked as if listening. The Texaco winter oil was advertised as "crack proof". Texaco used the image of the twin scotties on paper advertisements,tokens and more.

Back is marked: 157(model#), NSM CO(National Sewing Machine Company) and Belvidere Ill(NSM CO Factory)

VINDEX TOYS - DID NOT EXIST
The toy line was established to keep their employees working during the Great Depression with a variety of products other than sewing machines.

"Actually...There never was a Vindex Toy Company, but a line of cast iron toys and novelties, including some bank numbers, manufactured by National Sewing Machine Co., of Belvidere, Ill."

"We were making a line of our sewing machines under the brand name Vindex, a somewhat unusual name, so when the time came to name the line of toys and novelties we decided to use the brand ‘Vindex"

NOT JUST TOYS
"Vindex toys covered a wider field than cars, motorcycles, and farm toys, however: horse-drawn wagons, book-ends, table lamps, dog door stops, and dog and owl banks."

WHO LET THE DOGS DOORSTOPS OUT
"We made several hundred thousand Bull Dog Door Stops (#151),’ Neff writes, ‘which were sold at $1 each to the trade.
We also had a Setter Dog Door Stop (called ‘Pal’, #155), as well as a Scottie Dog Door Stop (Scottie Twin, #157) that sold in large quantities."

HOWDY PARDNER
"National Sewing Machine Company and Farm Mechanics magazine partnered up, with the magazine offering Vindex toys as incentives to children to sell magazine subscriptions."

NSM CO - NATIONAL SEWING MACHINE COMPANY
"The original factory was located in Boston, Massachusetts from 1880-1887. The company was then moved to Chicago, Illinois and finally to Belvidere, Illinois by 1886. In an effort to keep workers employed during the Great Depression, National expanded their product line to include home workshop machinery and cast iron toys. National was unable to compete with the low cost imported sewing machines and closed in 1957."

National manufactured sewing machines, washing machines, bicycles, the Eldredge automobile (1903-1906), home workshop machinery, and cast-iron scale model toys (Oldsmobile & Pontiac automobiles, Harley Davison motorcycles & side cars, John Deere farm machinery, a power shovel, horse-drawn wagons, book-ends, table lamps, dog door stops, dog and owl banks) under the Vindex Toy Company label. The complete line of (powered) home workshop machinery included lathes, band saws, jig saws, saw tables, and line shaft assemblies."

***Thanks to Scott for helping with some important details.

***I will provide links in comments for further reading.