Mechanical Woodpecker Toothpick or Match Holders

Here are pictures of some old woodpecker-on-a-log toothpick holders I have collected or seen on eBay. The earlier versions of these were made by several companies. Star Novelty of Rockford, Ill and Reliable Machine Company of Rockford, IL (Still in business!) made a very heavy version with a bare metal log and a green woodpecker with a red head. However, the red wears off, leaving just the green body (so if you find one that still has a red head, it has been lightly used). Later, Morton Grove Products and H.R.E (I know nothing about these initials!) produced a version with a brown painted log and a black and white woodpecker with a red head and a black beak. These are my favorite! A later, cheaper metal version was made by S &S Sales Company of Portland, OR. There is a larger head off-shoot to this version that is quite similar to the S&S version, but having a woodpecker with a larger head (picture at the bottom of this page). It has the same spring configuration as the S&S holder but the 2-piece log has smaller branches that do not align because the two pieces are identical and the branch on each piece is offset from the center. This may be the original version of the S&S holder, as it is seen much less frequently than the standard S&S holder and it has a 2 manufacturing flaws: (1) the neck is thin, so the head breaks off easily and (2) the small log branches do not protect the user from the sharp prongs at the end of the woodpeckers beak. The metal versions of these holders were followed by models constructed of plastic in different colors (but with the older metal design), by Krozal Products Co. of Detroit, MI.

Pre-WW II Morton Grove (or HRE) Holder	Post-WW II S & S Sales Holder	Patent Pending version	1950's Plastic version

Aluminum Version	filled-in feet of Al Version

The spring action for this model was a flat piece of spring steel hidden beneath the woodpecker. The woodpecker was attached to the log with a separate nail-like pin which passed through both the log and the woodpecker. When pushed down into the log where the toothpicks are stored, he retrieves a toothpick with the two sharp points at the end of his beak. The design of the woodpecker and the log are reflected in the D-151773 patent drawings. On the bottom of one of the log "feet" is imprinted Morton Grove Products. Thus, these items were probably manufactured in Morton Grove, Ill, a suburb of Chicago. The original color of the log was a dark brown. Gold (sometimes with a brown overspray on the back of the woodpecker) and bare versions with no embossing were also produced. These can have Pat P or no markings on the bottom of the log's feet. I also have a more ornate version that has PAT-P written on the bottom. This model has a fancy woodpecker ("Big Woodpecker") and carefully painted using may colors of paint "by an artist". A version that was painted all gold, and another version having a log with almost no branches is also pictured at the beginning of the second row below. The ornate ("big woodpecker") version weighs somewhat more than the Morton Grove version owing to the larger woodpecker. It weighs 371 grams.

Big Woodpecker + No Branches Version	Gold Big Woodpecker Version	Painted Ornate Version	Back of Painted Ornate Version

The Star Novelty and Reliable Machine Company versions (I believe) is the oldest production models, since it is heavier than the others, weighing in at 518 grams (18.3 ounces!) Its log was not painted while the woodpecker's body was painted green and its head red. The red paint on the head of theses wears off easily, so these are commonly found with only green paint remaining. It can be differentiated from the Morton Grove and H.R.E. versions (other than the obvious paint differences) since the woodpecker is tilted down more because the metal flashing between the tail and the feet has not been removed. Since it is the same physical size as the Morton Grove holder, it must contain some lead to make it so heavy. Recently, I have found a version that looks identical to the Star/reliable version, but it was not painted at all. It has PAT-P on the bottom of the log (as does the ornate version. See the picture of all three of these "bare log" versions further below.

A design patent for the old style holder was applied for by Charles Koenig of Dayton, Ohio on January 24th, 1947, and granted on November 16th, 1948 as patent number D-151773. (View the figures from the original patent here (175kB)) This number only appears on the later S&S Sales holder (on the inside of the log's branch).

Later metal versions by S&S Sales (post WWII) exist in larger numbers with the patent number (D-151773) on the inside of the log’s branch. Those made around 1947 have "Pat. Pend." in this location, while earlier versions have nothing printed here. Some were make with a woodpecker without a feathered crown on the top of his head, like the Pat. Pend. example shown below.

At least one special edition (brass-painted) was produced in 1933 for the world’s fair with the inscription "1933 A Century of Progress" on the log. Since the Chicago World's Fair continued into 1934, there was also a "1934 A Century of Progress" version, but this one was bare metal. Another version with writing on the log is the 1939 New York World's Fair version that is bare metal with a delicate (often missing) orange decal on it. Still another was an unpainted version with 1936 Cleveland embossed on the log. I believe this was made for the Great Lakes Exposition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the city of Cleveland.

1933 World's Fair Brass-painted version	1934 World's Fair version	1936 Cleveland "Great Lakes Exposition" version	1939 World's Fair version

The exact design of the woodpecker and the log is different from the pre-WWII version and the patent drawings. The woodpecker is hollow; constructed of 2 interlocking pieces. The log is also constructed of two pieces and its thickness has been reduced substantially, lowering its weight more than a factor of two from the older version to 130 grams (4.6 ounces). The spring action for this version is performed by a wire of spring steel which raps around the "ankles" of the woodpecker, and is clearly visible. Many of these were produced as souveniers for various parks and tourist attractions, with custom decals for that location. A "transition version" shown below was also made. This monolithic version has unique features including the flat solid feet supporting the log and a round disc-like tail (see image below).

Finally, the older Morton Grove style holder was reproduced in plastic by Krozal Products Co. of Detroit, MI in the 1950’s as shown in the picture above. He is called Woody Woodpicker Sanitary Toothpick Dispenser and he was made in many different colors including red, white, yellow and blue. There are a few plastic versions that are made of transparent colored plastic. I have seen red, orange and cobalt blue versions of these. The blue version is shown below.

Transparent blue version	Gold with brown bird	Reliable Machine version

Transition version (note flat feet)	Transition version (note disc-like tail)	"Worn" Star Novelty version

Large head Off-shoot holder	A Coterie