20 ғасыр басындағы сәнді қуыршақ - Билликеннің тарихы

Charm doll popular in the early 20th century

The Billiken is a charm doll created by an American art teacher and illustrator, Florence Pretz of Kansas City, Missouri, who is said to have seen the mysterious figure in a dream. It is believed that Pretz found the name Billiken in Bliss Carman's 1896 poem "Mr. Moon: A Song Of The Little People". In 1908, she obtained a design patent on the ornamental design of the Billiken, which she sold to the Billiken Company of Chicago. The Billiken was monkey like with pointed ears, a mischievous smile and a tuft of hair on his pointed head. His arms were short and he was generally sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him. Billiken is known as "The God of Things as They Ought to Be". To buy a Billiken was said to give the purchaser luck, but to receive one as a gift would be better luck. The image was copyrighted and a trademark was put on the name. After a few years of popularity, the Billiken faded into obscurity. Although they are similar, the Billiken and the baby like kewpie figures that debuted in the December 1909 Ladies' Home Journal are not the same. Today, the Billiken is the official mascot of Saint Louis University and St. Louis University High School, both Jesuit institutions located in St. Louis. The Billiken is also the official mascot of the Royal Order of Jesters, an invitation only Shriner group affiliated with Freemasonry. The Billiken also became the namesake of Billiken Shokai, the Japanese toy and model manufacturing company (established 1976).

The Billiken sprang from the height of the "Mind Cure" craze in the United States at the start of the twentieth century. It represented the "no worry" ideal, and was a huge hit. Variations appeared, such as the "Teddy Billiken Doll" and the Billycan/Billycant pair (to drive petty problems away). The Billiken helped touch off the doll craze of the era. At least two Billiken themed songs were recorded, including "Billiken Rag" and the "Billiken Man Song." The latter was recorded by Blanche Ring. The Billiken, as a good luck charm, appears multiple times in the Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor movie Waterloo Bridge. It is employed as a device that both prompts recollections of the male lead, Robert Taylor, and that links several scenes within the movie as the plot unfolds. Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum kept a Billiken doll on his piano. The statue was a permanent fixture in the tower until September 2005 when it made its first departure and was taken, as an ambassador of sorts, to Shibuya's Tokyu Hands department store in Tokyo as a part of a fair to promote Naniwa (traditional Osaka) culture. As a part of the cultural exchange, a replica of the statue of Shibuya's most famous dog, Hachikō, was sent to Osaka. In October 2008, the Billiken of Tsutenkaku took a journey all the way from Japan to its "home" city of St. Louis, Missouri where it was visited by students of St. Louis University, whose mascot is also the Billiken. Due to wear (particularly to the soles of the feet), the dark, worn statue replica from 1980 was replaced in May 2012 with a new one. Presently he resides on the fifth floor observation deck and has become closely associated with the tower. Each year thousands of visitors place a coin in his donation box and rub the soles of his well worn feet to make their wishes come true. The Billiken also became the namesake of Billiken Shokai, the Japanese toy & model manufacturing company established in 1976.