It's not likely anyone else will think this as exciting as I do, but...
At a church rummage sale this weekend I found not one, but two of what may be the earliest examples of the magic drinking bird, one of the great icons of mid-century kitsch. Both were N.O.S. in their original boxes!
The magic drinking bird was invented by Miles V. Sullivan, a scientist/inventor at Bell labs, in 1945 and patented in 1946. My drinking birds were made by Tico Laboratories in Tarpon Springs, Florida and are nearly identical to the illustrations in the original patent drawings. They are (according to the enclosed brochure) hand-blown Pyrex lab glass. I can find no information on who first manufactured the drinking birds, but it's a good bet that these date to the late 40s-early 50s, and may be the original production models.
It's not likely that many of the originals have survived. Not only were they very fragile, but they were filled with a highly volatile chemical that was would destroy the finish on any varnished or painted surface it contacted, not to mention being extremely flammable, as well. Consequently, drinking birds fell out of popularity until the 60s when they were redesigned and manufactured in Japan and Taiwan, made of a heavier glass and filled with a less volatile chemical.
Who knows - these may be the only surviving examples of the original drinking bird...
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Originally Posted by Caroline
