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Superman Cookie Jar

American History Museum

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International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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Object Details

Description (Brief)

Ceramic cookie jar made by California Originals in 1978. On the jar, Superman is seen emerging from a phone booth, carrying the clothes of his alter-ego Clark Kent. Although phone booths have become identified with the hero's costume changes in the popular imagination, except for a few notable exceptions, they have been seldom used by the character for this purpose.
The character of Superman first flew into action in 1938. The costumed superhero was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish teenagers from Cleveland Ohio, who used, among other things, classical mythology and the era's popular science fiction and adventure writing for inspiration.
With his debut in Action Comics #1, Superman became an instant sensation with audiences, inspired by the "Man of Tomorrow's" virtue and heroics at time when the Nation was slowly emerging from the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression and moving closer to World War.
Born on the doomed planet Krypton, Superman was sent to Earth as a child, where our world's yellow sun granted him extraordinary powers such as flight, super-strength, near-invulnerability, as well as other extraordinary abilities including heat and X-Ray vision. As an adult living in the city of Metropolis, the alien, born Kal-El, protects his identity by assuming the persona of Clark Kent, a "mild-mannered" journalist.
Fighting for "Truth and Justice," Superman birthed a cultural fascination with superheroes, and has become one of the most recognizable and influential fictional characters in history. In addition to comic books, the character has been explored in all forms of media, including radio, television, and film, and has been used to promote a variety of successful consumer products, educational initiatives and public service campaigns.

Location

Currently not on view

Credit Line

DC Comics, Incorporated

Date made

1980

ID Number

1987.0213.137

accession number

1987.0213

catalog number

1987.0213.137

Object Name

Jar, Cookie

Physical Description

ceramic (lid material)
paint (overall material)

Measurements

overall: 13 in x 5 in x 5 1/2 in; 33.02 cm x 12.7 cm x 13.97 cm

See more items in

Culture and the Arts: Entertainment

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Subject

Superman
Food Culture

Metadata Usage

CC0

Link to Original Record

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a4-ef99-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record ID

nmah_682921

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