Nearly thirty years ago on vacation in New England in a small shop in Woodstock, Vermont, we spotted Frog. The sales clerk gave him a kiss on his cute little nose, then, zip…unfold….shake… rearrange….refold….zip. Prince! We had to have him and he lived with the family for many years, sometimes as the Frog, sometimes as the Prince. The family has spread wings but FrogPrince remains with me. When I did a recent transformation I noticed he has worn away in one spot and has begun to lose beans. He will soon get repaired; he will likely only display his inner self on special occasions from now on.
The label says Zippersnappers TM copyright 1979 Gadzooks Toys handmade in Bridgewater VT
There was also Jonah and the Whale and possibly one other. I wonder if any others still exist. I hope the creators somehow feel my ongoing delight.
Comments
33 responses to “Zippersnappers”
I have a frog/prince, jonah /whale, silk purse/sow’s ear, shark/scuba diver/tortoise/hare, cat out the bag, bull/bear and elephant/donkey. there may a couple of other styles out there but I am not sure.
I have used frog/prince in many homilies and presentations over the years. He is getting worn. I am searching for another. Since I am a fable collector, I would also love to find a tortoise/hare.
I have one of the frog/prince, interested?
Do you still have the frog/prince ????
I am searching for a Zippersnapper Jonah and the Whale. I had one years ago and have been looking for a replacement. I was thrilled to find this site!!
If anyone has a Zippersnappers frog/prince I am very interested. I have one and it is getting worn.
holy cow! i have had a frog prince for as long as i can remember, but can’t seem to find any other information on them. the only differences between mine & yours are that my prince has black hair and is wearing blue pants and a burgundy velvet blouse with diagonal embellishment (with matching hat, of course) and the tag says Barre, Vermont. i have never seen any of the others listed. i would love to find them, though!
Hi, wanted to let you know we have a Zippersnapper in MINT condition – found it at a rummage sale. It is a brown monkey that turns into an alligator (kinda cute and creepy!).
Hello C Thanks for letting me know about this variation of Zippersnapper – I don’t recall seeing one like this when we bought ours so long ago. Wonder how many are in the series.
Hello Myra.
It seems each one is unique! I was under the impression that they were not mass produced but were one of a kind. And C tells us about a monkey/alligator one.
We too are looking for a Zippersnapper Jonah and the Whale. We have one that survived three children and five grandchildren and would like one to give to a young couple here who are expecting their first child. Hope someone can help.
Hi all Zippersnappers enthusiasts. I was the manufacturer of Zippersnappers in Barre Vermont for two or three years in the mid 1980’s. The original designer was a women named Jodie Baurenshmidt who lived first in Bridgewater Vermont then Woodstock Vermont. There were about a dozen different designs. If anyone wants any more information on them they can contact me at [email protected]
wow Karen – that is a lot of response – those little transforming beasties really caught peoples attention – I suppose they are no longer manufactured – but someone should do it.
Eric
Hey, happy to find you guys. I have the tortoise and hare and would be happy to acquire others. I’m a child therapist and the kids always find these toys exciting. Un fortunately, my bunny is blind in one eye. I’m looking for an exact match. I used to have the monkey and alligator but my wife is a teacher and it mysteriously disappeared at school.
Just found this site. My kids LOVED these. Their pediatrician had a couple of them in his office. Would love to find a scuba diver/shark. If any one has any desire to part with diver/shark (or any others for that matter) or knows someone who would, please get in touch. [email protected]
I have the Frog/Prince with a tag on it that says 1979. I remember my father
& mother gave each of us a different one. My sister had the silk purse/sows ear and my brother and his wife, newly pregnant had the cat in the bag. Wish I could see photos of all of them.
I work in a charity thrift store. We never know what’s going to be donated and put out for sale. Jonah and the Whale showed up last week. We thought at first it was a poor-taste “terrorist” doll (keffiyeh-style scarf around the head and another around the face), until we saw the 1981 trademark tag and the zipper. Next thing we knew he was a blue whale! I bought him for two bucks and will probably give him to my nephew.
I remember buying them when we lived in Vermont back in 1978. We bought the Frog Prince and the diver shark. Now I use them with my grandchildren along with the Vegimals (also made in Vt). Wonderful…wish I had Jonah and the Whale as I just had a grandson whose name is Jonah!
Good Morning this snowy morning in CT. My sister in law gave us one on loan. It is the torotise & the hare @1981. Sad they’re not being made anymore but I will contact the aol address.
what fun to find these postings! i, too, have the frog/prince as described by gussie. sadly my frog is quite faded, as i spent far too many years waiting for my real-life prince to arrive! mine is dated 1979, made in barre, vt. am hoping to find a few more to keep my frog/prince company
Hi, I have a frog prince that I am listing on Ebay today if anyone is interested. Thanks alot!
Hi! I have the Elephant and the Donkey (Republican/Democrat) It has been a delight since we live in Washington, DC and have been in and around the political game for years. Wonderful piece!!!
Our family continues to be frequent Woodstock visitors. For years my husband and I have the alligator/monkey, cat/bag, 2 frog/prince, brown bear/bumblebee, elephant/donkey, silk purse/pig(sow’s ear). These have survived in perfect condition through my 2 daughters and now my grand children enjoy them. We do treat them well…Would LOVE to have shark/scuba diver and Jonah/whale. If any one in interested I could trade for some beany babies!
Went on ebay and a scuba/shark sold for $14.99 in January 2010 🙁 Just missed it by a few months. If any of you Zippersnapper fans see soem for sale please let me know! Thanks
I have a bull and bear for sale, if anyone’s interested. It’s dated 1981 and I was about to put it on ebay when I found this thread. I bought many different Zippersnappers as gifts and they were always hugely successful. I’d be happy to send pictures to anyone. I can be reached at [email protected]. (I’m new to this blog so hope I’m not breaking any rules by including an email address).
Hi, I have the Jonah and Whale. I actually was a sales rep in California during the late 70’s and 80’s. I sold hand crafted gift lines and I was approached by a young man from Vermont who asked if I wanted to sell his lines. He also had hand crafted quilts and such. He gave me the Jonah as a sample. They went out of business but I never was able to find them to return the samples. So my kids, and my grandkids have played with it since then. As a matter of fact, my granddaughter handed him to me yesterday and showed me that he was leaking. I am mending him now, and seeing the label, decided to do a google. Happy to see so many people still have them and love them. I always thought they were very clever.
That is actually an amazing statistical info amongst the individuals who are searching for it. Its very fairly practical as nicely as uncommon data supplied in web-sites. Wonderful perform.
I’m searching for a jonah/whale zippersnapper bean toy. I had one for 30 years and then our new puppy found him to be delicious.
I found this blog researching these items on Google. I have a Zippersnapper that is a bear and becomes a bee when turned inside out. Item is on Ebay (monster-island-collectibles) as of November 3, 2010. Really a unique toy.
I have the alligator/monkey
I have Jonah/Whale and Elephant/Ass I’m willing to sell them to anyone interested. I really don’t know what they sell for, so make me an offer. e-mail me at [email protected]
I had a Frog/Prince zippersnapper since I carried them in my shop in Katonah, NY, in the early Nineties, until my dog demolished it recently. I understand there were about a dozen different ones, and I would like to get as many of them as I can. As a psychologist and grandmother of 8, I have much use for them, and F/P was a big hit. Can anyone help me?
Just became aware of “Happy Nappers” Pillows. Animal reverses into its home. Not nearly as cute and clever as the Zippersnappers, but it did remind me of them (and let to the google search that found this site).