Bidspirit auction | Baby Alice Thumb Guard Counter

Baby Alice Thumb Guard Counter Display W/3 Cards - This rare early 1930s plaster counter display was produced by the Guard Mfg. Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, to market the ”Baby Alice Thumb Guard,” an antique pediatric Monel metal wire cage device designed to curb thumb sucking. Sculpted in the likeness of a young child's hand upon an embossed base, this piece includes three original double-sided paper instruction cards. Displays for this specific product hold tremendous historical intrigue due to their direct connection to ”The Crime of the Century”: 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr. was wearing a Baby Alice Thumb Guard when he was abducted from his family's Hopewell, New Jersey home on March 1, 1932. On March 29, 1932, nursemaid Betty Gow discovered the infant's discarded thumb guard near the driveway, which became a vital piece of prosecution evidence during the 1935 trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, with inventor Morton Maish even taking the stand to testify regarding its manufacture. The plaster hand display exhibits cracking across the wrist and palm, scattered chipping, paint loss, and surface soiling, while the paper cards show minor toning and edge wear. H 3.5”, W 8”, D 2.75”. Please see photos for condition. From the Allen Koenigsberg collection.