"Hi-Yo Silver, Away!" - The Lone Ranger

by: Roy Nuhn

Sepia postcard published in the mid-1980s by Ludlow Sales. It depicts television's Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore) and his sidekick, Tonto (Jay Silverheels).

As seen in The Antique Shoppe Newspaper, September, 2005

It was more than seven decades ago, on January 30, 1933, when America heard for the first time the thundering hoofs and a "Hi-Yo Silver, Away." The Lone Ranger had arrived. With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, he would spend the next 25 years chasing bad guys and making the Old West a better place to live.

Conceived by George Trendle and Fran Striker, the same team that would later bring forth "The Green Hornet" and "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon," "The Lone Ranger" was an attempt to pull their troubled radio station, WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan, out of bankruptcy. In those distant days of early broadcast radio, giant networks did not exist, only individual stations struggling to survive.

The immense popularity achieved by "The Lone Ranger" eventually led to the formation of the Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS), and in a short while, it was being heard coast to coast.

The first Lone Ranger of importance was Earle Graser followed by Brace Beemer in 1941. Soon there were movies, including two 15 -chapter Saturday serials in the late 1930s by Republic Pictures. It remained on the radio, later moving to the Blue Network, as a three-times-a-week hit (more than 3,000 episodes in all) until 1955.

Television came along in 1949, and made an actor by the name of Clayton Moore a famous part of the saga. He also starred in two  Lone Ranger movies, both for Warner Brothers in the mid 1950s.

In 1981, an attempt to revive interest in the masked man, silver and Tonto failed when a new movie bombed at the box office.

In 2003 another try, "The Lone Ranger," starring Chad Michael Murray, Nathaniel Arcand and Anita Brown, fared little better. This movie told the story of the masked man seeking revenge for his brother's murder.

Lone Ranger Collectibles

During the heyday of its popularity, from the 1930s to early 1950s, the Lone Ranger generated mountains of souvenirs, mementoes, ephemera and novelties. All of these wonderful products and publications amount to a gold mine of collectibles for today's hobbyists. Though no longer on the air or galloping atop Silver across movie screens, the ~asked man is still with us thanks to the old-time memorabilia about him that fill our collections.

High on most want lists are the playthings, such as the "Lone Ranger Hi-Yo Silver" windup toy manufactured in 1938 by Marx. This treasure offers The Lone Ranger swinging his lasso over his and Silver's heads. Also, "The Legend of the Lone Ranger" toy, marketed in 1980.

Paper toys are no less desirable. Among these, several punch-out and assemble books, some by Whitman ("Lone Ranger and His Horse Silver Punch-Out 8ook" in 1940, etc.). Also, board Games, like the 1938 product by Parker Brothers' "The Lone Ranger Game, Hi-Yo-O-O-O Silver"; and jigsaw puzzles, including a 1958 Frame Tray Puzzle.

Film Memorabilia offers a wide choice. Posters, lobby cards, press books, and black-and-white stills are available from practically all the film productions, including the Republic serials in 1938 and the 1956 movie.

Keepsakes loved and treasured by young, devoted listeners of the radio show, some of them premiums from the broadcasters itself and others merchandise manufactured under license for retail store sales, were many and diverse. These have now become prime collectibles. Pencil cases, flashlight rings, all kinds of Lone Ranger cowboy gear - clothing, hats, cap pistols, spurs - and transfer picture books with pages of Lone Ranger removable decals top the list. There were also chalk ware statues, hairbrushes, and even tooth brushes.

Premiums from food companies abound, such as Silvercup Bread's 1930s giveaway comic book, "How the Lone Ranger Captured Silver Book." In 1954, Merita Bread advertising gift was a coloring book, "How To Be a Lone Ranger Health & Safety Scout."

In 1939, Lone Ranger Ice Cream was being sold. Their premium, a "Lone Ranger" comic book is today considered by many collectors to be one of the rarest of Lone Ranger collectibles. Only 20 copies are known to exist.

But the most famous of all premiums was Cheerios cereal's "Lone Ranger Frontier Town". This was heavily promoted during the late 1940s. Boys and girls were invited to send in 10~ and a cereal box label for each section of the play village. Four map-like segments, illustrated with streets, streams, patches of desert and mountains made up the Wild West town. Brace Beemer played The Lone Ranger on radio from 1941 to 1955. This Exhibit Supply Co. sepia card (blank back), printed in 1941 or 1942, was sold in penny arcade machines during the 1940s. Brace Beemer played The Lone Ranger on radio from 1941 to 1955. This Exhibit Supply Co. sepia card (blank back), printed in 1941 or 1942, was sold in penny arcade machines during the 1940s. 

Also provided: punch outs of buildings, corrals and other structures. Printed on the backs of Cheerios cereal boxes were additional pieces for punching out and putting together. In all, nine different cereal box backs of punch-outs awaited the eager hands of youngsters everywhere in America.

When it came to comic books, the Lone Ranger was a busy man. From 1939 to 1962 Dell Publishing Co. ran a monthly - often more frequent - series of his adventures. Starting in 1964 and ending in March 1977, Gold Key printed and sold the comic book series.

The regular publishing world quickly discovered the masked man, Silver, and Tonto to be valuable literary commodities. One hard cover series, for instance, was written by Fran Striker, the Lone Ranger's creator and broadcast script writer.

Whitman Publishing, Racine, Wisconsin, produced 15 titles of "The Lone Ranger" in their Big Little Book series of the 1930s, '40s and early '50s. "Menace of Murder Valley" (1938) and "The Secret Killer (1937) were two of the titles. Whitman's output also included a few Big Books and Little Books varieties. The last Big Little Book was in 1968, "The Lone Ranger Outwits Crazy Cougar." This was part of the company's attempt to revive interest in Big Little Books with a new generation of young boys and girls.

Collectors' Cards

Of all the memorabilia, ephemera, and collectibles generated by "The Lone Ranger" radio and television shows, and movies, over the many years it was an entertainment hit, the least expensive and easiest to find are the various types of collector cards. In all, four types of cards can be found with scenes from the various "Lone Ranger" productions. These are Exhibit Supply Co.'s penny arcade vending machine cards, insert premiums, gum cards, and postcards.

Probably the first collectible card was put out by Silvercup Bread as an insert premium in its loaves. This was in the mid- to late-1930s. Portrayed was Earle Graser.

In 1940 or 1941 the earliest of many blank-back arcade cards of the masked man by Exhibit Supply Co. were sold. One pictured Brace Beemer atop Silver. Another showed Silver alone. Others followed during the next 15 years, most taken from the various serials and movies. Notable was their 1950 set, "All-Star Cowboys," which featured several of the Lone Ranger. In the early 1950s, arcade cards by Exhibit of Clayton Moore, the TV show's hero, began appearing.

Postcards were first published in the 1980s and featured nostalgic scenes from the old television show. And so, "Hi-Yo Silver, Away! Thanks for all the great adventures and collectibles.

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