- Elsie the Cow


	Piece	Elsie the Cow
	Year	1950
	Condition	C - 8
	Description	21" rubber/cloth
	Company	Borden,Inc.

Elsie the cow is more than just another pretty face. She was singled out from the herd to become the Borden company's mascot in the late 1930's. She made her first live appearance, dressed in her Sunday best, during the New York World's Fair in 1939. From then on Elsie became more popular than every American celebrity except the President, and her face was pictured on milk bottle caps all over the country.

In 1940, Elsie was invited back to the World's Fair, but she also had a Hollywood movie contract to fulfill (starring in the RKO film "Little Men"), so Borden became a bovine matchmaker and found Elsie a husband. Elmer took her place at the World's Fair while Elsie made her mark in tinsel town. A few years later, the world's leading dairy couple had a baby calf. They named him Beauregard after a national contest suggested more than a million different baby names. Elmer took a permanent job with Elmer's glue to support the family, and shortly thereafter twin calves Larabee and Lobelia were born. While Elsie rarely makes TV appearances anymore, she is still the center of attention at Borden, where she appears in the center of the famous Elsie Daisy logo. Here, Elsie appears as a large doll. Her body is felt with hand-stitched seams, and her head is molded plastic with a lifelike painted face. Her felt dress is orange/gold, with a brown belt and a tan blouse with appliqued daisy trim.

View This Item in its Exhibit Case