Moon Mullins (The Moon Mullins Family) - Einson Freeman Co. Promotional Paper Mask (1933)

This vintage paper mask features Moon Mullins, the wisecracking, cigar-chomping star of the long-running newspaper comic strip created by Frank Willard in 1923. The strip, which ran for decades in the Chicago Tribune and nationally syndicated papers, centered on the rough-and-tumble life of Moon, his brother Kayo, and their colorful boarding house companions. By the 1930s, Moon Mullins had become one of the most widely read humor comics in America.

Promotional Background
Produced in 1933 by the Einson Freeman Company, this mask was part of their advertising premiums, likely distributed at retail outlets or through cross-promotional tie-ins. Einson Freeman was well known for producing Par-T-Masks and other paper ephemera that tied popular comic characters to consumer brands, making everyday advertising more engaging and collectible.

Design & Characterization
The mask captures Moon’s signature look — derby hat, exaggerated eyes, and ever-present cigar — a caricature style that resonated with Depression-era audiences who loved his street-smart humor and working-class scrappiness.

Measures 8 inches by 9 inches.

A fine survivor from the Golden Age of newspaper comics, this Moon Mullins mask represents both the humor of its era and the clever promotional strategies of early 20th-century advertising.