The Alligators
The alligator, introduced in 1906, was made in three designs - all regular size. The differences between these designs is mainly the eye construction. The alligator followed the normal progression from glass eyes to painted eyes to decal eyes. Bodies were painted dark green over yellow or brown-orange. The feet were leather painted the same two-tone as the body.

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner

Glass eyes

The glass eyes alligator has leather feet, ball joints at the head and tail. The body is a dark green with a deep brown-orange underside.

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Kramer

Painted eyes

Most of the painted eyes were simply formed - usually just a yellow oval with a black dot in the middle for an iris. The underbody color is typically yellowish.

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Susan Turner

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Sneed

Decal eyes

The decal eyes replaced the painted eyes late in the production run as a cost cutting measure.

Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Sneed

Decal eyes on all animals are the same. They are perfectly formed, with a red-orange iris, white sclera, black pupil and a black outline around the eye except at the corners.