VIntage Pom Poms... anyone know anything about them?

kaleidoscopecarousel

kaleidoscopecarousel

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:help:
Ok, I bought a trunk full of old vintage goodies over the summer... it had an old and I mean OLD homemade cheerleading outfit, nurses uniform, some old handbags, etc... included in this were cheerleading pom poms. The lady I bought them from told me everything in the box was from the 50's-70's eras. She said it was a dress up trunk her mother had made for her daughters... who were now in their 30's and the stuff hadnt been touched for over 20 years.
So I have the pom poms listed and a person asked me some questions and told me the pom poms werent from the era that I stated. She said she had looked them up and the elastic band on the handle makes them from the 90's. She got quite snotty with me and so Im trying to look up the history and I cannot find anything worth while to me. So I am posting the pics and would love any feedback from anyone... I am going to kindly (hopefully) put her nose back in her own snot... lol (I said I would be nice!).
So please look at the pics and tell me what you all think... thanks so much in advance!!!!



:excited:
:cheer:
 
I have absolutely zilch knowledge on vintage pom poms but must concur that the elastic - and the plastic they're attached to - look pretty modern to me.

I don't pay much attention to what sellers say when they date things, I find they can be very unreliable. Perhaps you can get around the dating thing by saying something like "the lady I bought these from said that they're over twenty years old". They could easily be '80s but '60s seems pretty unlikely.
 
Well I knew nothing about the history of these kind of pom-poms either until I saw this thread! This reference seems consistent and may help with dating;

Paper pom-poms were introduced in the 1930's and the modern vinyl pom was invented by Fred Gastoff around 1965.

Your pom-poms don't look like paper - they look quite shiny.
 
Hi kaleidoscopecarousel.
I have been a vintage cheerleading collector since 1985, and would like to offer you some information about this photo of the pom pons you posted. Many people, even cheeringing squads say "pom poms", and "shakers" but they are really pom pons. The style of the handle on your pom pons is the "Show Handle". This type of handle was introduced in 1976 when high schools, colleges , and universities wanted a fluffier, bigger pom. While this type of handle was not the most popular handle of the larger pom pons, but many squads liked it because of the elastic band that went around the wrist. This kept the members of the squad from dropping them when in parades, and constantly doing routines. The materials used for this type of pom pon is the poly/plastic. The streamers were usually 8-12" in length, and the width of each strand is 3/16". These pom pons in the photo lookes to have been made in the middle 80's, NOT, I repeat NOT in the 1990's like the rude woman who got snotty with you said. The reason I stand by my statement is, I have the exact same pom poms, but they are maroon, and I recieved them in 1985. They are from "Cheerleading Supply Company" in Dallas, TX. The 1970's and 1980's "Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders" purchased their pom pons from this company. I would hold on to your now what is being called, "Classic narrow streamer poms". Most squads today are using the very wide, short streamer poms. What you have is a set of pom pons that were used to get the crowds attention, and has survived many years. Keep them in a curio cabinet with your other "vintage" collectables. They would look great. Hope this information has been helpful to you. I have my maroon poms in my curio cabinet beside a "Mrs Beasley Doll" that I found at a yard sale for $3.00. Her pull string does not work, and she does not have her glasses, and is worn and torn, but she needed a home. You should keep these pom pons. They are a real piece of history.
 
Just on a side note if you sell them also list them as Pom-pons as that was the original way to spell it. This came up in a thread a while back,,,,, more than a year ago I think.

It is either Pom-pons or pompoms (one word), just keep that in mind in key word searches :-)
 
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