The Metal Ruler was released by King Features Syndicate in New York, USA in 1961. The ruler was a free giveaway around Christmas time to business partners and agents of King Features Syndicate.

The Metal Ruler measures 72cm in length and is made of aluminum. The rear side of the ruler is left blank, with a strip of comic book characters found along the top of the ruler, running along its length in the center.

A total of 17 comic book characters are found on the ruler, including Popeye, Prince Valiant, Archie, Snuffy Smith, Beetle Bailey, Donald Duck, Dagwood, Henry, Little Iodine, Jiggs, Steve Canyon, Blondie and Flash Gordon. The Phantom is also featured.

Due to such a mix of comic book characters, we see three copy right syndications present on the ruler, which is one of only a few known example between these three companies:

• King Features Syndicate, Inc,
• W.D.P (which is the abbreviation for ‘Walt Disney Productions’),
• F.E.I. (which is the abbreviation for ‘Field Enterprises, Inc’).

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