Cracker Jack (1893)

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   I deserve peanuts and a prize for this.  Last etymology before more parking tickets.
   "Cracker Jack" became a trademark in 1896, but both OED and Merriam-Webster have 1895.
   Making of America (Cornell) has the MANUFACTURER AND BUILDER, December 1894, pg. ra19, in an ad for a bicycle, "WATCH THE CRACKERJACKS MAKE THEM FLY."  It's at:

http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fmanu%2Fmanu0026%2F&tif=00315.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DABS1821-0026-840

   The crackerjack BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE has several earlier cites before 1895, starting with these:

   8 October 1893, BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE, "Neptune Club's Outing," pg. 2:
   ...come back to the club house victorious on time allowances, beating some cracker jacks.

   25 March 1894, BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE, "THEATERS AND MUSIC," pg. 5:
   The "Cracker Jack" company is not working anymore.