 Most
Wade collectors know the name of Faust Lang. They know that there
were a number of figurines made before the Second World War, which
now cost a small fortune, that were modelled by Faust Lang. They
know that to discover an authentic Wade Faust Lang figure in perfect
condition at a reasonable price would be a great ‘find.’
So just who was Faust Lang and what is so special about his figures?
 To
see a figurine modelled by Faust Lang answers the second question
as his models are so full of life and movement and always so very
detailed. Unlike any other modeller who worked for Wade, Faust
Lang modelled his figurines in wood, sometimes taking many weeks
to complete a commission. In fact he never actually worked for
Wade but was commissioned by them to produce his masterpieces.
 Faust
Emanuel Lang was a Bavarian, born in Oberammergau in 1887, the
son of Andreas Lang, a local wood carver.The beautiful town of
Oberammergau is in southern Germany and probably best known for
its Passion Play held there every ten years in commemoration of
the town being delivered from a plague which decimated Europe
in 1632. Both Faust and his father were players in the spectacular
at various times but woodcarving was in their blood and it was
in this that Faust excelled.
 In
1911 Faust married an English girl from Brtistol, two years his
junior. They had met two years earlier when she was travelling
through Europe with her mother and sister in a horse drawn caravan
on an adventurous holiday. After their marriage Faust and Una
spent the next twenty-two idyllic years together in Oberammergau
and it was there that their only child, a son was born in 1925.
During the 1st World War which started in 1914, Faust was a medical
orderly in the German army and when he came home in 1918 the years
were very hard with food shortages and rampant inflation.
 Faust
was a keen sportsman and proficient skier whose relay team won
a bronze medal at the first modern Winter Olympics held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
in 1922.
In the uncertain times of Germany in the 1930s and probably with
the memories of the 1st World War still fresh in their minds,
the family decided to move to England in 1934. They initially
lived in Mawgan Porth near Newquay in North Cornwall moving to
St Ives in 1950. Faust Lang became a British citizen in 1938.
 In
1938 Faust Lang met a certain Harry Adams, a Scotsman on holiday
in Mawgan Porth who had a connection with Wade. Adams recommended
Faust to the company who commissioned him to carve a series of
what were to become amongst the most beautiful and prestigious
figurines ever produced by Wade. The figures were finished in
the ‘Copenhagen’ style.
With the coming of the Second World War in September 1939, all
giftware production was halted at the Wade factories and Faust
Lang’s short but productive connection ended. In fact he
had already completed a small bust of the thirties actress and
singer Gracie Fields which although blocked and samples had been
made, never went into production.Faust Lang joined the thriving
artist’s colony in St Ives in 1950 and spent the rest of
his life in England. He died in 1973 and is buried in St Ives.
For
more detailsand images please visit CS
Collectables
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