Random Collecting Feature
Shelley Pottery and Shelley China
Shelley Pottery and Shelley China Shelley China was adopted as trademark in 1910 by Percy Shelley, however the potteries heritage goes back nearly 100 years before that when in 1827 John Smith built a group of potteries which came to be known as the ‘Foley Potteries’. Pictured Shelley Pottery Vogue Pattern The factory was let to a partnership which included John King Knight who became the sole owner in 1847 and six years later in 1953 brought in Henry Wileman as a partner. Just three years after this Henry Wileman was left in charge when John King Knight retired. On the death of Henry Wileman, his two sons (James and Charles Wileman) took control of the pottery and later in 1870 James Wileman took full control. In 1872 he recruited Joseph Ball Shelley to work with him in developing the Foley China Works side of the Wileman business, with a particular view to developing export markets – the industrial revolution meant that transport and international trade was much easier than it had been, and Wileman and Shelley were not slow to understand the opportunities thus presented. It is from this period that the pottery really started to grow and prosper and it was the first time that the company had a registered trademark ‘Wileman & Co’. Export markets were to prove of vital importance to the factory during this period and the company even made specific designs for sale in North America and Canada after Percy Shelley visited the Chicago Exhibition of 1893. Percy Shelley joined the company in 1881 and with James Wileman retiring in 1884, the Shelleys were left in charge. The late 19th Century was a creative time for Wileman & Co, and under the guiding hand of Percy Shelley, Frederick Rhead was recruited in 1896 as Art Director and proceeded to produce some of the most innovative and creative work that was ever to come out of the Foley Works. Frederick Rhead was most famously responsible for the Intarsio and Urbato ranges, but he also contributed much to many of the patterns used for Shelley’s table wares of the same period. In the same year Rowland Morris sold his designs to Percy Shelley – including the eternally popular Dainty White shape – Shelley’s longest running design, popular from its introduction in 1896 right up until the close of the works in 1966. Unfortunately the first decade of the 20th century was a tough time, economically, and the pressures of two recessions and the growth of cheap imports meant that Shelley needed to concentrate on commercially safe products. In 1905 Frederick Rhead left Shelley, and Walter Slater was recruited to replace him. Walter Slater came from a strong and fairly traditional potteries background and proved an ideal replacement to guide Shelley through more difficult times and to leave his own lasting legacy of creative work. Today, Walter Slater designs, especially signed pieces, command strong values and remain popular with collectors. In 1910, the Shelley China mark was officially adopted by Shelley, and steady progress continued through that decade, despite the disruption caused by the war. After the end of WWI, Shelley family involvement in the company expanded to include three of Percy Shelley’s sons, and throughout the 1920s and 30s Shelley achieved steady growth and success, both at home and in export markets. Much of this success was down to methodical hard work and c lever marketing – Shelley, more than some manufacturers of the day, advertised and marketed its product extensively both to trade and to the public, and this had the effect of encouraging retailers to stock Shelley, as they could be confident the public would recognise and buy it, attracted to the stylish but affordable image of Shelley. Notable new ranges in the 1920s & 30s were the nursery wares in the mid-1920s – with designs by Mabel Lucie Attwell and the stylish Harmony ware ranges created by Eric Slater, all of which were to prove very successful and indeed collectable. Even the intervention of the second world war did not cause as many problems for Shelley as for some manufacturers – due to their very strong export profile, they were allowed to continue producing decorative wares for export to bring in much needed foreign exchange. It was not until after the war ended that problems started to become apparent for Shelley. As the 1950s progressed, Shelley’s new designs became less inspired and started to seem dated compared to contemporaries of the time such as Poole and Midwinter. New designs also seemed fewer and farther between. Part of the explanation for this might have been Shelley’s continued focus on their export markets – some of their older designs were still selling well to the North American market despite appearing outdated in the UK. Almost inevitably, in 1966 the end came with the buyout of Shelley by Allied British Potteries, who re-equipped Shelley’s works to produce Royal Albert pottery, marking the end of an era at the Foley China Works. Shelley Harmony Ware information and price guide
Barbie Turns Fifty!
Barbara Millicent Roberts is fifty years old this year, yet she is looking younger and more glamorous than ever. How does she do it? It’s just not fair. This American icon, with her huge family of friends and relations, is famed world-wide and recently a megastore dedicated just to her opened in China. Blonde, beautiful, and above all, very pink, her wholesome image beams from toyshops, enticing even the youngest children to ‘want a Barbie’. Recently, a crowd of young upstart Bratz dolls tried to steal her thunder, and for a while they succeeded – but our heroine wasn’t having any of that. She took them to court and sued them. So, where did Barbie come from? Who dreamt her up? And why is she still so popular? Pictured right: 1959 Barbie Although this may sound a shocking thing to say about an international icon, Barbie’s origins are slightly salubrious, perhaps not as pure as she likes to make out. In the late 1950s, Ruth Handler, wife of Elliot Handler, a co-director of Mattel, was visiting Switzerland when she came across a kind of fantasy doll being sold in tobacconist shops. The dolls were sold to appeal to men, and were often used as mascots to adorn cars and trucks. They were based on a ‘good time girl’ who featured in a cartoon strip in ‘Bild’ newspaper, a German publication. The character’s name was Lilli. Today, collectors often refer to these very early figures as ‘Bild Lillis’. Ruth took back selection of the dolls to America, with the idea of producing a teen doll to appeal to girls. Mattel inspected the dolls, and from them created their own version, slightly less hard-faced and with less makeup. Ruth christened the doll Barbie, after her own daughter, and in 1959 launched her at the American toy fair. However, Barbie didn’t meet with much approval; the buyers for the stores demurred over introducing a glamour doll which had a voluptuous figure and pouting lips but which was intended for a young girl. Not wanting their new project to become a flop, Mattel screened a short black and white advertisement in the middle of a children’s television programme, which featured Barbie and her outfits. That was all it took – girls across America were hooked, suddenly they all wanted a Barbie doll of their own. In 1961 she acquired a boyfriend, Ken, and three years later, a younger sister, Skipper. Since then, many more additions to the Barbie family have been made. Pictured left: 1962 Barbie Pictured right: Barbie Can Can Even so, at first, not all the world was Barbie mad, and once Pedigree’s Sindy doll arrived in 1962, it was Sindy who was to dominate the teen doll market for almost twenty years. Even so, when Barbie finally did find her foothold over here, she was adored by thousands of girls, many of whom were won over by her high heels, curves and sophistication, as opposed to Sindy’s sweet girl-next-door look. The very early Barbies still had a rather ‘hard’ look, with red pouting lips, black lining around the eyes and arched brows, even though they had been toned-down. Barbie’s first outfit was that, now iconic, black and white striped swimsuit, teamed with high heels and gold earrings. Initially, the dolls weren’t sold in Britain, but in 1967 a Hobbies Annual supplement contained a section devoted to Barbie which stated, ‘America’s most popular (and certainly the most heavily advertised) range of fashion dolls, has recently been introduced into Europe with amazing success. Barbie, her MOD cousin Francie and her younger sister Skipper, are a range of beautifully made dolls with the most exclusive wardrobes yet seen. Barbie and Francie can wear each other’s clothes, so start with either doll and add-to as you go along. All models supplied with a pedestal stand’. Over the years, Mattel softened the Barbie doll features more and more, making her appealing to youngsters, and, certainly by the 1980s, she had become very popular in Britain. Toyshops soon had aisles of Barbie pink boxes, and Barbie demonstrated her versatility as she became a doctor, a vet, a dentist, an Olympic ice skater, a swimmer, a fashion model, a rock star and an astronaut. She also appeared with James Bond, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and in Star Trek – all in miniature, of course. Above all, though, Barbie became a fashion icon. In 1984 she celebrated her 25th anniversary, and appeared in a special ‘Crystal Barbie’ outfit, a doll which every small girl wanted. The long dress was made of a kind of pearlised fabric which shimmered in the light, and Crystal Barbie became one of the decade’s best selling Barbies. A decade later, ‘Totally Hair’ Barbie was released, the biggest-selling Barbie to date. She wore a multicoloured mini dress and her hair reached down to ankles, measuring 10.5 inches, the longest-haired Barbie ever. Pictured left: Barbie Totally Hair At the end of the 1990s, the ‘Generation Girl’ series of Barbie and friends was introduced, showing Barbie as we had never seen her before, with a street fashion look. Barbie’s face has altered a lot over the years; today, she has a much softer, gentler look than the original 1959 doll. She has also extended her family circle considerably, acquiring sisters Skipper, Stacie, Kelly, Krissy, Tutti and brother Todd, as well as a myriad of friends and relations. Cleverly, Mattel began to issue special collectors’ editions, and top-of-the range Barbies, some of which sell for two or three times the price of a standard Barbie doll, while others, wearing outfits created by top designers, can cost hundreds of pounds. These are in addition to the basic ‘pink-box’ dolls, the dolls intended for children. Nowadays, the Barbie collectors’ market is booming, with a huge variety of fashion, retro and themed dolls being issued, most of them destined never to be played with – or indeed, never removed from their packaging. Naturally, to celebrate her fiftieth anniversary there are […]
Annie Dolls – The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow
Collecting Annie Dolls – When the Annie musical first hit London, in 1978, following on from the Broadway production a year before, it was a smash-hit. It gave numerous young girls a chance to shine, amongst them a very youthful Catherine Zeta Jones, who played the lead role in a Swansea production, aged just ten. Little Orphan Annie made her debut in a cartoon strip in the Chicago Tribune in 1924, brainchild of artist Harold Gray. The story of the twelve-year-old girl surviving by her wits as she made her way in the world proved enormously popular. In 1927, according to the cartoon, Annie was living with a kind lady called Mrs. Pewter, who decided the little girl needed a new frock. She made her a red dress, with a white collar and cuffs – and the Annie image was born! Today, the carroty curls and red, white-trimmed dress, are instantly recognisable to people on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks to the musical, and, even more so, the movie. The London show, at the Victoria Palace theatre, starred Sheila Hancock and Stratford Johns, with Andrea McArdle playing Annie, and ran for 1,485 performances. It was a resounding success, and was soon followed by a movie version, which today graces not only our television screens but is often still shown at cinemas, too. Most of us know the story of the orphan girl who was adopted by the benevolent millionaire Daddy Warbucks, but cruelly tricked by scheming Miss Hannigan into believing that her parents were still alive. Songs such as ‘I think I`m gonna like it here`, ‘You`re never fully dressed without a smile’, ‘It`s a hard knock life’ and, of course, ‘Tomorrow’ led to a happily ever after finale – and spawned loads of memorabilia, including dolls. Annie was very much an all-American icon; she lifted spirits during the dark days of the depression, and has always had a special place in the hearts of the American people. Unsurprisingly, the majority of the dolls are American, some dating from the musical and movie days, others more recent, and a few which were made in the 1930s and 40s. When the musical first came out, manufacturers were quick to realise the marketing potential, but it was the release of the movie in 1982 which really triggered the mass interest. At the time toyshops featured colourful displays of the scarlet-dressed Annie, though, certainly in Britain, most of the dolls were of the cloth doll type. It might be just as well to clear up a popular misconception here – Annie is not the same character as Raggedy Ann. Raggedy Ann was a doll dreamt up by American writer Johnny Gruelle in 1915 to amuse his sick daughter. The doll was a pinafore-wearing rag doll with a triangular nose and red hair. By contrast, Annie (or Little Orphan Annie) was a fictional child whose character became world-famous through the medium of cartoons, musical theatre and cinema. Many of the Annie dolls are easy to find, though often you will need to purchase from America as the more unusual types were not sold in Britain. Those that are easy to find over here include a selection of cloth dolls. One of the most appealing was made by Knickerbocker in the early 1980s. She stood 16 inches tall, and her gingery hair was sewn in tight wool curls. A tiny furry Sandy, the dog which she adopted in the film, was tucked inside a pocket in her red dress. The company also made a smaller, 6 inch, Annie doll, but she was not so well detailed, as well as several larger sizes. Applause was another company who made Annie cloth dolls, including some with reinforced, stiff faces. The interesting thing about the Applause dolls was the way that the company tried to capture the blank-eyed expression of the original cartoon character by giving the dolls printed eyes which appeared to be gazing upwards. These dolls were similarly dressed to the Knickerbocker girls, but their curls were looser and softer. Applause Annies were made in various sizes, including some small clip-on types. Expect to pay around £15 for a cloth Annie doll depending on condition. Also available in Britain was a delightful small vinyl Annie doll, made by Knickerbocker. This doll stood just six inches high and was sold in the ubiquitous red Annie dress. A ‘gold’ locket was included in the box with the doll, large enough for a child to wear. In the show, the locket was a vital piece of evidence in the search for Annie’s parents. The outfits issued at the time for this little doll included a pale yellow floral dress, a cream two piece, a blue coat, a pink floral nightdress and a blue play-suit, with accompanying hats and shoes. Other characters were issued in the same series, but were much harder to find in the UK, and today you would probably need to try ebay if you want to add them to your collection. Punjab, an Indian doll, looked handsome in his white cotton suit and turban with a bright red and black striped sash tied around his waist. Daddy Warbucks wore a black satin evening suit with a white shirt, black bow tie and red cummerbund. Knickerbocker managed to achieve some great characterisation in these small playdolls, capturing Daddy Warbuck`s expression – and his bald head – very well. Scary, intoxicated Miss Hannigan was also included in the set, dressed in a mauve two-piece patterned with small multi-coloured shapes, while little Molly, Annie’s friend at the orphanage, wore a green pinafore over a floral long-sleeved blouse. Molly had a delightful smile and her brown hair was cut into a short bob with a fringe. Knickerbocker produced several accessories to go with these dolls, amongst them a super blue 1929 Model Duesenberg Limousine, complete with chauffeur. It measured 15 inches long, and there was room in the back seats for two Annie dolls. The company also made […]
Collecting the Three Stooges
In the past at WCN we have written about Collecting various classic comedy stars and acts such as Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy etc. With the recent TCM Presents … There’s No Place Like Hollywood (November 2014) auction and on reading about the Robert Edward Auctions amazing Three Stooges posters sale (April 2015), and with 2015 being the 85th Anniversary of their first film Soup to Nuts (1930) we decided to investigate and create a feature on the Three Stooges themselves. In this feature we have a brief look at who the Three Stooges were, take a look at some of the collectables available including some rarer and unusual items of memorabilia and ephemera. We also browse the official Three Stooges Store ‘knuckleheads’, and we check out the amazing prices being recorded for early Three Stooges trading cards. Pictured: The Three Stooges Monopoly – It’s time to wheel and deal with Curly, Larry and Mo, the kings of slapstick. Enjoy this classic game of risk taking and deal making as you compete to own memorable locations from the Three Stooges films. Laugh out loud as you buy Moronika and Mildew College; sell Rutentuten’s Tomb and the Los Arms Hospital; and trade Gypsum Goode Antiques and the Cannonball Express. Don’t be a “featherbrain imbecile” and go bankrupt! This hilarious trio is yours for the taking! “Step aside nitwit, I’ll show you how to do this.” Includes six collectible tokens: Derby hat, Mallet, Seltzer bottle, Pipe wrench, Cream pie and Violin. Slaps and eye pokes not included. “Woob, Woob, Woob!”. Available from knuckleheads.com. A selection of The Three Stooges Zippo Lighters About the Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the mid–20th century (1930–1975) best known for their numerous short subject films, still syndicated to television. Their hallmark was physical farce and slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: “Moe, Larry, and Curly” or “Moe, Larry, and Shemp”, among other lineups depending on the films; there were six active stooges, five of whom performed in the shorts. Moe and Larry were always present until the very last years of the ensemble’s forty-plus-year run. Pictured: A Three Stooges Pillsbury promotional poster 1937. U.S. promotional poster, linen-backed. Advertising the Three Stooges Moving Picture Machine, a Pillsbury’s Farina cereal promotional item; also advertising the Stooges’ Columbia shorts. Provenance: Estate of Moe Howard; Collection of Joan Howard Maurer and Paul Howard. Literature: Reproduced in The Three Stooges Scrapbook by Jeff Lenburg, Joan Howard Maurer, and Greg Lenburg (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2012), p. 117. The first Three Stooges promotional item, a set of hand puppets, appeared on the market in 1935; this advertisement was printed two years later. The Moving Picture Machine was a cardboard projector accompanied by frames from Stooges’ movies which could be cranked through it. Participating theaters ran contests for these machines at Stooges’ matinees. In 1937, the Three Stooges were at the height of their first wave of success at Columbia, producing such classics as Hoi Polloi, Three Little Beers, and Disorder in the Court. 27 x 41 in. Sold for US$ 4,000 (£2,636) at Bonhams, New York, 2014. The act began as part of a late-twenties vaudeville comedy act, billed as Ted Healy and his Stooges, consisting of Healy, Moe Howard, his brother Shemp Howard, and Larry Fine. The four made one feature film entitled Soup to Nuts before Shemp left to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by his younger brother Jerome (Curly Howard) in 1932, and the trio eventually left Healy to launch their own act, billed as The Three Stooges. Pictured: Heavenly Daze Columbia, 1948. Lobby card poster. Duotone lobby card showing the classic trio at the office. In this short, Shemp has died but returns to Earth to teach the other Stooges a lesson and gain entry to Heaven. Provenance: Estate of Moe Howard; Collection of Joan Howard Maurer and Paul Howard. 14 x 11 in. Sold for US$ 937 (£617) at Bonhams, New York, 2014. Thee Stooges Trading Cards The 1959 Three Stooges Fleer card set will be of the highlights for a fan and collector of The Three Stooges. This set is also noted as the most popular non-sports trading card set. There were 96 cards in the set and it was released in 1959 just as the Stooges were beginning to appear regularly on TV. The 1959 Fleer cards feature scenes from the comedic trio’s short films shown in movie theaters from the 1930s through the 1950s. Pictured: Curly single No #1 in the set the Holy Grail of the set The Professional Sports Authentication, PSA for short who have been responsible for grading over 23 million collectibles has a great feature on the Three Stooges cards: The 1959 Fleer Three Stooges set consists of 96 cards, each measuring 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”. Each card front bears a color drawing of the comedy trio – Moe, Larry, and Curly – individually or in a scene from one of their shorts. A thin border surrounds each stylish, horizontal image with a caption printed in black ink at the bottom border. Card backs have a humorous quotation that complements the comical adventure on the other side. Fleer published the cards on both a white and a gray cardstock, with the gray versions more difficult to find as most have deteriorated over the passing decades. However, the white versions are more sought-after due to their clean appearance. The scarcest individual cards are single print run variation that carried checklists on the revers (#16 “You Can’t Keep Your Money,” #63 “Curly The First Thing,” and #64 “You Won’t Fool Anybody”), with only slightly more than 200 total copies known to still exist. Not surprisingly, the other key cards in the set belong to the Stooges themselves – Curly (#1), Moe (#2), and Larry (#3) – with each vertical card consisting of a bust shot with biographical information on the reverse. Prime examples the card “Let Me Know When My Number Comes Up (#33) is difficult to find due to centering issues. The last card, […]
Psychedelic, Platforms And Patriotism – Dolls in The 1970s
This was a fun era; nowadays, people look back and cruelly refer to it as the decade which taste forgot – but at the time, we didn’t realise we were living in a cultural wasteland! The seventies was a colourful decade which still incorporated the sixties swirling psychedelic patterns. Large flowers – especially daisies – were on everything from ceramics to soft furnishing, and even baby items weren’t immune from the floral embellishments. A particular favourite shade was orange, often teemed with brown or green, while lilac, turquoise, purple and hot pink also featured strongly. Towards the end of the seventies, though, earth colours of sage green and sludge became fashionable, as designers rebelled. We were getting back to nature. In Britain the decade was off to a flying start when the first ‘Jumbo Jet’, a Pan American 747, flew into Heathrow Airport in January 1970. Four years later, supersonic passenger service was inaugurated when Concorde took to the skies. The switch to decimal currency caused problems for a while until we all understood the new-fangled money, while 1973 saw the introduction of Value Added Tax. A lady politician with a penchant for blue suits, handbags and neatly permed hair became the first-ever British woman to head a political party when she was chosen by the Conservative Party as its new leader in 1975. Just a year earlier, the country was stunned after aristocratic Lord Lucan was named as the prime suspect after his children’s nanny was murdered, and his wife viciously attacked. He disappeared and has not been seen since, though reports of sightings still make the headlines. The classic rock opera movie, ‘Tommy’, was released in 1975. It featured Elton John as the Pinball Wizard, towering over the other performers in an amazing pair of 4ft. 6ins high platform shoes. Other notable movies from the decade included ‘Cabaret’, ‘Jaws’, ‘Superman’, ‘Saturday Night Fever’, ‘Grease’, ‘Star Trek The Motion Picture’ and all-time favourite, ‘Star Wars’, which spawned countless toys and dolls. Television ratings were dominated by the comedy duo Morecambe and Wise who attracted viewers in their millions. ‘Glam Rock’ was very much the in-thing, with T. Rex, David Bowie, Gary Glitter and Queen topping the charts, and pop fans were still reeling from the shock of the Beatles break-up. The sudden death of Elvis Presley was another tragic blow to the music industry. Amongst the soon-to-be-indispensable discoveries were floppy disks, laser printers, video-cassette recorders, post-it notes, liquid crystal displays, food processors, cellular phones and walkmans. Walt Disney World opened in Florida, changing the face and expectations of holiday entertainment, while in Britain the 1970s was the decade of the package tour. Flared trousers, platform soles, kaftans, maxi-dresses, cheesecloth tops, afghan coats edged with fleece, huge sunglasses, cowbells, braid, beads and fringing were all part of the fashion scene. Punks emerged in the mid-seventies, amazing Londoners with their spiky coloured hair, safety-pinned, ripped clothing and studded flesh, while, in complete contrast, delicate Laura Ashley dresses adorned fashionable young ladies. Innovation was the keyword in the world of dolls. Manufacturers experimented with all kinds of movements; dolls danced, sung, cart-wheeled, roller-skated, blew kisses, wrote their names, grew their hair, laughed, inflated balloons and generally had a jolly good time. The majority of the performing dolls were battery-operated, though clockwork occasionally appeared. Another popular device was the pull cord mechanism, though this wasn’t so robust and was prone to snapping or to a deterioration of the device, causing it to spin. Teen dolls were also big news, with Pippa, Action Girl, Daisy and Tressy all vying with Sindy, who was still going strong, while a beautiful baby doll called First Love was launched by Pedigree as a rival to Palitoy’s Tiny Tears. Larger size teens were in vogue too, especially those with ‘growing hair’ such as Sheena and the Crissy series. And, by complete contrast, simple rag dolls such as Holly Hobbie and Sarah Kay, or hard vinyl Sasha dolls with dreamy, barely-there features, were purchased by those who wanted to rebel against the high-tech playthings. Katie Kopycat, Penny Puppywalker, Baby Won’t Let Go, Miss Happy Heart, Tracy Tea Party and Baby Alive are amongst those which today’s collectors seek out; they are remembered with affection and are classics of their time. Many of the dolls, despite being made or marketed in the United Kingdom, used American moulds or technology and therefore have US counterparts, though often bearing different names. Katie Kopycat, by Palitoy, was a distinctive girl with a hard plastic body and limbs which were unusually jointed at the elbows. Her head was of softer vinyl with blonde hair and painted eyes. Katie came with her own desk and could write or draw with the aid of a pantograph. Bradgate’s Penny Puppywalker was operated by means of an air-filled pump, which allowed her to take her puppy for a stroll, while Miss Happy Heart’s chest contained a ‘beating heart’, a controversial mechanism which unnerved many people. This doll, resplendent in a red and silver lame mini dress, was made by Bluebell. Kenner’s Tracy Tea Party, a pretty girl with a beaming smile, made herself useful by pouring tea and handing round the biscuits. She was distinctive with her jointed wrists and twist waist, and could also bow and seductively flutter her eye-lashes. Palitoy’s Baby Won’t Let Go had ‘magic gripping hands’, while Baby Alive, by the same company, could be fed a special food, sold in powdered form and mixed with water to make it palatable. This was one of their most successful dolls. Other Palitoy successes included a series of talking dolls operated either by pull cord or battery. As a tie-in with the nostalgia trend, many of these were dressed in Victorian-type print dresses and white pinafores. Perhaps the two most distinctive dolls from the era were Pedigree’s Popsy Posy and Palitoy’s Blythe. Popsy, clad in a flower-power trouser suit, could assume all kinds of strange […]
Buttons The World’s Most Popular Collectible Secret!
You see them every day. They fasten your shirt together, hold your pants up, and maybe make a fashion statement on your new sweater. Buttons! Almost everyone has some buttons stashed away in a box or jar. They can be plain and simple, or truly elegant works of art. Due to our natural hoarding instincts, buttons find their way into nooks and crannies in our homes. It is time for them to step up and take their rightful place as a popular collectible. History of Buttons Buttons have been in use for hundreds of years. In very early times, clothing was fastened with ties or pins, but gradually toggles and buttons as we know them came to be in use. Many ancient burials have included buttons or button-like objects. In the Early and Middle Bronze Age, large buttons were primarily used to fasten cloaks. By the 13th century, buttons were widely in use, mainly as decoration. As most clothing of that time period was closed with lacing or hooks, garments didn’t use buttons as methods of closing on a regular basis until the last half of the 16th century. Most of the buttons from this time period were small, but over the next century or so they became larger and very ornate, often using precious metals and jewels. During the 17th and 18th Century, most buttons were worn by men. By the 18th century, buttons were becoming larger, and had even more elaborate designs. Buttons continued to make a fashion statement and the button-making industry hit such a high standard that the period from 1830-1850 has become known as the Golden Age. As mass production techniques progressed, and new synthetic materials were developed, the general standard declined. From 1860 on, women have been the main consumers of “novelty” buttons. A button is officially an object that can be used to fasten garments, with either a shank (usually a loop) on the back used to sew the button to the clothing, or with holes in the center to allow thread to pass through the body of the button. Design of Buttons Buttons have been made from almost every material found in nature or created by man. Metals are one of the most popular materials, including everything from iron to gold. Another popular material used in button making is mother of pearl, or shell of any kind. Bone, ivory, cloth, glass, stone, cinnabar, horn, antler, leather, papiér maché, ceramic, celluloid, Bakelite, and wood, plus any combination of these, have been used to fashion these miniature works of art. One of the most interesting and misrepresented materials used in buttons is jet. This is a naturally occurring mineral, with a carbon base. It is lightweight and fragile, so surviving examples are very hard to come by. Queen Victoria started a fashion in 1861 by wearing black jet buttons to mourn the death of her husband Albert. Since jet was such a rare and expensive mineral, black glass came to be substituted by the rest of the population for their mourning attire. Consequently, black glass buttons are still very common today, but are often mislabeled as “jet” buttons. Adding to the confusion were a number of companies that made black glass buttons and marketed them as “French Jet.” One way to test whether that black button you found is jet or glass is by giving it the floating test. Glass buttons will sink to the bottom in a glass of water, but the lightweight jet buttons will float. Fashion of Buttons Throughout the years, the decorations on buttons have reflected both the fashion and passions of the time. Nearly everything has been pictured on a button. Animals are one of the most popular subjects, along with plant life and objects like belt buckles and hats. Some buttons are shaped like the item they portray, and are known as “realistics” for their realistic appearance. Others simply had the design engraved, stamped, painted or enameled on the surface of a conventionally shaped button. Many of the antique buttons feature very detailed paintings in miniature. A rare and very unusual type of button is called a “habitat.” These have a metal back, with a dome shaped glass cap. But what makes them special is what is UNDER the glass. These buttons include dried plant and animal material, usually arranged to create a natural looking scene. Sometimes whole insects were used. Because of their age, and lack of preservation techniques used in the past, these buttons are rarely seen, and often in poor condition. A good quality habitat button will often sell for several hundred dollars. People and their many activities is another popular subject. Architectural objects like buildings, bridges and monuments also decorated many buttons. Political candidates, opera stars, and fairy tales are richly represented, and are favorites with collectors. Some buttons even portray risqué subjects. Buttons produced for George Washington’s inauguration are some of the most sought-after buttons in the United States. Uniform buttons fall into a special category all their own. Most of us automatically think of the military when we think of uniforms, but there are an amazing variety of uniforms in our society. Both Police and Fire Departments have their own buttons, often with the name of the city stamped on the front. Bus lines, airlines, shipping lines, city or state employees, hotels, railroads, banks, and even schools have their own unique buttons. A related field is Livery buttons. These buttons were worn by servants in large households, usually in England, and had the family’s coat of arms or crest on it. There are many collectibles related to buttons. It is not unusual to find a button collector that also hunts out belt buckles, cuff links and studs, buttonhooks, netsuke, or bridle rosettes. These are another way to add variety to your collection. Passion One advantage button collecting has over many other collectibles is that many of them are very reasonably priced. They can range in price from a few cents for […]
Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Her Fairies and Postcards
Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Her Fairies and Postcards Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (1888 – 1960) was an Australian illustrator of children’s books and most noted for her work depicting fairies. Born on 9th June 1888 in Carlton, Victoria to Rev. Dr. John Laurence Rentoul and Annie Isobel. She married Arthur Grenbry Outhwaite on 8th December 1909 and thereafter was generally known as Ida Rentoul Outhwaite. Her works can be signed in a number of formats including I.S.R. and at some point changed this to I.R.O. She also occasionally used I.S.R.O. and full spellings rather than abbreviations. Her first illustration was published by New Idea magazine in 1904 when she was just 15 years of age – it accompanied a story, entitled The Fairies of Fern Gully, written by her older sister, Anne Rattray Rentoul. In the years that followed, the sisters collaborated on a number of stories. Following her marriage to Grenbry Outhwaite in 1909, she also collaborated with her husband – most notably for The Enchanted Forest (1921), The Little Fairy Sister (1923) and Fairyland (1926). In a number of cases, her children – Robert, Anne, Wendy and William – served as models for her illustrations. Outhwaite worked predominantly with pen and ink, and watercolour. Her work was very popular in her native Australia combining a love for fairies and native wildlife including koalas, kookaburras and kangaroos. Her work was made even popular in the UK when Queen Mary wife of George V by sending postcards to her friends in the 1920s. Her illustrations were exhibited throughout Australia, as well as in London and Paris between 1907 and 1933. She died in Caulfield, Victoria, Australia. There are normally 150-250 Ida Outhwaite postcards on ebay click on link to view – Ida Outhwaite on ebay. Values of Outhwaite postcards in very good condition vary from £10-£50 each. Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Postcard Price Guide
Coco Chanel – The Great Fashion Designer
As an obsessive follower of fashion one of my favourite pastimes is spending copious amounts of money in the designer shops lining London’s smartest streets. Just recently I caught the train home armed with bags bearing the names of Gucci and Lulu Guinness, but if I’d had enough money then the bag that I would have definitely carried home would have been blazoned with the word “Chanel”. Pictured: Gabrielle Chanel, A Little Black Dress, Circa 1926 – classic silk dress in tunic form, with integral overblouse which ties at back waist, short sleeves and square neck, finely pleated apron panel, labelled Gabrielle Chanel Paris, numbered ‘2924’. Sold at Christies, London, Nov 2007 for £875 ($1,806). Born Gabrielle Chanel on 19th August 1883 in Saumur, France, into a poverty stricken family, she spent most of her childhood growing up in the austere area of Auvergne. Chanel’s mother was a sickly woman and her father a philanderer. Life became even harder for Chanel at the age of twelve when after her mother’s death from Tuberculosis she was abandoned at an orphanage by her father. Pictured: A Chanel Wedding Gown And Train 1930 – Composed of a dress with elaborately gored and top stitched bodice and skirts, the detachable train appliqué with cream velvet flowers, fixing to shoulder with hooks and eyes. Labelled CHANEL, with couture number ‘99409’ Sold at Christies, London, Nov 2013 for £40,000 ($63,520). Chanel’s passion for fashion started whilst at a boarding school in Notre Dame; she studied the other girls clothes and fabrics, then learnt to sew. After leaving school she found employment in a lingerie shop and took a second job with a tailor, but her biggest ambition was to leave the life of poverty behind. Intent on seeking wealth without marriage she knew that rich men would shower her with gifts and introduce a grandeur way of life. This dream became reality when Chanel found work as a cabaret singer in a bar at night. She sang two songs and one of these was called “Who has seen Coco”. This became her signature tune and gave her both a new name and the start of a relationship with Etienne Balsan, a wealthy man whose family money was made from textile manufacturing. Life as a mistress was a little uncomfortable at first, as she had a boyish figure and short hair, which was very different to the other mistresses who wore elaborate, corseted dresses and knew how to conduct themselves properly. Chanel decided to adopt her own unique style by wearing men’s clothing, and although this look was a little strange compared to other elegant women Chanel felt more comfortable and continued to dress in this manner. It was during this period that she started to design her own range of hats; this was the first stepping-stone of her successful career. Women craved to wear her millinery creations and it wasn’t long before she was recognised as an important hat designer, forcing her to open a workshop in 1909. Chanel’s first shop was opened in Paris in 1910, and by 1912 she had left Etienne Balsan for Boy Capel, a successful businessman. Capel took a personal interest in Chanel and backed her business financially, thus encouraging her to fulfil her dreams. She opened a boutique in Deauville in 1913 and then began to expand by designing clothing as well as hats. Using hand knitted fabrics she created jackets and skirts. These fresh new designs became an instant hit with the wealthier women, liberating them from their corsets, thus liberating their minds. Chanel wanted women to no longer be reliant on men but to think for themselves and saw that this could happen through the clothes that they wore. In 1915 Chanel’s business was thriving and she was able to open a second house of couture in Biarritz. Completely selfsufficient she no longer needed Boy Capel’s finances but he was the one true love of her life. Chanel was devastated; when in 1919 tragedy hit; Boy Capel was killed in a car crash, and once again she felt abandoned, coping with the grief by throwing herself into work. It was in 1921 when Chanel’s signature scent first appeared on the market. She asked Ernest Beaux, a perfumer, to create an innovative perfume and the result was a fresh smell that lasted longer than any other scent. She set about designing packaging that would capture what the name “Chanel” was all about; clean, crisp and modern. The perfume was housed in a square shaped plain bottle and she did what no other designer had done before by attaching her own name to the scent, “Chanel No. 5”. It was then launched at a Spring Fair on the 5th day of the month. “Chanel No. 5” has become one of the world’s biggest selling scents and the earlier bottles are highly sought after in collecting circles. Another popular area of Chanel collecting is costume jewellery. She was inspired by her own collection of precious stones to create a range of costume jewellery that would complement her clothing ranges. It was sold in a Chanel box and materials used varied from enamel and glass to crystal rhinestones and faux pearls. Some of the rarer pieces are worth thousands of pounds, such as a Peacock pin, set with poured coloured glass and clear crystal rhinestones, produced in the 1930s. This can command £1,665-£2,335. Another rare pin is the enamelled frog brooch dating from 1927, again worth in the region of £1,500-£2,000. If your pocket will not stretch to such high sums, then you can find more affordable pieces of Chanel jewellery on the market. Look for pins in the form of the Maltese Cross which was a signature motif for Chanel. Unfortunately this design is not as popular with contemporary collectors as some of the other designs, so a pin would only cost £80-£100, but it’s a good place to start if you want to begin a collection of Chanel jewellery. Coco Chanel continued to make classic sophisticated […]
Collecting Conan Paperbacks
Whether you’re a fan of the books, the movies, or both, there’s no denying that Conan is one of the most iconic and popular fighting fantasy characters in history. Created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s, Conan the Barbarian also referred to as The Cimmerian was to appear in 17 published stories by Howard before he died in 1936. The Conan book world has been expanded by a number of authors over the years and in this feature we take a brief view at the publication history of Conan, some of the authors of the books and take a look at Collecting Conan Paperbacks. Conan in Weird Tales Robert E. Howard was one of the most popular authors to be published in Weird Tales, thanks to his Conan stories. Howard began writing Conan stories in 1932 and continued until his death in 1936. In total, Howard wrote 17 Conan stories, which were published in Weird Tales between 1932 and 1939. The stories were extremely popular with readers and helped to cement Howard’s reputation as a master of sword and sorcery fiction. The first Conan story to appear was The Phoenix on the Sword and was originally published in the December 1932 edition of Weird Tales. The story is set in the fictional world of Hyboria, and follows the adventures of Conan, a barbarian warrior. In the story, Conan is hired by an evil sorcerer to kill a rival wizard. However, when Conan learns that the sorcerer plans to use him as a sacrificial victim, he turns against his employer and defeats him. The Scarlet Citadel was published the following month. The Conan stories are set in the “Hyborian Age”, a fictional time period that Howard created himself. In these stories, Conan is a barbarian from the northern kingdom of Cimmeria who becomes involved in the politics and wars of the civilizations of the Hyborian Age. One of the Editors of Weird Tales Farnsworth Wright asked Howard to write an 8,000-word essay for personal use detailing “the Hyborian Age”, the fictional setting for Conan. This essay expanded the Conan world and was used for Howard’s next story “The Tower of the Elephant”. The Tower of the Elephant follows the exploits of Conan the Cimmerian as he breaks into a mysterious tower in search of treasure. Although the story is brief, it is packed with action, suspense, and atmosphere, making it one of Howard’s most popular tales. In addition, the story showcases Howard’s talent for creating memorable characters, such as the elephant-riding Jhalkari nomads who serve as Conan’s allies. The Tower of the Elephant is a quintessential example of Howard’s Conan stories and remains one of the most beloved tales in the entire genre. Conan After Robert E. Howard Conan has endured for decades and prompted numerous writers to continue Howard’s tales after his death, including Lin Carter, L. Sprague de Camp, Robert Jordan, Björn Nyberg, Andrew J. Offutt, and others. Some of these writers completed incomplete Conan novels or rewrote Howard stories about different characters. The majority of post-Howard Conan stories are entirely original works. More than fifty novels and dozens of short stories featuring the Conan character have been written by authors other than Howard. Following Howard’s death, the copyright of the Conan stories passed through several hands. L. Sprague de Camp was eventually given charge of the fiction line, beginning with 1967’s Conan published by Lancer Books, and oversaw a paperback series collecting all of Howard’s tales (Lancer folded in 1973 and Ace Books picked up the line, reprinting the older volumes with new trade dress and continuing to release new ones). The De Camp reworkings of Robert E. Howard’s original tales were supplemented by further editing by de Camp, who also chose to write additional Conan stories to go with the originals, collaborating with Björn Nyberg and especially Lin Carter. These new works were constructed from a mix of previously completed Robert E. Howard tales with different settings and characters that were changed so as to include Conan and the Hyborian world, incomplete fragments and outlines for Conan adventures that were never written by Howard, and all-new pastiches. Lancer Publications and Ace Publications Paperbacks The Lancer Publications and later Ace Publications series of Conan books published from 1966-1977 were the first comprehensive paperback edition, which compiled the existing Howard and non-Howard stories together with new non-Howard stories in order of internal chronology, to form a complete account of Conan’s life. The Lancer Books publishing sequence initially adopted a chronological number for volumes issued later and reprints of earlier volumes, then reverted to an order of publication. Conan entered popular culture with the publication of this collection of tales. It contains all of the original Howard material, including that which he left unpublished during his lifetime as well as fragments and outlines, and was carried out under the leadership of de Camp and Carter. De Camp edited a large portion of the content, and he and Carter finished the unfinished stories. They also included new stories that they wrote themselves. Of the 35 stories in the last eight volumes, 19 were published or finished by Howard while he was still alive, 10 were reworked or finished using his manuscripts, scraps, or synopses, and six were the exclusive creation of de Camp and Carter. Other Publishers of Conan Books Bantam Publications published 6 non-Howard Conan books including Conan the Sword of Skelos by Andrew J. Offutt. Tor Publications released a new series of stories from 1982-2004 by various authors including Robert Jordan, Leonard Carpenter and Steve Perry. Tor also reissued most of the previous non-Howard volumes originally published by Bantam. The Tor editions jumped around to present random episodes from various stages in Conan’s career rather than publishing them in chronological order. Periodic chronological essays—first by L. Sprague de Camp, then by Robert Jordan—included in some of the older volumes helped readers place the episodes in the right perspective. Tor also reprinted some of the Bantam Conan books. […]
Collecting Leslie Charteris and The Saint
Leslie Charteris was born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin in Singapore on May 12th, 1907. The son of a Chinese doctor and an English woman he was determined to become a writer from a very early age. His first published work was a poem which appeared in The Straits Times when he was just nine and a half years old. Along with his mother and younger brother he moved to London in 1919 and wrote the first Saint adventure, Meet the Tiger (published in 1928), when he was just twenty years old. Leslie Charteris went on to write a further eight-nine titles featuring Simon Templar his most famous hero. Simon Templar and The Saint books and character has inspired many inspired many films, radio series, comic strips, and several television series. Collectors main emphasis are The Saint books (and until the series were re-published in 2013 most collectors had to seek earlier editions), but also TV & Film memorabilia, comic strips, magazines, die-cast cars, autographs etc. The Saint Books The origins of Simon Templar as The Saint can be found in the early works by Charteris, some of which predated the first Saint novel, 1928’s Meet the Tiger, or were written after it but before Charteris committed to writing a Saint series. Burl Barer reveals that an obscure early work, Daredevil, not only featured a heroic lead who shared “Saintly” traits (down to driving the same brand of automobile) but also shared his adventures with Inspector Claud Eustace Teal—a character later a regular in Saint books. Barer writes that several early Saint stories were rewritten from non-Saint stories, including the novel She Was a Lady, which appeared in magazine form featuring a different lead character. Pictured left: A first edition signed Meet the Tiger, currently up for sale at Abebooks for £30,000. Charteris utilized three formats for delivering his stories. Besides full-length novels, he wrote novellas for the most part published in magazines and later in volumes of two or three stories. He also wrote short stories featuring the character, again mostly for magazines and later compiled into omnibus editions. In later years these short stories carried a common theme, such as the women Templar meets or exotic places he visits. With the exception of Meet the Tiger, chapter titles of Templar novels usually contain a descriptive phrase describing the events of the chapter; for example, Chapter Four of Knight Templar is entitled “How Simon Templar dozed in the Green Park and discovered a new use for toothpaste”. Pictured right: A first edition of the second Saint book, Enter the Saint. This copy has a price tag of nearly £4,000 at James M Pickard Fine and Rare Books. The origins of The Saint can be found in early works by Charteris, some of which predated the first Saint novel, 1928’s Meet the Tiger, or were written after it but before Charteris committed to writing a Saint series. Burl Barer reveals that an obscure early work, Daredevil, not only featured a heroic lead who shared “Saintly” traits (down to driving the same brand of automobile) but also shared his adventures with Inspector Claud Eustace Teal—a character later a regular in Saint books. Barer writes that several early Saint stories were rewritten from non-Saint stories, including the novel She Was a Lady, which appeared in magazine form featuring a different lead character. Although Charteris’s novels and novellas had more conventional thriller plots than his confidence game short stories, both novels and stories are admired. As in the past, the appeal lies in the vitality of the character, a hero who can go into a brawl and come out with his hair combed and who, faced with death, lights a cigarette and taunts his enemy with the signature phrase “As the actress said to the bishop….” The period of the books begins in the 1920s and moves to the 1970s as the 50 books progress (the character being seemingly ageless). In early books most activities are illegal, although directed at villains. In later books, this becomes less so. In books written during World War II, The Saint was recruited by the government to help track spies and similar undercover work.[4] Later he became a cold warrior fighting Communism. The quality of writing also changes; early books have a freshness which becomes replaced by cynicism in later works. A few Saint stories crossed into science fiction and fantasy, “The Man Who Liked Ants” and the early novel The Last Hero being examples. When early Saint books were republished in the 1960s to the 1980s, it was not uncommon to see freshly written introductions by Charteris apologizing for the out-of-date tone; according to a Charteris “apology” in a 1969 paperback of Featuring the Saint, he attempted to update some earlier stories when they were reprinted but gave up and let them sit as period pieces. The 1963 edition of the short story collection The Happy Highwayman contains examples of abandoned revisions; in one story published in the 1930s (“The Star Producers”), references to actors of the 1930s were replaced for 1963 with names of current movie stars; another 1930s-era story, “The Man Who Was Lucky”, added references to atomic power. Charteris started retiring from writing books following 1963’s The Saint in the Sun. The next book to carry Charteris’s name, 1964’s Vendetta for the Saint, was written by science fiction author Harry Harrison, who had worked on the Saint comic strip, after which Charteris edited and revised the manuscript. Between 1964 and 1983, another 14 Saint books would be published, credited to Charteris but written by others. In his introduction to the first, The Saint on TV, Charteris called these volumes a team effort in which he oversaw selection of stories, initially adaptations of scripts written the 1962–69 TV series The Saint, and with Fleming Lee writing the adaptations (other authors took over from Lee). Charteris and Lee collaborated on two Saint novels in the 1970s, The Saint in Pursuit (based on a story by Charteris for […]