Just a teaser: coming up in October are lots of spooky things, including vintage Halloween decorations, a 1920s "spirit photo," monster toys and games, robots and space toys, and some other odd stuff. Stay 'tooned...
Monday, October 4, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Big-Eared Bear
My very favorite antique teddy bears tend to be not the high end models, like Steiff, or those in rare mint condition. Although of course I enjoy finding such fine examples, I actually prefer bears from unknown makers who had, shall we say, less than a firm grasp of stuffed toy design.
I also adore bruins who have been heavily loved, and experienced a lot of life. These two factors combine to create bears who are full of character, like "Rupert" here, a c.1915 American teddy with the hugest ears I've ever seen.
Rupert was lovingly dressed long ago by a previous owner. I'm leaving him as found, especially as his clothes are helping to hold him together!
Is this the cutest face ever seen on a teddy bear?
I think, quite possibly, yes.
Somewhere during his long lifetime, Rupert had an owner who thought he was the perfect model for a portrait, which has fortunately remained with him:
I'm not sure what the beer bottle signifies. I'm hoping Rupert doesn't turn out to have a "drinking problem..."
Here's Rupert with his new best friend, Nosey Parker, another character-filled bear:
I also adore bruins who have been heavily loved, and experienced a lot of life. These two factors combine to create bears who are full of character, like "Rupert" here, a c.1915 American teddy with the hugest ears I've ever seen.
I think, quite possibly, yes.
Somewhere during his long lifetime, Rupert had an owner who thought he was the perfect model for a portrait, which has fortunately remained with him:
Here's Rupert with his new best friend, Nosey Parker, another character-filled bear:
Steiff Gnome
This month's gnome-a-thon wraps up with a character from Steiff: "Pucki," one of their small gnome figures, made in Germany in the late 1940s-early '50s.
Pucki is 5 inches tall to the top of his hat, and is made of a rubbery composition material over a wire frame, with felt clothing and a mohair beard. The rubber compo material tends to deteriorate over time, resulting in drying, stiffening, cracking, and breaking. Steiff made many similar gnomes around this time period, and even with their condition issues, they're still charming little guys.
Pucki is 5 inches tall to the top of his hat, and is made of a rubbery composition material over a wire frame, with felt clothing and a mohair beard. The rubber compo material tends to deteriorate over time, resulting in drying, stiffening, cracking, and breaking. Steiff made many similar gnomes around this time period, and even with their condition issues, they're still charming little guys.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Eugene Gnome Family
One of my favorite vintage gnome items is also the only one with links to my childhood. I can remember seeing this family of gnome dolls advertised in the big Sears Christmas Wish Book back in the 1970s. I believe I actually tore the page out, circled the gnomes in thick, red marker, and included it with my letter to Santa, just to be sure he knew exactly what I wanted.
I can still remember going to bed every night that December, anxiously worrying about the gnomes: did Santa get my letter? Would he have enough of the gnome dolls in stock for all the children who would undoubtedly be asking for them that year? Would I pass muster on Santa's list, and be deemed worthy of said gnomes? Well, I must have had a pretty good year, because Santa dutifully brought them, and I played with them incessantly. My childhood gnomes didn't survive, unfortunately, but thanks to eBay, I have them back today.
Designed by the Eugene Doll Company of Brookyln, New York in 1979 and manufactured in "The British Crown Colony of Hong Kong," the 5-7 inch tall jointed gnomes are made of plastic with clothes of rather cheap synthetic materials. The clothes were embellished with stickers (a mushroom on the mom, a strawberry on the girl) that quickly fell off and were invariably lost (one of my eBay sets miraculously retains them). The Eugene Gnome Family was definitely not a high-end toy, but there was, and remains, something very captivating about these dolls. As a little girl, I absolutely treasured them, and I still do today.
The Eugene Gnomes were packaged in two different ways, a fact I was unaware of until I began hunting for them as an adult. The first variation is this display box, which is how the gnomes were sold in stores. It has some gnome folklore on the back, and suggests: "Keep them with you to lend a hand, to talk to, to pretend with, to have as friends. Invite the whole Gnome family -- they'd love to come."
The second packaging variant is this much smaller mailing box, which is how I remember my gnomes coming on Christmas Day as a child. There was no display box inside: the dolls were simply packed, loose, into this carton. This is how the gnomes were packaged for catalog sales, which is how the bulk of midwestern American Christmas toy shopping was done back in the 1970s. This dual packaging, one for stores, one for catalogs, was typical of many toys back then, but it can be puzzling if you're not aware of it, as I wasn't when I began my gnome hunt.
I can still remember going to bed every night that December, anxiously worrying about the gnomes: did Santa get my letter? Would he have enough of the gnome dolls in stock for all the children who would undoubtedly be asking for them that year? Would I pass muster on Santa's list, and be deemed worthy of said gnomes? Well, I must have had a pretty good year, because Santa dutifully brought them, and I played with them incessantly. My childhood gnomes didn't survive, unfortunately, but thanks to eBay, I have them back today.
Designed by the Eugene Doll Company of Brookyln, New York in 1979 and manufactured in "The British Crown Colony of Hong Kong," the 5-7 inch tall jointed gnomes are made of plastic with clothes of rather cheap synthetic materials. The clothes were embellished with stickers (a mushroom on the mom, a strawberry on the girl) that quickly fell off and were invariably lost (one of my eBay sets miraculously retains them). The Eugene Gnome Family was definitely not a high-end toy, but there was, and remains, something very captivating about these dolls. As a little girl, I absolutely treasured them, and I still do today.
The Eugene Gnomes were packaged in two different ways, a fact I was unaware of until I began hunting for them as an adult. The first variation is this display box, which is how the gnomes were sold in stores. It has some gnome folklore on the back, and suggests: "Keep them with you to lend a hand, to talk to, to pretend with, to have as friends. Invite the whole Gnome family -- they'd love to come."
The second packaging variant is this much smaller mailing box, which is how I remember my gnomes coming on Christmas Day as a child. There was no display box inside: the dolls were simply packed, loose, into this carton. This is how the gnomes were packaged for catalog sales, which is how the bulk of midwestern American Christmas toy shopping was done back in the 1970s. This dual packaging, one for stores, one for catalogs, was typical of many toys back then, but it can be puzzling if you're not aware of it, as I wasn't when I began my gnome hunt.
It was like Christmas 1979 all over again the day this came.
Thank you, eBay!
Thank you, eBay!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Heissner Gnome
Another vintage German gnome, this one is a bit later than those previously posted, made in West Germany in the 1950s or '60s. Manufactured in high quality vinyl by Heissner, one of the oldest German gnome makers, this reading gnome measures 13 inches tall to the tip of his hat.
This closeup shows the detail of his sculpted face:
He's very appropriately reading a gardening book.
This closeup shows the detail of his sculpted face:
He's very appropriately reading a gardening book.
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