Postcard Image

Postcard Image
As the Victorian era passed into the Edwardian and Roaring Twenties, a market developed for bisque and china bawdy novelties and figurines of women in revealing outfits. Although now most of these figurines seem more coy and cute than ribald and risque, in their time they symbolized the casting off of the perceived restraints of the Victorian era.

These little lovelies included bathing beauties, who came clad in swimsuits of real lace or in stylish painted beach wear, as well as mermaids, harem ladies, and nudies, who were meant to wear nothing more than an engaging smile. Also produced were flippers, innocent appearing figurines who reveal a bawdy secret when flipped over, and squirters, figurines that were meant to squirt water out of an appropriate orifice.

Most were manufactured in Germany from the late 1800s through the 1930s, often showing remarkable artistry and imagination, with Japan entering the market during World War I.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Bathing Beauty of the Day; Day 10

Ms.  #368 is from the German company of William Goebel.  She is 4.5 inches tall and is of excellent bisque and decoration.  She retains her original mohair wig, which, as is typical for Goebel, is a hank of mohair wrapped around her head and held in place at the  sides with pearl-headed pins.  These wigs are quite fragile and tend to unravel over time.  She has desirable tinted gray stockings and molded dark gray pumps with black trim.  Underneath, she is stamped in black "Germany" and painted with a freehand “k” under her left thigh.
Goebel made a number of variations of this mold, including a  barefoot nude with molded hair or a wig, a bathing belle in a molded tank suit, and the scarcest of all, this masked lady of mystery.  Also 4.5 inches tall,  Ms. #394 wears a molded black half-mask, and a black beauty spot adorns her right cheek. 

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