More Barrisons in Bisque

Previously on this blog, I posted about this bisque version of those naughty, bawdy, blonde, and buxom Barrison Sisters made by the German company of H. Hutschenreuther Porzellanfabrik (the figurine, not the sisters, although if tales of the time are correct, these maidens were most certainly on the make).

Hutschenreuther was certainly "inspired" (a nice way of saying that the sisters probably didn't see a cent from this use of their image) by this publicity photo of the infamous five in costume for the stage, each playfully holding an elegant lorgnette.

Although only featuring four femmes, rather than five, this 7 inch tall bisque figurine also undoubtedly sought to cash in on the sisters' vast, but brief, popularity in the 1890s.  Marked only with a freehand "16" in black under the base, the figurine is  of far finer in quality than the Hutschenreuther piece.  Who made this beautiful bisque tribute to the Barrisons is a mystery, as is the whereabouts of the missing fifth sister.  Perhaps she had to go and attend to her pussy.

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Taking a Seat

Most bathing beauties recline, some sit on the ground, and a smaller percentage are made to stand.  Very few are molded in a sitting position because this would mean that the manufacturer or jobber would have to go through the extra expense of providing these little ladies a suitable seat.   The ever creative and thrifty Hertwig and Company solved this problem by using natural seashells, manufactured already by Mother Nature.  This little precolored bisque belle perches on a real shell.  She wears her original bathing suit and cap and is just 2.75 inches high, not counting her conch couch.  

Here she appears in the Hertwig catalogue.  As can be seen in the catalogue picture, Miss Shell, my belle, has lost the rayon ribbon trim that formed the suit's straps, as well as a little decorative bow on her left knee.   

Two larger versions of sirens seated on shells.  The catalogue refers to them as "Badedame auf echter Muschel" (bathing lady on a real shell).

Here is one of these larger ladies, sans shell, but comfortably seated in a wonderful little woven beach chair.  The cushion under her seat, which could have served to hold pins, has been hand painted with  the words "1,000 Islands."  Perhaps this was a souvenir from a visit to the archipelago of scenic islands where the Saint Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario (certainly a much more romantic notion than an advertisement for a popular salad dressing).  Also of precolored bisque, she retains her original swimsuit, complete with ribbons, and is approximately 3 inches tall.