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.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Doing by Halves

Generally, to say someone is doing things by halves means that person does things incompletely or without enthusiasm.  However, when Galluba and Hofmann did things by halves, they created something wholly beautiful.  This trio of petite pincushion dolls demonstrate the delicate detail Galluba lavished on even its littlest ladies.  

Although just 1.5 inches high, her arms were molded separately and are completely free from her body.  Her light brown molded hair is bound with a blue bow on each side, and her tiny face, with its large dark eyes and lush lips, is beautifully painted. She is stamped “Germany” in red underneath.


Another belle sporting a blue bow in her brown hair, this miniature miss is also just 1.5 inches tall.  Again, the arms were molded separately.  In addition to being stamped “Germany” in red underneath, she is incised with a faint number that appears to be “9906” on  the back of her base. 


The tallest of the three, she is a towering 1.75 inches tall, not including her original pincushion.   Perhaps because of her larger size, her face is slightly more detailed, with lower lid lines and nose dots.  She also wears blue bows in her light brown hair, which is twisted into a bun, and her arms were molded separately.  There are no visible marks.

2 comments:

  1. MaureenMarch 3, 2016 at 9:44 PM

    All three are wonderful. So tiny but so detailed. Galluba & Hoffman have become my favorite half dolls.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sharon Hope WeintraubMarch 6, 2016 at 9:30 PM

    Thank you. My next posting will be on the wigged versions of these petite pretties.

    ReplyDelete

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