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 16, 2017

Hand in Glove

I send to you a pair of gloves.
If you love me, 
Leave out the "G"
And make a pair of loves.
                           
Throughout Western history, gloves have been associated with love. In the age of chivalry, a fair damsel might give her chosen knight a glove as a token of her love and fidelity, which he would proudly display in his belt or wear on his helmet.  Presenting a woman with a pair of fine gloves, especially if they were perfumed, was a sign of courtship and even betrothal.  The preceding poem appeared in Elizabethan times and continued to be quoted in some form in love notes and Valentine cards through the Edwardian era.  Perhaps this lithesome lady with her shy smile has just received the pair of gloves she holds from an ardent admirer.  Incised on the back of her base "406” and “E,” this  5.5 inch tall bisque belle is by the German firm of Galluba and Hofmann.  She wears her original brunette mohair wig and at one time would have been garbed in a fashionable Edwardian gown of real silk and lace to cover her molded undergarment.    



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1 comment:

  1. Megan SchetscheMarch 17, 2017 at 2:39 AM

    I love this post! Makes me think I need to add lots of gloves to my doll collection.

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