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.

Friday, November 8, 2019

You Spin Me Right 'Round

You spin me right 'round, baby
Right 'round like a record, baby
Right 'round, 'round, 'round
You spin me right 'round, baby
Right 'round like a record, baby
Right 'round, 'round, 'round

David Burns, 1984

Another example of naughty novelty jewelry is this frisky fob. A fob was a short chain, ribbon, or charm that attached to a man's pocket watch and hung outside of the vest or pants pocket where the watch was tucked, making it easier for a man to extract his watch to check the time. Such fobs were a fashionable accessory for men through the early 1900s, when timepieces moved from the pocket to the wrist.  Dating from the Edwardian period this fob is termed a spinner, as it features a disk that spins freely in its frame.  One side of the disk features an engraving of a male bather wading out into the waves.


The other side portrays a bathing belle who has just emerged from the changing hut in the background and is about to dive into the surf.  Clearly these two swimming enthusiasts were meant for each other, but how will they ever meet?  Well, just spin the disk. . .


and they quickly strike up a very intimate friendship. 


The human eye and brain can only process 10 to 12 separate images per second. When viewing a sequence of still images in quicker succession, the viewer sees what appears to be a continuous moving image. Swiftly spinning the disk tricks the eye into melding the two quickly flickering images into one. Cartoon animation is achieved through this same optical illusion. Unfortunately, this illusion does not trick my camera as well as it does my eyes, so I had to engage in a little photo manipulation to achieve the image that I, but not my camera, perceived.

Of silver-toned metal, the fob is 2 inches long and is unmarked.




Tags: , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)