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, November 21, 2024

Creepy Crawlers

The nude nymph cringing at the little crustacean crawling up her calf has appeared previously on this blog. By the German firm of Carl Schneider Erban, she is 4 inches long and is incised “15223” and “Germany," on her pincushion base. Her raven-haired companion in the same pose has lost her pincushion base but gained a rather daring off-the-shoulder striped bathing suit. Also 4 inches long, she shows how a clever manufacturer could tweak an existing mold to create a new model and expand a product line. 


She is incised “15150” under her lower hip. 






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