At Last. . . a Man!*

Anyone who has followed this blog knows that I need a man, most specifically a beach beau by Galluba and Hofmann, but considering how rare the male of the bathing beauty species is, I am on the lookout for any handsome seaside studmuffin. This gorgeous guy has recently joined my collection, much to the delight of my bounteous bevy of bisque bathing belles. Of sharp precolored bisque with loop jointed arms, he is 6.5 inches tall. He has a slim, well-toned male body. . . 

including a nice tight tush.

There are holes in the soles of his feet for the supporting rods of a stand. The only mark is "Foreign" stamped in black on the sole of his left foot. In 1890, the United States Congress enacted the McKinley Tariff Act, which included the requirement that items imported to the United States be marked with their country of origin. The use of "Foreign" was initiated as a way to comply with the Act, as well as subsequent laws enacted by other countries. The "Foreign" mark not only indicated that an item was manufactured for export, it could be used to avoid marking the originating country's name on a product when there might be some tension between it and receiving country. For example, goods from Western Germany imported behind the Iron Curtain and some Japanese goods manufactured for import to the United Kingdom through the 1940s might carry the "Foreign" mark. 

In this case, I think this gent can be safely attributed to the German firm of Hertwig and Company, dating from the 1920s through the 30s. On January 7, 2001, Theriault's auctioned off samples from the Hertwig archives, which included this bisque bride and groom. The modeling and facial decoration on the groom is nearly identical to that of my guy.

A similar Hertwig bride and groom from my own collection also establish the strong family resemblance.

I suspect with the jointed arms and the holes in the feet for a supporting stand, my new guy was intended to be dressed (the jointed arms would have made costuming easier) and displayed, most likely as a groom. However, he certainly nicely sets off his new swim attire, created from a scrap from an antique wool bathing suit.

* The title is a line from a 1937 Warner Brothers cartoon entitled "I Only Have Eyes for You." In the cartoon, all the characters are anthropomorphized birds. The homely ice man is wooed by the lonely spinster, but he has a crush on the pretty Katie Canary, who longs to marry a radio crooner. Early in the cartoon, the iceman delivers ice to the spinster, who tries to woo him with all sorts of food. When he hides under her bed, she shouts, "At last. . . a man!" (around 2:09 minutes) and dives in after him (it's a sexist joke that Warner Brothers used over and over through the years).

 

Beach Babe

This youthful bathing belle is all ready to enjoy a day of sun and sand while lounging in her beach chair. In her right hand she holds a molded apple for seaside snacking. Of precolored bisque and jointed only at the shoulders, she is molded into a sitting position. The entire assembly appears to be all original, including the miniature chair, which fits her perfectly. Just 3.5 inches tall, this chubby charmer is incised on the back "771 Germany." She is from the German firm of Hertwig and Company. Not only did this firm extensively use precolored bisque for its all-bisque dolls, bathing beauties, and similar novelties, Hertwig was a whiz at using inexpensive materials to make an attractive presentations. There was a lot of competition between German doll companies, each trying to come up with cost-effective ways to make their items more eye-catching to the consumer. Hertwig often cleverly clad its dolls in a few scraps of cheap material to make them more appealing. The molded hair loop holding a miniature rayon ribbon bow is typical of Hertwig, as is the little mesh bathing suit. 

. 

The chair, which actually folds, is another example of Hertwig's imaginative use of a pennyworth (or perhaps more correctly pfennigworth) of material to make its merchandise more marketable. A few slats of lightweight wood and a thin strip of colorful material create a cunning toy chair that certainly would appeal to little girls, yet be inexpensive enough so that most parents could afford to be indulgent. Typically, Hertwig produced boy and girl pairs, so perhaps she has a male counterpart in his own little lounge. I could envision a display of these diminutive dolls in tiny chairs at some beachside or boardwalk souvenir shop.

The chair is faintly stamped "Germany."

 

More from the Hertwig Catalog

I have added more pictures of pages and text from the original Hertwig and Company catalog, including the first appearance of badedame (bathing lady). 

En-meshed. . .

 . . . which is certainly what any collector would be by this delicate dancer in the remains of her original net costume. She is part of a series by the German firm of Hertwig and Company of sinuous show-girls in exiguous outfits of black mesh. Of excellent bisque, she is 5.5 inches tall and is unmarked. The pedestal behind her is actually a small vase or match holder. 

A Pair of Beach Babes

As noted before on this blog, I also collect antique dolls as well as bathing beauty figurines and sometimes my two collections overlap.  This pair of all-bisque chubby toddlers are dressed in their original net bathing suits, trimmed with matching ribbon.  Of pink precolored bisque, the girl, thanks to her molded hair bow, is 3.25 inches tall, compared to her 3-inch tall brother.  They are jointed at the shoulders and were made by Hertwig and Company of Germany.

Smokin' Hot, Part II

Previously, this blog featured a lovely Edwardian lady who appeared to be preparing to puff a cigarette, a suggestive and shocking habit for a woman of the 1910s.  This posts features her male companion, a dandy garbed in Edwardian elegance from his top hat to his slender shoes.  He actually has a hole between his lips for a small novelty toy cigarette; I did dare to light it, but was unable to capture any of the resulting small smoke rings with my camera. There is also a hole through his left hand, suggesting that he once may have held a slender walking stick.  Like his female counterpart, this gentlemen is of sharp white bisque and is superbly modeled.  He is 9 inches tall and unmarked.  An identical figurine appeared in Theriault's 2001 auction of the archives of the former Hertwig and Company showroom.

A close up of his handsome face demonstrates the fine molded details.

Smokin' Hot

Like painting one's face or showing one's ankles, smoking was something a proper Victorian woman would never consider doing, at least not in public. The image of a woman smoking, with all its Freudian suggestiveness, was sometimes exploited by the ribald or rebellious, but in the early 1900s, cigarette smoking by women was still largely taboo. During World War I, as many women moved into roles formerly reserved for men, from organizing relief to working in factories or offices, some also assumed male habits, such as lighting up an occasional cigarette. During the early 1920s, smoking was still seen as scandoulous, something those frivolous flappers did while slipping into speakeasies or engaging in petting parties.  However, by the late 1920s that tobacco companies began to actively court female consumers. In 1928, the American Tobacco Company began its "Reach for a Lucky" campaign, seeking to persuade women that reaching for a Lucky Strike cigarette instead of a sweet would help maintain their "graceful, modern form." The following year, during the Easter Sunday parade in New York City, public relations executive Edward Bernays staged a small group of fashionable young women smoking their "torches of freedom" as they strolled along. Still, when this fashionable bisque beauty was created in the late 1910s, a woman indulging in tobacco was considered more naughty than normal. Her charming chateau, rather understated when compared to the sweeping plumed and flowered hats of the earlier Edwardian years, and her form-fitting draped jacket with its peplum and ankle-length skirt suggest she dates from around 1917 through 1919.   Her left hand is cupped in front of her face, as if holding an invisible cigarette, and she leans forward as if accepting a light.  I wondered if she once might have held one of those miniature novelty cigarettes that when lit and blown out, continues to smolder and gives the impression of blowing smoke rings. I actually came upon a packet of these miniature smokes and while a cigarette did fit nicely in her hand, I was reluctant to light it out of concern that it might stain her delicate white fingers. Of beautiful sharp bisque and superbly sculpted, she is 6.5 inches tall and incised under her seat "8194." In 2001, Theriault's held an auction of the archives of the former Hertwig and Company showroom, which included an identical figurine.

In the Mode

This fashionable fräulein clad in the epitome of Edwardian elegance takes her shaggy terrier for a stroll.  Her formfitting gown of emerald green and black is textured fine flocking, giving it the appearance of fabric.  This 7 inch tall bisque vase is incised “1071” on bottom back edge of vase.

She is part of a series of fashionable figures by Hertwig and Company of German, advertised in their catalogue as "Figuren mit Paperhüten und mit Tuchschur bemalt" (figures with paper hats and painted flocking). This lady has lost her original crepe paper hat and mohair wig, which someone has replaced with a turban of blonde mink.  As this catalogue picture shows, she has lost not only her original headdress, but also her male companion, as the set was advertised as "Paar Modefiguren" (pair of fashion figures).  The difference in the model number in the catalogue may be related to size, as the pictured set was advertised as 13 centimeters tall, or just over five inches in height.    

A close up of her face, showing the flirtatious glance and subtle smile she once granted to her now absent gentleman admirer.