Reunited. . .

. . . and it feels so good

Reunited 'cause we understood

There's one perfect fit

And, sugar, this one is it

We both are so excited 'cause we're reunited, hey, hey

"Reunited," Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren, 1978

The spill vase of the lissome lass preparing to dive next to a giant water lily has been in my collection for many years. However, at a recent serendipitous nearby estate sale, I came across her matching mate, a man in a similar striped bathing suit leaning against an identical oversized lily. From his appreciative smile as he admiringly gazes upon the diving damsel, I think he is happy they are finally back together. These bisque vases are each about 4.75 inches tall and are unmarked, although they are certainly of German origin.

Baby Beach Beau

A little late for Black History Month, but this sensitive and superbly sculpted bisque figurine portrays an African-American toddler in striped swimming trunks giving himself a saltwater sponge bath by the seaside. Created the German company of Gebruder Heubach and of excellent shape bisque, this bouncing bathing boy is 5 inches tall.

Although the incised marks are difficult to see against the textured background of his trunks, he is marked "COPYRIGHTED" in a circle on the back and carries the Heubach sunburst mark on his right hip.

His warm brown complexion is delicately shaded and there is a subtle rosy blush on his cheeks. His features are ethnic, but are not exaggerated for comic effect, as was often typical of figurines of this era. Instead, this is a sweet realistic portrait of a young boy, so typical of the charming children by Heubach. 

 

The Big Reveal

This bronze belle covered in a cloak is another mechanical bronze work by Carl Kauba. 

Of golden bronze, this lovely lady holds out her cloak, patinated dark brown. Her concealing covering is secured by a large bow in the front.

Well, not exactly secured, because the bow is actually a clasp and when it is released, her arms gracefully swing open to reveal her beautifully sculpted nude body.

Kauba's signature appears on the back of the base.

I have always wondered if Kauba cloaked coquette might have been inspired by the American interpretative dancer Loie Fuller, pictured here in a 1893 poster designed by Jules Cheret for the Folies Begere. Born in 1862 as Marie Louise Fuller, she began on stage as a child actress, growing up to become an actress and a dancer. She experimented with flowing silk costumes and multicolored lighting, introducing her "Serpentine Dance" in 1891. Clad in a long dress consisting of multiple yards of thin silk, she held the ends of the skirt in her hands, waving and twisting it as she danced, creating spiraling forms as she exposed and concealed her body, while the changing colored lights suggested everything from flickering flames to ripples of water. In 1892, Fuller joined the numerous American dancers who traveled to Europe for artistic recognition. She settled in France and regularly performed at the Folies. Fuller and her swirling veils became a popular image of the art nouveau movement. She established a dance troupe and continued to experiment with costume and lighting, receiving patents for many of her innovations.

 

Put Through the Hoops

The fashionable crinoline or hoop skirts of the mid-1850s to the late 1860s, as appeared earlier on this blog, were a target of sometimes tawdry humor. This crinoline-clad miss seems every inch the most prim and proper lady. Perhaps that is a prayerbook tucked under her arm?

Peek underneath and it appears that this maiden's prayer has been answered, as there is a dashing suitor concealed under her crinoline. The crinoline cage a created bell-shaped skirt, sometimes as wide as six feet. Wags wondered what women did with the ample empty space secreted under all that fabric. One salacious suggestion was that a young lady might use her supersized skirt to hide her lover from a suspicious chaperone or meddling mama. Of fine china and delicately painted, this early figurine of a lady and her undercover lover is 5.5 inches tall and unmarked.

 

New Nekos!

 Some fresh felines join my maneki neko page.

Dancing Queen

You are the dancing queen

Young and sweet

Only seventeen

Dancing queen

Feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah

Dancing Queen, 1976, ABBA

According to the caption on her base, she is the "Dancing Girl," rather than queen, but she certainly appears to be having the time of her life. Seven inches tall, this is a half or pincushion doll on her original base. The two pieces were clearly meant to go together (the half doll is incised on her base "19174" and under the base is the matching number "19175"). I don't know whether the extravagant dress is original, but it is old and beautifully made of sequined net trimmed in tiny seed beads; the flared skirt has fine wire around the hem to give it shape. Underneath she has a muslin half slip with lace trim similar to the factory made garments found on antique dolls. 

Clearly meant to be a maiden from the Middle East, she has a black mohair wig, an olive complexion, and is well-accessorized with a variety of molded bangles and baubles. Her face is beautifully painted.

Joining the two pieces is some sort of fibrous substance, perhaps wood, but both pieces have matching sew holes so I wonder whether there might have originally been a fabric pincushion between them. 

More Pages Posted!

 The Hertwig catalog page has been updated and expanded!

In the Hood

A bisque bathing belle in her own wicker beach chair would have been a most appealing seaside souvenir. And none could have been more alluring this lissome lass in her hooded beach chair with its silken canopy. By Galluba and Hofmann, the bathing beauty herself is 4.5 inches. She wears her original mohair wig tied up a silk scarf. The form fitting tank suit is of a black knit material with a tiny red embroidered anchor at each thigh. This is not the typical bathing attire found on Galluba's bathers and one wonders whether it was the individual creation of a talented seamstress or if some jobber ordered ladies au naturel from Galluba and had them dressed in this delightful and detailed swimwear. Although she is not tied into her beachside seat, she fits it perfectly. The beach chair does appear to be a commercial creation, as underneath is carries a penciled inventory number "502/B." This belle and beach chair certainly would have been a marvelous memento of some high-end seaside resort.   

 

The Catalog Quest Continues!

 Yet more pages posted from the original Hertwig and Company catalog.

More Pages Posted!

 Additional pages from the Hertwig catalog have been posted.

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."

 

Update to My Maneki Neko Page

 

 Another kitty joins my Maneki Neko  cat clowder.

Bad Doggy!

This little pooch may be begging for forgiveness, as he is a naughty novelty I call a "squirter." He is hollow and the opening on top of his head once held a rubber bulb. When filled with water and the bulb squeezed, the water sprayed out of the appropriate orifice. Most squirters are human subjects; animal figurines such piddling puppy are far less common. Of good sharp bisque, he is just 2.75 inches tall and although unmarked, is of German quality.

 

Hertwig and Company

 More pages added to the Hertwig and Company catalog.

Basket (Chair) Case

This bashful bronze bathing belle peeks through the drapery of her hooded wicker beach chair. Such chairs were often rented to beach goers by the resort hotel or spa and the deluxe versions came with curtains that could be pulled down for further protection again the sun and wind or for just a bit of privacy.  All that can be seen of this demure damsel is her shyly smiling face and her slender feet clad in dainty bathing slippers.

But atop the dome of the chair's "wicker" hood is a little button. . . . Oooh, what does this button do?

It releases a latch, so that the front swings open, revealing that the lovely lass remembered to bring her bathing slippers, but forget to pack the rest of her swimwear. The 7.5 inch-tall mechanical bronze sculpture is softly patinated in several delicate shades. The curtains are a greenish gold and the drapery framing the top edge of the chair is a pale rose. The bare bather's hair, styled in a wavy chignon, and her bathing slippers, tied at the ankle, have a pinkish-gold patina, while her body is a soft gold. She sits on a reddish cushion with golden trim.

The back base of the chair is stamped "Austria" and incised "C. Thenn gesetzlich geschutzt." "C. Thenn" was one of the names used by the Austrian sculptor Carl Kauba. Born in Vienna in 1865, Kauba studied both at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and in Paris. His bronzes are renown for their intricate and realistic detail and the skilled application of multiple colors of patina. He is best known for his images of the American West (although there is some dispute whether he ever actually traveled to America or was simply inspired by the Wild West fantasies of German author Karl May) and his naughty novelty sculptures which went from innocent to improper by pressing a hidden button or lever. "Gesetzlich geschutzt," means that patent rights have been granted and registered for the design.

 

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). 

I recently acquired an original Hertwig and Company catalog from the 1920s to 30s.  I plan to post the entire catalog on this blog, but at some 50 pages, it may take a while. 

Yet Another Toothpick Tootsie

Another member of the toothsome toothpick tootsies topknot troupe, this black-stockinged belle perches by a bisque basket that once held toothpicks or matches. This frisky figurine is 3.5 inches tall and incised "6626" under the basket. Nicely modeled for her small size, although she resembles some of the bawdy belles by the German firm of Schafer and Vater, this tootsie and her toothsome sisters are by an unknown German manufacturer. 

 

Picture Perfect

This 1951 Christmas card opens to reveal not your typical holiday theme of snowmen and decorated evergreens. . . 

. . . but a scene of a bearded man in a striped old-fashioned bathing suit photographing three Galluba and Hofmann bathing beauties posing on a rocky shore.

The card is by famed British photographer Angus McBean. Beginning in 1936, almost every year McBean created his own clever holiday cards, using both his skills both as a photographer and theatrical designer to create surrealistic black and white scenes.

Born in South Wales in 1904, McBean grew up fascinated by film and theatre, purchasing his first camera at the age of 15.  He began his theatrical career in 1932, building scenery and props. In 1936, McBean took the production photographs for Ivor Novello’s play, “The Happy Hypocrite.” The photographs caught the eye of society photographer Hugh Cecil, who took McBean on as an assistant.  Eighteen months later, McBean opened his own studio in London. His portraits included many of the talented and famous, from the great stars of the British theater to Agatha Christie, Laurence Olivier, and the Beatles.  McBean died in 1990, on the night of his 86th birthday. 

Another of McBean's works has appeared on this blog, in this 1983 advertisement for Nina Ricci.

However, the inspiration for the ad appears to be the black and white photomontage that appeared in McBean's 1982 Christmas card, which featured a mini-McBean sharing tea with the ladies as a larger McBean lifted the glass dome. The same seated trio of lovely ladies also starred in his 1956 card, which featured McBean, as a dapper Edwardian dandy, joining them for tea on the deck of the S.S Angus.

McBean apparently had quite a collection, as in his 1983 Christmas card, he appears reading a book (perhaps a bedtime story?) to an entire harem of nubile nudes and lace-clad bathing belles.

Shell Game

Any collector would be a winner with this shell-decorated box topped by two nubile bisque nudes. Although it has become common to refer to any antique shell-adorned box as a "sailor's valentine," the term should properly apply to the intricate and colorful shell creations housed in hinged boxes and produced in Barbados to sell to sailors during the 1800s. However, during the Victorian period it was fashionable for ladies of leisure to engage in shell craft, adorning boxes and other items with tiny shells painstakingly dipped in wax or glue and arranged in elaborate designs. The hobby was so popular that it was possible to purchase patterns and packets of presorted shells. An offshoot of the craze for shell-bedecked knick-knacks was a cottage industry in creating shell-encrusted souvenirs to be peddled at popular tourist resorts along the coasts of England and France. Wood boxes covered in paper, often in whimsical shapes, were decorated with sea shells, typically locally collected. While the sea shells were not as colorful and the patterns not as intricate as those produced in Barbados or Victorian parlors, the boxes were unusual and inexpensive souvenirs of a sea-side sojourn. Often a bisque figurine, a chromolithographed scrap, or other item was included to add color and interest. The two bare bisque bathing belles on this box certainly add both!

Both beauties are each around 4 inches long. It is not possible without detaching them to look for marks, but they appear to be part of a series by William Goebel of lovely ladies clad only in a ribbon tied around their high-piled tresses. 

The box itself is about 8.25 inches long and 4 inches high, not including the sizable shells covering the lid. It is made of thin wood covered in red paper. The interior is lined in faded red fabric and features a mirror edged in red cord.