The Original Beach Jams

With the summer season is passing, and many of us saying goodbye to sunny days spent on the beach, I thought I would take a look at sea-side resort wear in times past. This lithe long-legged lass wears her original one-piece beach beach pajamas, with wide flared legs and a sleeveless top. In the mid-1920s, pajamas came out of the boudoir to becoming elegant lounge, resort, and even evening wear. Such pajama sets consisted of a top and wide-legged pants, often with a matching jacket. By the 1930s, beach pajamas evolved into a one-piece jumpsuit, usually with a sleeveless or halter top and accessorized with a broad brimmed sun hat. Of fine precolored bisque, this 3.5 inch tall and long bathing belle is loop jointed at her hips and shoulders, and her elongated legs are molded to allow her to cross her legs. Her very slender body is molded in seated position with flat bottom. The 7 inch tall domed wicker beach chair has "Ostseebad Henkenhagen" written in partially obscured ink on the front bottom edge. Henkenhagen was originally a German seaside resort on the Baltic Sea, but it is now part of Poland; renamed Ustronie Morskie in 1945, its sandy beach is still a popular destination.

This picture from a 1930s Hertwig and Company catalogue displays the same slender siren, showing she was originally sold with a sun hat.

Here is her sister from the catalogue. Her beach pajamas have been lost to time, allowing us to see how she was modeled. In all my years of collecting, I have come across only these two jointed bathing beauties, suggesting that very few were made. And looking at their extremely thin and long arms and legs, many of these ladies were probably broken and discarded over the decades. She is incised "7815" on her lower back, matching the number in the catalogue, and is 3.25 inches tall when seated.

This picture shows the ladies' oddly elongated pates. The ever-thrifty Hertwig found a simple way to create the sunhats, modeling the heads so that the crown of the head did double duty as the crown of each hat. The hat itself was a simple circle of material, with the center cut out to fit over the top of the head. The raven-haired beauty has the top of her head painted green, and her blond companion retains traces of green on hers.

In 1932, American tennis champion Alice Marble caused considerable consternation when she appeared for a tennis match wearing white shorts. By the mid-1930s, shorts were becoming acceptable resort wear for fashionable females, and the one-piece beach pajamas began appearing with truncated legs. This china charmer models such a set. She is 3.5 inches high and is incised "19+34" on bottom, with "Germany" in raised letters.

A Calender Girl, from 1913

In addition to collecting antique German bathing beauty figurines and related items, I also have a small collection of antique and vintage memorabilia of Austin, Texas, my hometown. So this charming calender from 1913 is a "two-fer," as it not only pictures a beautiful bathing belle, but was also issued by Nixon-Clay Commercial College of Austin.

Glasperlen and Flittergold

The German bisque companies who produced bathing beauties were always experimenting with decorative techniques which would make their products stand out from those of their many competitors.
This lovely lady has a bathing suit and hat decorated with glasperlen, also known as coralene. Hundreds of tiny glass beads were used to cover her sunhat and bathing suit, giving them a glow. Unfortunately, while such ornaments were attractive, they tended to be unstable, as the minuscule glass beads had only a tenuous hold on the underlying bisque or china. Even factory fresh items were often missing small patches, and in her travels over the decades, many of this bathing belle's glittering glasperlen have rubbed away and rolled off. However, even without such adornment, this beautiful bisque belle exudes a glow of her own. Of excellent pale bisque, with fine realistic expression and modeling, this laughing lady is 2.5 inches tall and 6 inches long. She is unmarked, but certainly is of the finest German quality.

Also once covered in coralene, this flirtatious flapper is 4.75 inches long, and 1.75 inches high. Of fine precolored bisque, she is probably by the German firm of Hertwig and Company. There are no visible marks.

Hertwig experimented with a number of decorative techniques, and this dainty dancer from this factory has her fashionable outfit covered in golden glitter, which Hertwig referred to in its catalogues as "flittergold." She is six inches tall and stands against a small vase.

It takes two to tango, and these elegant Edwardians dance the night away in gowns covered in glittering flittergold. Although Hertwig pictures a similar pair in its catalogues, I do not think these dancing damsels are by this company. Of good bisque and 5.25 inches tall, this figurine is incised “Germany 8918.”

Exquisite Ivory Nude

I admit she is not German, not bisque, and not really a bathing beauty, but she is exquisitely lovely, and she is nude. Found in my favorite thrift shop, Next to New, this ivory bust portrays a voluptuous bare beauty emerging from a lotus.

The ivory bust is 3.5 inches tall and the wooden pedestal, which I think may be rosewood, is 3.25 inches tall. There are a few chips to the lower flower petals in the front, but, frankly, who is looking at the petals! After doing some research, I believe this stunning ivory sculpture is East Indian. I wonder if she represents the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi, who is often portrayed as sitting on or emerging from a giant lotus. Lakshmi is considered the the embodiment of beauty and grace, and this buxom belle is certainly that!

Creating a Powder Dish Puff

There are many fantastic figural powder dishes where a fluffy swansdown powder puff once formed a full fuzzy tutu for a lovely half doll as she posed in the powder. Unfortunately, over the decades, often the powder dish, the half doll, and the powder puff itself went separate ways. And while it is possible to find a suitable half doll for a base, finding the proper puff is much harder. Old swansdown puffs are scarce, expensive, and fragile and new down puffs are pricey. Plus these puffs really don't form a secure base for a valuable half doll. I have discovered an inexpensive way to both replicate the original feathery puff and securely display the half doll.

You will need wood glue, white craft glue, and a sharp craft knife. At your local craft store, buy a round wooden wheel, a round wooden dowel that will fit securely into the hole in the wheel's center, and a feather marabou boa in a color that will match your dish.

Place the dowel as high as possible inside the half doll. Slide the wheel over the dowel until it meets the base of the half doll. Mark where the dowel exits the wheel, and then cut the dowel so that it is flush with the bottom of the wheel.

Glue the dowel and base together with the wood glue and let it set. Once the glue has set, spread a layer of craft glue on top of the wheel at the base of the dowel.

Knot the end of the boa and slide it over the dowel, pushing it down on the glue. Once this has set, apply a line of craft glue around the rim of wheel, and wind the boa around the wheel, pushing it against the glue. After this dries, run a line of the glue around this marabou edge and wind more marabou around the base. Continue gluing and winding the marabou until you have a puff large enough to fit into the powder dish.

Place the finished feathery base into the dish and slide the half doll over the dowel. For more security, stick a dab of Museum Gel or glass wax under the wooden center of the base. This wonderful Pierotte powder dish is probably by the German firm of Fasold and Stauch. The powder dish is as big as it is beautiful. The base alone is 5.25 inches tall.  The amber-eyed flapper is by Carl Schneider and is 4 inches tall from her base to the top of her black bobbed hair. The only mark on the base is a faint number that appears to read 10287. The half doll is incised on the back of her base with a partically obscured five-digit number that begins 170.

Another example, in this case using black marabou. The 4.5 inch tall base is marked only France and may be from Henri Delcourt. The haughty half doll is 5 inches tall and incised 22489. She may be by the German company of Sitzendorf Porcelain, who used a 22000 series on some of its half dolls.

Pretty as a Pochoir; French Costumes Pour Le Bain

In 1912 in Paris France, two luxury magazines were born, the Journal des Dames et des Modes and the Gazette du Bon Ton. These magazines were aimed at a wealthy, educated, urban, sophisticated, and fashionable clientele. They included stories, travel articles, and poetry, but their focus was on fashion. The magazines were very exclusive and printed in limited quantities. They were brilliantly illustrated by many of the finest Art Deco artists of the period and were not bound, but instead were folders containing original hand-colored prints known as pochoirs. The pochoir print was created by using a series of stencils for applying each different color. Multiple stencils created jewel-like colors and delicate shading. The Journal existed for only two years, but the Gazette was printed, with a break during WWI, from 1912 to 1925.

The elegant illustrations usually featured slim, wealthy, and aristocratic women dressed in the latest luxurious and expensive couture fashions of the day, posed with only the most chic and stylish accessories. Among these fabulous fashion plates there are only a few showing the bathing suits of the period. This early pochoir is by George Barbier, one of the most famous and sought after illustrators of this period. He produced works for both the Journal and Gazette. Entitled Costume de bain, the pochoir is dated 1913 and comes from the short-lived Journal.

Also from 1913, this pochoir, by Pierre Brissaud, is from the June issue of the Gazette. The title translates as "Let's go! Courage!"

This 1921 pochoir is also from the Gazette. By Martin, this stylized study in black and purple is entitled "The Swimming Lesson."

Getting Crabby

Cancer the Crab is the zodiac sign for those born from June 22nd to July 23rd. So this month's theme provides something to crab about.

Talk about fresh seafood! This china powder box features an astonished bathing beauty and an overly friendly crustacean. Six inches tall, it is incised underneath with the Sitzendorf crown and “23908.”

Another sea side sunbather and a sulky shellfish. This is a "nipper," a novelty bottle that once held a "nip" of alcohol. By the German firm of Schafer and Vater, this bisque bottle is incised “3876” on the back of base and is 4.5 inches tall.

This nude nymph tries to ward off a tiny crab crawling up her lithe leg. Incised “15223” and “Germany," this panicked pincushion is 4 inches long.