Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms. #462  has an original hairdo and headdress every bit as extraordinary and exquisite as the lady herself.  By the firm of Galluba and Hofmann, this fantastic bisque fashion lady is 8.25 inches high and incised underneath “408 B.”  Now wearing only her molded underwear, at one point she must have been dressed in a silk and lace outfit as elaborate as her hair and hat! 

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms. #461 is another all original bathing beauty by Galluba and Hofmann.  Of the finest bisque, modeling and decoration, she is 6 inches long and strikes a less common pose.   There are no visible marks. 

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms. #460 offers about everything a collector would want.  She is by Galluba and Hofmann, one of the finest German manufacturers, and is of the most extraordinary bisque and modeling.   Not only is she a scarce and unusual pose, she is one big bisque beauty, at 9.5 inches long.  And if that wasn't enough, she is all original, from her brown mohair wig to her light blue silk net bathing suit and cap with pink ribbon straps.   She even has her original cardboard inventory tag tied with black string to her upper arm.  Written in ink on one side of the tag is “8/-” and on the other “No. 60/1423k.” 

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms. #458 balances on one knee as she stares intently at the golden ball held in her right hand.  The art deco period produced an entire genre of slim athletic nudes balancing balls as they danced, so  perhaps she is in the midst of a dance routine.  Her complex pose required multiple molds and she is of excellent bisque.  By William Goebel, this belle of the ball is 4 inches tall and is incised “i746” under her right thigh.  Her molded dark pink pumps are edged in yellow; trimming molded shoes with contrasting colors was a typical Goebel technique.  She retains her original, although disheveled, blonde mohair wig.  Goebel wigs were often little more than a hank of mohair wrapped around the head and held in place at the sides with small decorative pins and they tend to unravel over time.

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms. #456 kneels in a colorful belted bathing suit of the type found in the late 1920s to the 1930s.  Although simply molded, she is beautifully modeled and decorated.  Of excellent bisque, she is 3.5 inches tall and is incised “Germany 8054” across her buttocks.  

Where the (Beach) Boys Are

One question I am often asked is whether there are male bathing beauties, probably better referred to as beach boys.  Yes, there are, but they are far, far outnumbered by their female counterparts. Most beach boys are comic figurines, as is demonstrated by this piece by Schafer and Vater.  Incised with Schafer's crowned sunburst and "9593," as well as stamped "Made in Germany," this buffoonish bather is 4.5 inches tall.

Another comic figurine, this one is a nodder, and the man's head bobs up and down.  He has a wonderful character face and his large hands and feet are beautifully detailed.  He is incised "9273" on the back of his head and on the back bottom edge of his robe.  Of excellent sharp bisque, he is 6 inches tall.

Not all beach boys are comic.  This handsome hunk by Hertwig and Company relaxes on the beach with a book, showing he has both brains and brawn.  Of good china, he is stamped "Germany" and incised "544."  He is 3.75 inches long.

 

I NEED A MAN.  More specifically, I need one of these guys. . . . 

This page from a 1990 Theriault's auction catalogue features two of the elusive beach boys made by Galluba and Hofmann.  

You can see one of the Galluba guys in this company catalogue page on the second row to the far left.  Every collector has that one piece he or she feels in necessary to complete his collection, and for me, it would be an example of one of these male bathers.  Someday my prince, or least a Galluba beach boy, will come (I hope).  If anyone out there knows where one of these bisque bathing bachelors is available, let me know.  I have a harem of lovely ladies who will welcome him. 

Bathing Beauty of the Week

 

Ms. #455 looks lovely as she luxuriates in her ruffle-edged bathtub.  Her sultry face is beautifully painted and her graceful hands are delicately modeled. 

 

Her bisque bath is actually a box and when the lid is lifted off, underneath is a completely different view of this literal bathing beauty.  This naughty novelty is 4 inches long and 3.5 inches tall  There appears to be "42" incised under the lid by her bare bottom.

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms. #454 is a very voluptuous bisque beauty in black stockings.  She perches on the edge of a jasperware basket which may have once held matches or toothpicks.  Of the finest bisque, modeling,  and decoration, this luscious lass is 6.75 inches  Although she resembles similar ladies by Schafer and Vater, I think she is from another German maker.  She is unmarked except for a freehand brown “6” on bottom of base. 

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms.  #488 is undoubtedly the sister of Ms. #453, last week's featured bathing beauty.  While Ms. #453 was lovely in lavender, Ms. #488 is pretty in pink.  She sits on a settee, cuddling her kitty cat.  The detailing is delightful, even to the "fur" throw over the arm of the little loveseat,  Also unmarked, but of fine German quality,  this charmer and her cat are 2.75 inches long and 3.75 inches tall. Like her sister, her gown is trimmed with applied porcelain lace,

A Flurry of Fairies

This pretty pixie is pictured in my second book on page 132.  Her slender body has subtle curves and she is 3.5 inches long.  Of good bisque and delicately decorated, she is unmarked.  There is a small hole between her pastel wings, allowing her to "fly" from a bit of string.

Another shapely sprite, this one molded to kneel on the edge of a shelf.  She is obviously from the same supernatural series, which I attribute to Hertwig and Company.  

This little fairy is marked "Germany" in a circle on her extended foot.  Of the same good bisque and decoration, she is 3.5 inches long.

Also marked "Germany" in a circle, this unfortunate fairy must have fluttered into a spiderweb, because she has lost one of her gossamer wings.  However, these nude nubile nixies are so scarce, even missing a wing she is still collectible.  She is 2 inches high.

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms.  #453, lovely in lavender, lounges on a little loveseat, joined by a feline companion.   I am not sure what she is holding up against her head; perhaps it is an icepack, soothing the result of too much partying on New Year's Eve.  Of good quality bisque and finely detailed and decorated,  this pretty miss and her pussycat are 3 inches long and high.  Her flowing gown is edged with applied porcelain lace.  There are no marks, but this piece is of fine German quality.

Bathing Beauties of the Week

This quartet of china curvaceous cuties is by William Goebel.   These are diminutive damsels, as the one sitting the yellow hooded “wicker chair” is only 2.5 inches high.  She also is the only one that is marked, as underneath  the chair is incised  with William Goebel's intertwined “G” and “W” under crown and what appears to be “P.O.” over “641.” 

Making an Ass of Himself

This comic bisque pin dish by Schafer and Vater features a very voluptuous bathing belle being held by a rather flustered beau.  The caption, " I Never Felt Such an Ass in All My Life," is a double entendre, as can be read as meaning either that the man is feeling foolish or his female friend's ample hindquarters.

And here is the postcard that inspired the pin dish.  The artist is Donald Fraser Gould McGill (1875 – 1962), an English graphic artist renown for his naughty postcards, which often featured double entendres and saucy sight gags.  Many of his postcards portrayed seaside scenes and were sold as souvenirs at British beach resorts.   

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms.  #450 is an unusual bathing beauty and a bit of a mystery.   Unmarked, she is 5.5 inches high and wears a mohair wig.  Although she clearly meant to be standing,  there are no holes in the soles of her feet for supporting rods.  Perhaps she was once attached to a bisque base with plaster or glue.   She is of excellent bisque and is beautifully modeled. 

Bathing Beauty (?!) of the Week

This week features a naughty novelty rather than a bathing belle.  Mr. #448 is a clown who appears to have misplaced his seltzer bottle or squirting flower and is substituting a more personal appendage.  Incised "649" on his buttocks, this bisque buffoon is 3.25 inches high.  There is a lip around his molded orange-brown cap that once held  a rubber bulb, and when he was filled with water and the bulb squeezed, a stream of water came out of the appropriate orifice.   

Delightful Dancing Damsel by A.W. Fr. Kister

This gorgeous dancing girl is by my favorite maker, A.W. Fr. Kister.  She is 8 inches tall and is of the superb bisque and workmanship typical of Kister. 

Her modeling is magnificent, from her graceful hands to her long lithe legs clad in molded white stockings.  She wears a replacement mohair wig and I added the frilled tiny pink and blue tutu (which matches her shoes), transforming her into an exquisite entertainer on stage at some elegant carbaret or nightclub.  I wonder how she was originally dressed!

Underneath the base she is incised with the crosshatched "S" mark of A.W. Fr. Kister and "3" over "12040."

Bathing Beauty of the Week

Ms. #447 is a mischievous maiden, tugging down the front of her bathing suit to expose one round breast.  There is a molded lip atop her bathing cap and it once held a rubber bulb; when she was filled with water and the bulb squeezed, water sprayed from her bare breast.   She is quite nicely modeled for this type of naughty novelty.  Of good bisque and decoration, she is 3.5 inches long and is incised "7403" across her upper back. 

Bubbly Belles

This is the time of the year of popping corks and crystal glasses filled with golden champagne and sparkling wine.  These two bisque beauties appear to bubble with glee and goodwill as they raise their glasses filled with their favorite sparkling beverage.

 

 Her voluptuous form barely contained by her fanciful outfit, this lovely lass leans against a giant champagne cork as she prepares to pour some wine.  Of excellent sharp bisque, she is 5 inches long and 3 inches high.

The cork, of green precolored bisque, is open at the top to hold matches or toothpicks.  On the back is incised "Kaiser Sect Kloss u Forster."  The wine house Kloss and Foerster was founded by Moritz and Julius Kloss and Carl Foerster in Freyburg, Germany in 1856.  "Kaiser Sect" may refer to the fact that Kaiser Wilhelm II was said to be fond of the firm's sparkling wine, known as "Sekt."

No doubt by the same maker and from the same series, this buxom belle briefly clad in blue shows off her shapely legs in bright yellow stockings.  At first I thought she was holding a folded fan in her  raised left hand, but closer inspection shows that it is champagne flute overflowing with foam.  She is  4.25 inches wide and 4 inches tall.  The front of her cork is incised "Henkell Trocken," another German wine company, founded in 1856, known for its sparkling wine.  I wonder if these pieces were produced specifically as advertisements for these wine firms, or just simply acknowledge the popularity of these bubbling beverages.

Bathing Beauty of the Week

 

Ms. #446 is sweet and petite.  Just 2.5 inches long,  she is nicely modeled from good bisque  with delicate arms and legs free from her body.  She has an old, and possibly original,  blonde mohair wig and  ecru lace dress with a yellow ribbon sash and matching ecru lace panties.  There are no visible marks. 

Heart-Breaker by the Breakers

This funny Valentine featuring a big-eyed bathing beauty was printed by George S. Carrington Greeting Card Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois, probably in the 1920s.  

 

 Seven inches tall, the flapper bathing belle's head swings back and forth on a small metal brad, allowing her to make big bright googly eyes to admirers on both sides.   The caption reads "Oh, You Heart-Breaker."

 

This is a pair of canvas bathing shoes from the same period, similar to those donned by the Valentine bather above.  They are as narrow as they look; they fit my AAAA feet just fine, but are probably too small for most of today's beach-goers.