Rajasthan fort figures

On the way back from Norfolk last year we stopped off at Stow in the Wold, and stumbled on this series of Indian plaster figures at a small antique shop. Battered and bruised and missing limbs they werent too expensive. We were told they were Rajasthan fort figures. Despite a year long effort to find out more, we are still none the wiser. So here they are presented as is. Hope you like them!

English family game counters

 

Another unknown conundrum Im looking for help with. This small set of seven tokens turned up last month at a favourite charity shop. I think they must be from a game and are used as counters. They dont appear to have much age to them, but they do have some charm. It looks as if they represent four generations of one family; Great grandparents, grandparents, mother and father, and one son. They only measure 35mm and have no markings, as far as I can see.

 Hopefully some bright spark will be able to help. I look forward to hearing from you.......

Pull along Russian cat

Here's something a little bit visually different from what we usually post, but too nice not to share. This gem of a find came from a recent trip to London, on a horrible wet and drizzly Sunday. We were not optimistic that anything would be on given the weather, but we stumbled upon a car boot near Elstree. Amongst an interesting hoard of house clearance items we unearthed this little treasure. The cat itself is wooden, but has a painted jesso surface. The base is roughly 6 X 4", and in total she stands 8.5" tall.

She sits on a wooden base, with wheels that roll along. On the base is a rather ornate gold label in Russian, but sadly Ive no knowledge of Russian and  can make no headway with what it says. Below is a close up of the label in case anyone can unravel the cats history.

Interestingly the stick (looks like a ice cream stick) on the base appears to move what looks like bellows, that sit under the base.  Whether the cat had some kind of musical movement at some point is  a mystery.

We come in peace!

Absolutely superb and really rather strange, 4.5" pink plastic female figure that Im lead to believe was made by Letraset, of rub down transfer fame. I'm still to be convinced.......

Apparently you were given sheets of colour that you rubbed down on to the figure (in this case her jumper). Unfortunately I cant find anymore to corroborate this story, but she does remind me of the rather awkward looking girl on the front of the Human League Being Boiled 7" cover, that I do know was taken from a Letraset catalogue.

Small plastic Giraffe seeks wheels!

Rather nice, seated Giraffe made from a soft rubbery plastic. My guess is he came with a car. He stands 35mm small, but with no makers mark, I haven't got a clue who the fella is!

Wooden russian sledge couple

Another holiday souvenir saved from car boot oblivion. This time from Moscow!

So many people go abroad, and want to bring something back as a memento, but overtime memories of the holiday fade and the objects loose their meaning. Sadder still, people die and family and friends have no knowledge of the objects significance.

This delightful couple are dated on the bottom, 1972. Theres a whole load more written on the base, but sadly I cant read russian or decipher cyrillic ! However on the off chance, theres some clever soul out there who can, Ive posted the label below!

Who are you?

Amongst the many discarded photos I have, some of my favourites are polyphotos! Taken by a photographer and not in a photo-me booth, the photographer would take 48 different photographs, for you to choose from. You would be given a fantastic contact sheet, with small postage stamp images to choose from.

I have some of my dad, and my father in law, but the three above, have always intrigued me! Who is this man? I always hoped he would be a typesetter, or perhaps an architect. Was he European (Dutch maybe?) or was he just an office manager from Manchester?

I guess we'll never know!

2011 Cup Final post

Its that time of year again. Its Cup Final day here in England! Here to celebrate are two corner kickers from an unknown football game, maybe from the Sixties. They show a striking resemblance to the fairground game I listed back in 2009.

Im bitterly disappointed that the FA, and the Premier league couldnt work out a way for the FA Cup to be the last game of the season, and that it was the only game played in Britain today. Its criminal so many traditions and rituals are being undermined! I guess Im just a silly romantic!

Young Penguin seeks new friends!

Hot on the heels of the two lovely rabbits that turned up a while back, are these three little delightful wooden birds, with dainty wire legs.

I cant tell you a thing about them, except the stork and the red bird dont seem to be too enamoured, with their young penguin friend! It looks as if hes asked a question and they're not prepared to give him an answer. Oh dear! I wonder what the question was?

Optimistic German miner doll & wife

At last the days are getting longer, and the weather seems to be improving, Hurray!
Im sure its not a coincidence but there were certainly more stalls at Sundays boot, and as result some nice finds! The lovely couple above, turned up, which I presumed were East German. Made from lightweight plastic, they are hollow. But without a makers mark, its been difficult to find out much. The guy on the left, is indeed a German miner, but no news about the girl. Hes 6" high, while she is 5".

To anonymity and beyond?

The front and back of another unknown spaceman, that turned up on a recent trip to Cardiff

Green speech mark toy

This delightful 4.5" figure turned up in the 1p box, in my favourite local charity shop, last week. With no makers mark, he remains something of a mystery!
He reminds me of some figures , that friends brought back from holidays in Germany in the 70s, but he may be later than that! Another thought was, he was one of Noddy's friends. His green body is made from a squeezable, lightweight plastic, while his head is more robust. His funny blue hat and super speech mark eyes are the icing on the cake.

If you have any more information, or thoughts Id be delighted to hear from you!

Sad Wooden Donkey

A sad wooden donkey, who is in desperate need of a restring. Hence his weird posture! Hes beautifully made & is around 12" in length. There is no makers mark, but he could be Galt or Brio. His rubbed edges hint as his history and just add to his charm.

An old friend