|
A group of animals was made for Woolworth's and dipped in the four original Harlequin colors; maroon, spruce, blue (mauve), and Harlequin yellow. Seven were modeled, but only six went into production on October 25, 1939. The six standard animals in the order in which they were modeled are: lamb, penguin, cat, fish, duck, and donkey. A turtle was created after the donkey, but it wasn't released into production. (There are two unusual entries in the modeling log around the same time: "Indian Model" and "Indian Woman Model." Like the turtle, these are not noted as being officially made.)
The duck seems to be a copy from a set of three ducks made by another pottery in a pale green glaze with cold paint accents. The lamb looks very much like a scaled down version of a McCoy vase. In fact, all six animals may very well be copies or modified versions made by other potteries. One thing is certain, other companies had access to the same molds and produced animals that are almost identical in weight and size. The donkey and duck shown below are two such animals. They are identical in very way to HLC's versions except they are done in white. Most of the time they are found with gold accents. Authors Sharon and Bob Huxford have coined these as "Mavericks."
HLC probably produced these figures for only two or three years at the most. They were makers of dinnerware and kitchenware. Novelty items such as Harlequin animals were not the focus of their production.
In recent years, China Specialties has produced the animals in assorted glazes. They are marked with a special "Maverick Menagerie" backstamp.
|
