Royal Doulton started producing animal figurines in the late 1880s and today they are as popular and as collectable as ever.
The craze for collecting china animals really took off in Victorian England. The Victorians were extremely fond of animals and loved to decorate their home with pretty things and ceramic companies were soon supplying them with all kind of ornaments. Initially, Doulton produced basics, like drainpipes and stoneware jars, but by as early as 1880 they employed specialist modellers to produce animal figurines.
Ornaments
The first animals to be made by Doulton in their Lambeth Studio in the late 19th century were modelled by George Tinworth. He produced water birds and marine creatures as well as his famous small frog and mice scenes and they were made from salt glaze stoneware. George Tinworth delighted in portraying the animals in amusing pursuits. His frogs would be engaged in riding penny fathings, rowing boats and playing cricket, while his mice would paint, dabble in photography and drink tea. These figurines are now much sought after and virtually impossible to find on the second hand market. They do come up at auction occasionally and prices vary, depending on rarity. They would be anywhere between £600 and in excess of £2,000.
Another modeller at Lambeth was Harry Simeon. He specialised in birds sitting on the edge of small trays, as well as groups of mice. These date from the 1920s and are easier to find than the 1880s mice and frogs by Tinworth. If you are lucky enough to find one of the trays with a bird perched on it, expect to pay £200-300. The stoneware market has done very well in the world of collectables and you can make money here.
Lambeth Studios stopped making stonware when World War Two started. The Doulton Burslem studio was founded in 1877 and they were soon producing jugs and vases with animals on them. It wasn't until 1908 that free standing animals were produced. They were modelled by Charles Noke, who modelled four figures; The Frog, Three Finches; Mouse on a Cube and Lop-eared Rabbit. These were in a new flambé glaze and by 1912 the company had over sixty animals in their flambé range.
After the success of these pieces, the models were re-produced and painted in realistic colours. From 1910 onwards, pattern numbers were introduced and the animals were numbered, starting with the letters HN. Dogs, foxes, birds and rabbits were particularly popular. Early pieces in the HN series are very popular, especially 'Rabbit in Morning Dress' and 'Pedlar Wolf', both were produced from 1913-1938. These are only occasionally seen at specialist auctions and would fetch from £1,500 upwards. A very rare piece is 'Fox in Hunting Dress' - this was made from 1913-1942 and would fetch between £800 and £1,000. While we don't know how many of each HN piece was produced, it is obvious that some have been produced in much larger numbers than others. If you look at old Doulton catalogues you will spot pieces that are simply never seen at auctions. All the early HN pieces will fetch good prices, anything from £200 to £1,000.
Pieces produced between 1930 and 1970 are more affordable, and while there are many pieces of each on the market, it is often difficult to find a figurine in mint condition. If you want to start collecting Doulton animals you might try the Doulton dogs, modelled in the 1930s by animals sculptor Frederick Daws. He was asked to model a series of championship dogs, mostly in the traditional show stance. Daws used to go to the kennels to observe the dogs and this resulted in wonderful realistic figurines. HN1014 'Rough Haired Terrier - Crackley Starter' is reasonably rare and you could probably get him for around £100-£120.
If you have a small budget you might try the later HN figurines that were produced in the 1940s, such as Character Kittens, Character Dogs and Terriers and Spaniels in baskets. Their price is currently depressed and you could get one for around £30-£40. The prices are bound to go up again in the future. The same applies to the K series - these are small models of dogs, birds and hares. They were first made in 1931 and stayed in production until 1977.
As the popularity of the Doulton figurines increased, so did their workforce. Peggy Davies joined in 1939 and she initially worked on the animal series and model kittens, piglets and the K series penguins. New pieces were not commissioned until 1972 and Robert Jefferson, who had previously worked for Poole, produced large animals and birds, especially otters and seabirds.
There was a big change in 1985, when all the HN and K series of animals were discontinued. New design manager Graham Tongue and a whole new set of modellers were now working at the John Beswick studios, among others Amanda Hughes-Lubeck, Warren Platt and Martyn Alcock. They modelled cattle, horses, dogs, cats, pigs and sheep.
The Beswick factory closed in 2003 and much of the Royal Doulton production was moved overseas, because it was no longer commercially viable to produce everything in the UK. Nowadays most Royal Doulton pieces are made abroad and then shipped back to the UK to be decorated. Many of the old models have been re-introduced and can be bought in the shops once again. These include a selection of small birds originally produced at the Beswick studios and a number of the HN series of dogs. Because of modern production costs they are quite expensive and often an original 1950s piece can be had at a cheaper price, with the additional bonus that they were made in the UK.
Royal Doulton animals remain very popular with collectors and while some areas of the market are down, now would be a good time to buy if you have an eye for a profit.
Collecting Royal Doulton Animals
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