Daysun 1960s 'old lady' figure styled after Hans Bolling's Pessimist. See below for details and see my other examples for more variants.
By the early 1960s, a wide range of other figures based on much the same design - turned wood bodies, real fur hair, rope arms, etc - were being lumped in together with such other ornamental mascot-type figures as Danish and Finnish trolls and British Gonks.
Good condition.
International postage quoted is for USA & Australia. For Europe it would be £15. Other territories also differ. Either ask for a revised invoice if you win or pay the full amount and I'll refund any significant overpayment when I mail the item. If I occasionally forget... remind me! I do combine postage where possible.
Details:
In the mid 1950s, Danish architect and designer Hans Bølling began using a wood-turning lathe to produce small ornamental figures. In 1958, he came up with two of his most memorable and influential designs: a pair of little wooden men fashioned in minimalist style from two wooden egg-shapes apiece, one for the body, one for the head. Both were accessorised with a thatch of fur for hair, painted eyes and a small loop of rope to suggest arms with clasped hands. One was standing upright, looking upwards, had a saw-cut smile and was called the Optimist. The other was hunched over with downcast eyes and a drill-hole pout: the Pessimist.
Bolling's originals were sold via Torben Ørskov & Co in Copenhagen and have the company's name impressed into the underside of the feet. They were quickly copied by various other manufacturers. By the early 1960s, UK-based import companies Dayson and Mount Royal Merchandise aka MRM were commissioning copies from Japan and importing them to the UK.
They proved highly popular, so both companies began requesting variations on a theme: Bolling-type figures with a couple of accessories that would turn them into, say, an old lady or a sailor or a Beatle-type musician. See my other items.
This is a Daysun (there is only the glue residue from the label under the feet, but it is the Daysun label shape) old lady figure based on the Pessimist - no drill-hole pout, but a mournful expression - accessorised with a handbag and an umbrella. Dates from 1960-1965.
See my other items. I try to list vintage collectable figures and memorabilia every week or two, so if you're a collector why not add me to your saved sellers list?