Posted 9 years ago
vetraio50
(756 items)
The story behind this find relates to a family situation where my Mum has decided to sell up the family home and move into a retirement village here in Sydney.
She has been cleaning out everything!
A new stage in her life is beginning and at the age of 92 she needs some help to get the place in order prior to selling. It has meant that I have had to change my habits. Tuesdays is no longer about going out looking for new treasures! Tuesdays has become a day when I arrive at Mum's place and help her out with the clean out!
Later on I go home via a favourite shop where I am a regular.
But the early bird catches the worm .... for the last few weeks I have been too late!
But a couple of weeks ago I came across these ash trays on a shelf overlooked by everyone else until I got there after one in the afternoon.
When I took them to the register to pay, the folks at the desk had a good chuckle: "We thought no one would take them!"
I just said that they were totally to my taste for the unusual.
They were nestled in my hand - totally tactile, secured together by a piece of sellotape. Until I got on the bus to go home I had not checked them all for any faults. They were all there: six in total .... including the smallest of them all which always goes missing!
According to what is written on the net: "At the end of 1952, Walter Bosse moved from Austria, where he lived since his birth in 1904, to Western Germany. He settled in the area of Iserlohn, because creditors were chasing him and his friends and business partners were cheating him. He wanted to concentrate on his job of being an artist. This time was very productive for Bosse, and he created an entire collection of new designs in the late 1950s. During that period, the hedgehog ashtray set was born. It was a revolutionary design, and quickly became popular worldwide. He was not able to even keep up with all the international orders and looked for partners to perform the casting on his behalf. Some foundries used his moulds and masters without discretion and sold models illicitly without his knowledge. Meanwhile, many thousands of copies based on Bosse’s design were being produced and sold throughout the world. The Russian airline Aeroflot even produced a set as a gift given to their frequent flyers. Copies were made in Spain, Greece, England, Austria and Germany. Bosse knew about this, but he kept on selling his hedgehogs at the Frankfurt International Fair for many years. Interestingly enough, Bosse’s hedgehogs could have made him a millionaire: Woolworth offered Bosse a several million dollar contract for the copyright of the ashtray set but Bosse would not agree. He feared that with mass-production, the hedgehogs would lose the charm and quality of his originals."
http://www.modernviennabronze.com/walter-bosse-news/authenticating-your-walter-bosse-hedgehog-ashtrays-how-to-spot-the-differences
Dimensions of the stacked group of six:
Length: 10.5 cm or 4.1"
Height: 5.5 cm or 2.2"
This is a great you tube video of the little critters:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvR3y6aSffM&feature=share
Many thanks AGHCOLLECT & VIOLETORANGE too !!!!!!
vetraio50,
where the to dial for them many apples?
Healthcare warns ...
what a great and beautiful set!!
Many thanks for the love SERGEY !!!
I'm keeping him away from the apples .....
and fortunately I've given up the bumpers years ago !!!
Brilliant design.....looks good and feet for both nesting and stability in use!
Many thanks SEAN, KAREN, SKLO & VERBATIM too !!!!!!
Great idea!So simple but it must be an artist to hit on an idea !
You deserve him! Always see copies, never the real one. Lucky Kevin!
Joyeuse fête des Mères à votre Mom :-)
Many thanks KYRATANGO & IVONNE too !!!
Je te remercie pour les paroles aimables et les vœux !!!!
Many thanks MIKELV !!!!!
I love these Kevin :).... and what a clever design too !
Many thanks VINTAGEFRAN !!!!!
Many thanks DON !!!!!
Very cool set:)
Thanks again for your kind comments TREY !!!!!
your very welcome Kevin!!!
Many thanks SEAN, CORMORAN, WALKSOFTLY & AUSTRO ALEX too !!!!!
anytime ;)
WOW! How cool is that?!
very nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many thanks FREIHEIT & NORDICMAN too !!!!!
and he was right! looks more like an echidna!
ECHIDNA is OK by me .....
This one is far away from Europe.
The closest hedgehogs to Australia are in New Zealand .... an introduced species !!!!
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=fNwn81PAzpUC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=hedgehog+modernism&source=bl&ots=58nj2FExuJ&sig=9x0sXEcHjH3NUzHfz9HvOjTlUGg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iapsU7rtJcPgkAX-4IHACw#v=onepage&q=hedgehog%20modernism&f=false
Another one, humm, they all out, I guess this is the season for" HEDGHOG "
I love it.
Alan
Many thanks ALAN !!!!!
Many thanks JIMBOOTHFINDS !!!!!!
These are incredibly cool Vetraio! I've never seen the like... Love 'em!!
Many thanks RICK !!!!!!
Many thanks DAMMITCHRIS !!!!!
Kevin,I came across this nice hedghog,but I'm afraid it isn't a smoker :-)
http://allegro.pl/przycisk-do-papieru-jez-i5412060100.html
Many thanks IVONNE !!!!
Have you see this one of mine?
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/131547-severin-brrby--pinnsvin
This one is an awesome fella too!
So many things to say but what stands out the most is I love them they had your name on them that's for sure. I hope mum is in good help for her age & what a wonderful thing for you to do a lot wouldn't in this age & time in the scheme of the way the world is going but we are from the old school Even though I wasn't close to mum I still use to go & help her out with things such as mowing lawn etc it's what you do. I believe what goes around comes around & plenty of good things will come your way. Hope all is going well for you some crazy weather going on everywhere at the moment I feel bad for those that keep getting hit time & again. It takes a strong person to keep picking themselves up. Have a top day mate
And to you too cobber ZOWIE !!!! It's just cold down here ..... We seem to have missed the weird stuff so far !!!
Many thanks ROYCROFTBOOKSFROMME !!!!!
You have been lucky it sure has been strange down that way this year. We have had some steady rain this last week or so keep it green. Have a top day
You too ZOWIE .... haven't looked out yet but I can hear it's wet !!!!!
many thanks FLORIDAPICKER !!!!
Thank you too for all the lives I'm glad you guys like looking at all my finds !!!!
Many thanks EAPGDEPRESSION !!!!!!
Many thanks BLUNDERBUSS !!!!!
Many thanks WELZEBUB !!!!!
He's awesome! Good lookin out and great follow-up info as well. Glad you were able to find this, you do deserve it ;)
Many thanks SHAREURPASSION !!!!!!
Many thanks GETTHATMONKEYOUTOFME !!!!!!!
We are still wet up here at the moment looks as if it's set in for a few more days as long as it's gone by the 21st I have to go to Townsville & not looking forward to it but the bus ride should be enjoyable at least. It seems to rain all night then just off & on during the day so it doesn't slow things down to much. The biggest problem is we keep losing lines all the time so it gets frustrating when trying to do anything on line. One of the reasons I have been so slack
Many thanks GLUECHIP !!!!!!!!!
Love all those stories you have to tell, you get to appreciate the collectibles
much more!!!
Many thanks RADEGRUNDER !!!!!
Many thanks NORDICMAN !!!!!!
Many thanks MANIKIN !!!!!
Many thanks GARGOYLECOLLECTOR !!!!!!!
Many thanks JEWELS !!!!!!
The 1950's were certainly a period for stacked/nested ashtrays.
Many thanks for those comments FHRJR2 !!!!! We were smoking everywhere and needed multiple trays for the ashes.
Many thanks VERBATIM & TEDSTRAUB !!!!!!
Hi vet! I saw something that reminded me of you:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/240854451/antique-vintage-1940s-sterling-silver?ref=listing-shop-header-0
Hope it's still there. (I think Sean had something similar too, right?) And just to let you know, I may have something in the works for these awesome display squares. I will let you know.
Many thanks SHAREURPASSION !!!!!!!
Great pendant. What are you up to with the Perspex?
Many thanks CAPERKID & PETEY !!!!!
Many thanks DEANO !!!!!!!
Many thanks MELIG !!!!!!
Many thanks INDROZDENKO !!!!!
It should be mentioned that walter bosse was betrayed by several companies who didn't paid the money the own him. For example his designs for karlsruher majolika. He spent a long time in front of german courts to fight for his artists copyrights. Unfortunately fighting against big companies is very expensive and that is the reason he died as a poor man and even has been buried without a headstone. Years after some of his fans paid for a headstone for his grave and on this gravestone: the hedgehog
Many thanks GETTHATMONKEYOUTOFME !!!!!
I'd read something about how he had been cheated but had not heard about this sad tale. Thanks yet again !!!!!
This was very significant for communistic times that states from the former Eastern bloc didn't recognise copyright from other countries.
Your post confirms this abomination.
It wasn't just Aeroflot!
Sadly ,but not only them...
Many thanks TYLINNIE !!!!!!!!
Many thanks RUCKLCZGLASS !!!!!!
Many thanks CATBURGLAR !! !! !!
Many thanks NUTSABOTAS !!!!
Many thanks ANYTHINGOBSCURE !!!!!!
Many thanks AUSTRO & KERAMIKOS !,!!,!
Excellent find! This is a really nice set
Many thanks VYNIL & MODERNVIENNABRONZE !!!!!
Many thanks KWQD !!!!!
Many thanks GETTHATMONKEYOUTOFME & WATCHSEARCHER !.!!.!
Many thanks VCAL !!!!!
Many thanks KEVTOWNHOUSE !!!!!
Many thanks CISUM !!!!!