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Hattie Carnegie Jockey Bugler figurine, what is it? Trophy, Display, promo, vanity trinket ?

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    Posted 8 years ago

    Shalalagirl
    (2 items)

    This is a miniature hand painted metal figure of a man, horn or bugle in hand, dressed in possibly a jockey uniform, or maybe a car racer, standing on a gold colored, concave, round brushed metal base with a smooth indentation that might be part of the manufacturing process or where something fit into it..

    Signed Hattie Carnegie on an oval, on bottom. I think that part of it, maybe the actual man, might be lead, as it is very heavy for its size. Is this a promotional item from her Spectator Sports line? Was it part of a collection?
    Size: 2 3/8 in tall, 1 7/8 in across round bottom.

    I have searched through literally thousands of images online, did many online searches, and read many articles about Hattie Carnegie, but cannot find another figurine like this one. Also, I cannot figure out its purpose.

    The mans shirt is yellow, has dark purple decor, like large purple dots, the hat has the same dark purple color, same with belt, his pants are off white.

    At first, I could not make out the name on the bottom due to how close the top of the letters of the name Hattie are to the edge of the oval, and had never heard of Hattie Carnegie. I started searching for toy soldiers, even though he's not an actual soldier, thinking it might be a British model soldier for display.

    I took photos, close up of the signature on bottom, but still could not make out the first name. So, after typing in many searches with the Carnegie name and item description, I finally came across Hattie, and realized the brand.

    But I have had no luck finding another one like this. I know that she made other items than just costume jewelry, like ring holders and dishes, but this is just too small.

    I read that Hattie came out with a more affordable clothing and jewelry line, after the depression, called, "Spectator Sports", and that she made hats for the horse races, too. So maybe this has something to do with the Spectator Sports line, but what is it? Is it just for decor, was it a part of one of her hat designs, or what? I know that she also made some very heavy adornments for hats, and some huge buttons, but this just doesn't seem like that's what it is for. I also read that her company did promotions for automobiles.

    From what I've read online about the styles of her signatures, this signature isn't the earliest one, but I believe it is before her trademark, so maybe from about the 1940s.

    I just can't believe I haven't been able to find another piece like it. Maybe if there are others around, the owners were like me, doing searches for toy lead soldiers or for the more decorative and collectible British model soldiers.
    But, I also learned a lot about collections of toy soldiers, and could not find anything even similar to this, especially it's base.

    I guess that there came a point in time when parents did not want their children playing with toy soldiers due to the fact they are about fighting and shooting guns, so a lot of the companies that made toy soldiers started making little figures of sportsman so that it was more socially acceptable, and that timeline is about the same as when this was made. So I wonder if Hattie's company followed suit with the collectible figurines - but I do not believe this is a toy, maybe it's a little collectible piece, that maybe came as a set, for the women to buy as a trinket gift for their husbands while shopping at Hattie store. This is just a guess.

    I think it might be extremely rare. If anyone has seen another one of these figures, or has any information or guesses to what it might be for, please let me know. Thank You all very much.

    Update:
    I still don't know exactly what this figurine is, but have found some info that might help me figure it out. Hattie Carnegie made a lot of promotional and gift items that are very rare.

    Could this be a bottle stopper, without the cork? It kooks similar to other vintage figural bottle stoppers. Helen, the archivist for the international perfume bottle association, researched this and came up with no matches. She thought it might be part of a display.
    Hattie also published a yearly holiday catalog that included gifts for men and other items not available in her shops.

    One promotional item i found online was for the Automobile Association - it was one of her perfumes, A Go Go, that included a small metal funnel trinket. Could my item be an auto ornament - there's no screw though.

    So maybe this miniature jockey was a trinket or gift. I still do not know why it hss a hole in the bottom, maybe it's the way it was manufactured, or maybe it fit onto something, like maybe it is a trophy topper. It looks very much like a chess piece or miniature trophy.

    Also, i still can't figure out the bugle - is the man a jockey, or a race starter? Any info on this item would be greatly appreciated.

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    Comments

    1. PhilDMorris PhilDMorris, 8 years ago
      You have to take into the equation that the internet is relatively new and so much information has been omitted and so much bogus info online also on the net. I go to books if I find nothing online as most people should. Sometimes there is a wealth of info in books, just a well meant suggestion and don't feel bad about not finding something right away on the net. Also sometimes the reverse is true also about books.
    2. lentilka11, 8 years ago
      awesome! Hope you will find out
    3. Shalalagirl Shalalagirl, 8 years ago
      To All: Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.
      To PhilDMorris: You are correct, I agree. Plus, as with all collectibles, a very small percentage actually get posted online. I had thought about looking at advertisements and books, too. Once, i found an exact match to a victorian pickle jar in a photo taken at an antique store.
    4. SEAN68 SEAN68, 8 years ago
      I have to agree with Phil ... books are a great wealth of info . and even past auction books from auction houses are great as well with info. good luck and great find!!!
    5. Shalalagirl Shalalagirl, 8 years ago
      To SEAN68,
      Thanks for the tip about auction books - i had not thought about that.
    6. Shalalagirl Shalalagirl, 8 years ago
      New information to add:
      I found out that the makers mark might be one of her earliest marks, so this figurine might be earlier than the 1950s, maybe frim 1930s.

      Plus, i looked up vintage jockey uniforms, and the uniform this Hattie Carnegie piece has is very much like a jockey, colors and all.
      Thanks.
    7. Shalalagirl Shalalagirl, 8 years ago
      I added some new info to the bottom of this post - about rare promotional and gift items that Hattie produced. For anyone intetested, there's a list of these items on the website about Hattie, about halfway down the page, before and after the photos of the reading glasses, here:
      http://hattie-carnegie.info/faqs.html

    8. Shalalagirl Shalalagirl, 8 years ago
      I am currently wondering if this is a trophy topper, being that the bottom has a concave design, and a smooth shallow hole. But, was it part of a promotional set? I found out that Hattie had some type of connection with the Jergens company, that mage a mens perfume called Jockey, or something like that at the time. What do you all think about this?

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