Tom King and Dick Turpin
This is a fine pair of Staffordshire figures of Tom King and Dick Turpin, probably originating from a theatrical production. Note the four separately moulded legs on each horse. Each figure stands about 12” tall and dates to approximately 1850.
King and Turpin, the infamous Highwaymen, lived in the early 1700s, but numerous theatrical plays in the mid 1800s dramatised their lives and brought these figures to life. Gordon Pugh shows the pair in the “Crime” section (pages 471 and 472) of his “Staffordshire Portrait Figures” book, and describes them as rare and attractive. In Harding Book One, Victorian Staffordshire Figures, page 264, the pair is described as “The finest pair of Turpin and King figures produced by the potteries”. Many Staffordshire figures of Turpin and King on horseback were made over a period of twenty years or so, thereby exemplifying the popularity of the story.
More Figures of the month
A pair of pointers
This is a rare pair of Staffordshire foxhounds, pointers, or game dogs. Whatever one decides to call them, they are an unusual and very fine pair.
Reverand Edward Meyrick Goulburn
This is a rare Staffordshire figure of the Reverand Edward Goulburn, standing approximately 11 1/2” tall and dating to about 1860.
Richard Cobden
This is a rare Staffordshire figure of Richard Cobden, the English politician, economist, and leader of the effort to abolish the Corn Laws in 1846.
Rare pair of camel figures
This is a rare, mirror image pair of Staffordshire camel figures. They are generally believed to represent Lady Hester Stanhope and her personal physician and companion Dr. Charles Lewis Meryon, though this attribution is not certain.
Pair of standing lions
This is a fine pair of Staffordshire lions standing on coloured bases. Each lion is approximately 10” tall and dates to about 1860. These figures may be found in Harding’s Book Two, page 259.
Rare figure of Victorian card playing
At first glance, this may appear to be an ordinary arbour figure. But upon closer inspection, one can see these three people are engaged in a game of cards.
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