Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Midcentury Bride Mini-Mannequin Display

Because of a certain holiday, February seems to be the month that a lot of couples tie the kooky 'ol knot. In fact, I know a few people who actually have Valentine's Day marriages on the 14th. And this pre-ramble point of it all now brings us to another great, recent Karswell find: a 15+ inch tall counter display bride from --guessing-- the 40's or 50's. Apparently "one-of-a-kind", and hand made out of a very lightweight painted plaster, plus the beautifully, and meticulously made floral themed wedding dress and veil, --well, she hopefully did her job back in the day selling a few wedding dresses! I inquired with some friendly Facebook folk who know more about these things than I do, and she could also possibly be a salesman's wedding dress sample, which is basically the same thing as a bridal store counter display, I guess. Time has indeed been fairly kind to this rather fragile blonde beauty in her baby blue eye shadow, though once you lift the veil you'll begin to notice a few things that could send her packin' her bags and heading on over to The Horrors of it All: a gouged nose, a rather gnarly slit across her throat, and one hand missing the fingers-- AIEEEE!!! I blame the mob. (Ohhh, this equally calls for a rousingly related Dwarves song too-- CLICK HERE!) And for you clearly curious people, underneath her dynamic dress she is, alas, but a hollow, cardboard cone. This at first seemed kind of disappointing, but then turned out to be a good thing because like most dolls that can't even stand up on their own, this Bride will stand on practically any surface without toppling over --even after the kegger reception! Looks a little like Barbie, doesn't she? I wonder if she had a matching Ken? Did they say their vows in Vegas? Ahhh, so this cleverly brings us to the end of the post which features a cute vintage matchbook from Circus Circus Casino that I recently dug up as well. You may now kiss the bride...



6 comments:

Mr. Cavin said...

I think she looks like Tinkerbell. That's mighty good plaster work at that size. I find plaster to be a very difficult medium to wring any detail out of. Nice paint work, too.

Hey, I said my vows in Vegas! At the Little White Wedding Chapel. But we stayed in the Luxor instead of the Circus Circus. It was always fun to walk through there, though.

JMR777 said...

I don't think she looks too bad, maybe she tripped on one of the steps leading up to the church to the alter and had a minor injury. Had this happened in the past 25 years or so, her mishap would have been featured on America's Funniest Home Videos or fail army.

Maybe she is the inspiration for the lyric 'the girl with the broken smile'

Brian Barnes said...

I have to agree, for the age, not bad at all. She's been dropped or bumped around, but for the size, the detail work is really good!

Love the matchbook, the bright bold colors, I love the stylized face on the dancer, surrounded by colored circles. It's really a flashy image that reads well.

Guy Callaway said...

The Bride makes me think of 'Little Leota' near the end of 'The Haunted Mansion' ride at Disneyland.
I was there in '67, 2 years before it opened. Though I was a mere tadpole, I was crushed! :)

Mr. Karswell said...

I agree, she definitely has a TInkerbell vibe with the hairstyle for sure.... and when I saw her on the dark corner antique mall shelf staring gloomily back at me from under the veil, my immediate thought was also Constance Hatchaway, aka The Bride from the Haunted Mansion (Madame Leota is NOT the HM bride, fyi.)

And regarding the comments about her condition, I'm thinking most of her major issues are easily fixable, so if I ever get around to doing that I will post here with the fix'her'upper updates!

Thanks for the comments :)

Guy Callaway said...

"Madame Leota is NOT the HM bride, fyi."

True that.
Fun fact: I'm deeply into that attraction (I even had the tie-in LP!)..but have never ridden it.:)