New find

Er på sommerstedet i Sverige. For noen dager siden gikk turen til Gøteborg, og i en antikvitetsforretning i den hyggelige bydelen Haga fant jeg denne porselensskotten med en flue (i ett eller annet metall) på halen. Svært irriterende, naturligvis!

I´m at the summer cottage in Sweden at the moment. A few days ago I made a trip to Gothenburg. In an antique shop in the cosy Haga district I found this porcelain Scottie with a shiny metal insect on it´s tail. Very irritating, naturally!

Royal Doulton Scotties

Photo: Royal Doulton Scottie figurine. Model no. HN 1281

Inspired by Margaretha Hallerström´s piece in the Swedish Scottie club magazine “Skottenytt” I´m sharing a photo of this Royal Doulton figurine, and a personal story about Royal Doulton figurines in general.

Doulton,one of Britain’s many high-end porcelain factories (sadly very few of these elustrious companies have survived), has produced freestanding figures of dogs since the early 20th century. You probably knew this already. However, what caught my eye in Hallerström´s article was a picture of a Doulton group of a lady sitting with two Scotties.

My grandmother, and especially my mother, collected Doulton figures when I was a child. I was forbidden to touch them. My mother prides herself in that she never ever removed any valuables from any of her reception rooms when her four children grew up. (Hasn’t bringing up children changed a lot since the seventies?). But I was allowed to kiss them. Apparently I was so preoccupied with the beautifully hand finished and hand painted Doulton ladies on mum’s mantelpiece, and on her occasional tables, that I demanded to kiss them! My wishes were granted, as long as I kept my hands on my back! “Please may I kiss the lady, mummy”. 

Now I only kiss my Scotties. And I like it. 

Unfortunately, Doulton figures are so out of fashion at the moment that nobody would want to kiss them. As my mother often says: “They’re not worth anything anymore, and none of my children will want to have them”…

After doing some research (didn’t use to be an antique dealer for nothing) on the figurine with the two Scotties, depicted in the Swedish club magazine , I’ve found out that very few of these figures have been on public sale lately.

In 1992 Christies (London) sold one for GBP 286, -. In 2006 the net-based American auctioneers Liveautioneers.com sold one for around USD 2000, -. The same year Bonham’s (London) had one lot of two figurines (one which was the Scottie figurine) that together had a catalogue estimate of GBP 600-800, -

Obviously very rare figurines still fetch good money, and this is one of them. I’d think the price of this item has decreased, or remained stable, since the aution sales that I have found. This is because of the current economic climate and that Doulton simply isn’t as chic and collectable as it once used to be. (The American price is just crazy). If someone out there has this Scottie figurine in their collection and wants to sell it, please get in touch with me!

PS! Yes, you guessed it: My mum never bought this one!

Archie BOS and Bonnie BOB

Sønn og mor i går på NKK-Drammen. Sønnen, Pocket´s Archie McDonald, tok BIM og moren, Dundee So Explosive, tok BIR. Dommer var Heidi Hagen. Gratulerer så mye! Lulu (Pocket´s Rocket - datter og søster) sender et stort hurra her hjemmefra!

Beklager at jeg ikke har blogget på en stund - her går det i ett for tiden. Flere som kjenner seg igjen i det kanskje? Snart er skolen over for i år og en velfortjent sommerferie venter!

Son and mother yesterday at the Norwegian Kennel Club show at Drammen. The son, Pocket´s Archie McDonald, was BOS and his mother, Dundee So Explosive, was BOB. Judge was Heidi Hagen. Many congratulations! Lulu (Pocket´s Rocket - daughter and sister) sends a huge hurrah from the sofa at home!

Sorry I have not blogged in a while - in a rush at the monent - like so mant others probably. School´s soon out for summer and a well-deserved summer holiday awaits!

Unity does it again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

På en utstilling i Lingen, Tyskland, sist torsdag (29.04), ble Sir Darnley's Uncut Unity (Hamish sin kullsøster) enda en gang BIR fra juniorklasse. Hun ble dessuten BIG-junior og senere en av de åtte beste i den store grupperingen med de "vokse" BIR-terrierene. Mange gratulasjoner til Maren!

At a a show in Lingen, Germany, last Thursday (29.04), Sir Darnley's Uncut Unity (Hamish´s litter sister) once again went BOB from junior class. Later, in the group, she won BIG-junior! In the adult group she was short-listed in the in the top eight. Well done, Maren!

Me!

Jeg ser at endel Norfolk-folk har sveipet innom bloggen min etter at den nye raserepresentanden deres, Hanne Tangenes, la ut info om nybegynnertrimmekurset vi skal holde for rasen i Oslo den 16. og 17. juni på: (http://www.norskterrierklub.no/nb-NO/Norfolkterrier.aspx) 

Slik ser nå jeg ut - bildet er fra trimmekurset for skotter sist helg. Håper Norfolk-kurset blir fulltegnet. Mer info. kan du få av Hanne på e-post: norfolk@norskterrierklub.no 

Foto: Liv Scheflo

Piggy-banks? No, Scottie-banks!

- Please scroll for copy in English!

Har du noen gang lurt på hvorfor den svenske Handelsbanken har en skotte som ikon? Ja, bortsett fra at man rent budskapsmessig forknipper en skotte med nøkternhet og sparsommelighet?

Her er historien: Gustaf Westerlund var partneren til den kjente skotteoppdretteren (og buntmakeren i sitt sivile liv) Sven Sundquist. Sundquist drev Kennel af Brååtha, et skotteoppdrett som drev samtidig med den anerkjente Birgit Westerström, Kennel Ferox. Disse to kennelene var ledende i Sverige (og Norden) fra 50-tallet - ledende i hver sin farge: Sort og brindle. Les mer om Westerström på: http://skotte.bloggagratis.se/2008/10/29/1065096-till-minne-av-birgit-westerstrom/

Gustaf Westerlund var sjef i en avdeling i Handelsbanken og det var nok han som gjorde at skotten kom til å bli Handelsbankens visuelle symbol. Formgiveren som Handelsbanken hyret inn for å formgi de berømte skottesparebøssene het Stig Lindberg. Lindberg var bare 20 år gammel da han fikk sin første kontakt med Gustavsberg porselensfabrikk utenfor Stockholm. Anlegget gikk dårlig, og lederen av fabrikken kunne ikke engang love Stig en sommerjobb. Den unge, selvsikre Lindberg svarte da: "Hvis du ansetter meg vil jeg sørge for at det blir jobb på fabrikken.” I løpet av de to sommermånedene viste han Gustavbergs kunstneriske leder, Wilhelm Kage, hva han kunne. Det var som Kåges student at Stigs karriere som formgiver begynte, og mange arbeidsplasser ble skapt på fabrikken.

Stig Lindberg jobbet også som industridesigner. I 1959 utformet han et TV-apparat med dreibar skjerm ”Lumavision for Luma” og i 1962, en transistorradio for det samme selskapet. Også skottesparebøssen for Handelsbanken da. Skotten som stod modell for bøssen het visst ”Bankmann af Brååtha”.

Lindberg etterlater seg en rik produksjon av former, farger og illustrasjoner som ikke gjenspeiler det typiske skandinaviske formspråk - fast og kjølig - men et mer lekent, fargerikt og humoristisk et.

På bildet: Her ser du min samling Handelsbank-skotter. De store i plast er moderne, de mellomste er eldre, mens de i keramikk i forgrunnen er produsert av Gustavsberg (og er ikke sparebøsser).

Kilder: Dan Ericsson, Joan Frodi og Wikipedia

Foto: Peter Hewitt

Have you ever wondered why the Swedish Handelsbanken (Bank of Commerce) has a Scottie as its icon? (Maybe you didn’t even know this if you’ve never been to Sweden?) One is quick to think of a Scotsman as being thrifty, right? Undoubtedly this is the association the bank wanted it’s customers to have.

Here's the story: Gustaf Westerlund was the partner of the renowned Scottish Terrier breeder (and furrier in his civilian life) Sven Sundquist. Sundquist was the man behind Kennel af Brååtha, a kennel that he ran simultaneously with the much acclaimed Birgit Westerström, Kennel Ferox. These two were the leading kennels in Sweden (and Scandinavia) from the 50's - leading kennels in their particular colours: Black and brindle. Read more about Westerström on: http://skotte.bloggagratis.se/2008/10/29/1065096-till-minne-av-birgit-westerstrom/

Gustaf Westerlund was head of a department at the Handelsbank and it was probably he who made the Scottie the Handelsbanken's visual symbol. The designer that the bank hired to design the famous Scottie-piggy-bank was called Stig Lindberg. Lindberg was only 20 years old when he came in contact with the Gustavsberg porcelain factory outside Stockholm. The factory was in trouble, and the head of the factory could not even promise Stig a summer job there. The young, confident Lindberg replied: "If you hire me I will make sure there are jobs at the factory." During the two summer months, he showed Gustav's artistic director, Wilhelm Kage, what he was capable of. It was as Kågen´s student that his career as a designer began, and many jobs were created at the factory.

Stig Lindberg also worked as an industrial designer. In 1959 he designed a TV with swivel screen "Lumavision for Luma" and in 1962, a transistor radio for the same company. And we mustn’t forget the Scottie-piggy-bank! The Scottie who modelled for the piggy bank was called "Bankman af Brååtha".

Lindberg leaves behind a rich production of shapes, colours and illustrations that do not reflect the typical Scandinavian style - strict and cool - but is a more playful, colourful and humorous style.

The picture: Here is my collection of Handelsbanken Scottie-piggy-banks. The large plastic ones are modern, the middle ones are older, while the ceramic ones in the foreground are produced by Gustavsberg (and are not piggy-banks).

Sources: Dan Ericsson, Joan Frodi and Wikipedia
Photo: Peter Hewitt

Ruby in France

Sir Darnley's Rambling Ruby (Hamish's mother) was BOS w. CACIB yesterday at Colmar in France. Many congratulations to Maren!