Victorian figurines and miniatures

I have always admired the graceful feminine fashions of the Victorian era so I have been naturally drawn to any figurines I encountered dressed like the men and women of that period. I began by collecting Victorian figurines by Home Design. The Home Design figurines are really nicely detailed and I have found them for $20 or less.

On Ebay, I also found some exquisite Victorian lady Christmas ornaments from Louis Nicole in the $20 range, too. At my local flea market, I happened upon a wonderful set of snow white Victorian children figurines. They were priced at only $25 but I walked on by then returned the next day and they were marked down half price. Even though my display space was at a premium, I couldn't pass them up. I later saw them at a Department 56 store for a lot more than the $12.50 I paid for them! I had similar luck with a beautiful Lenox china figurine. I had previously admired several at an antique store on the coast with price tags of $125 each. Then I saw one in mint condition at the flea market for $50 and talked the vendor down to $35!

The Franklin Mint has produced some wonderful Victorian miniatures. These beautifully detailed miniatures were produced by the mint in 1984.

Each vignette stands about 2 3/4" high and depicts a scene from the upperclass social life from 1898 to 1908 - garden parties, ice skating, attending the opera, the theater, the races, etc. The figurine at the left is entitled "At the Cafe-Concert 1906". I had to bid on them individually on Ebay but managed to acquire them for between $7.95 and $10.95 each.

Victorian Lamps

Years ago I noticed an advertisement for a class at the local craft shop on how to construct Victorian-style fabric lampshades. I am a pushover for items decorated with lace, silk and roses so I thought it would be interesting to learn how to make some of the elaborate Victorian lamp shades I had seen in antique stores. I selected some cream-colored French batiste semi-sheer fabric and lace with a floral pattern that would make bouquet per shade panel , bought enough 3" silk fringe to adorn the lower edge and headed to the workshop. The instructor taught us how to make our own custom patterns by pressing foil across each of the different Victorian panel shapes that made up the wire frame of the lampshade. Then she demonstrated how to cut the fabric panels leaving about 3/8" border around the shape to give us fabric to wrap and glue around the lamp shade frames.

I had to adapt my design as I covered my frame with the semi-sheer fabric then overlaid the lace on top of that. I was quite pleased with the result and the lamps still adorn my living room. Since then, however, I learned to used the "wrap with bias seam binding and stitch fabric to wrapped frame" method that I much prefer to the glue method. I can stretch the fabric much tighter and get a more professional finish with the stitched method. All of the other lampshades I have made were fashioned using the stitched method and when my married daughter came to visit, I taught her the stitched method as well.

Soon I was haunting flea markets and second-hand stores looking for suitable lamp bases. I prefer figural bases if I can find them although Capo di Monte porcelain lamp bases make exquisite Victorian decor as well. Finding just the right base and creating shades that resemble a delicate Victorian confection is very rewarding. They also make a wonderfully personal and unique wedding gift if the bride admires Victorian design. I created a pair of lamps for my daughter and son-in-law for their wedding that had satin shades adorned with lace and beaded floral motifs that I bought at a wedding shop.