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Giraffe
by Judith Lile and Jim Sneed
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The Giraffes
The giraffe made his first appearance in the
Humpty Dumpty circus in 1906. It was very popular and continued in
production probably until the company stopped business. There are seven
head designs known from the early glass eyed to the final decal eyes of
the reduced size. The body designs didn't change much except for the
pattern of the spots. Sometimes the spots went all around the neck and
sometimes the underside of the neck is spotless. Here are some photos of
these varieties. |
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Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Sneed
Giraffes stand out in the Humpty Dumpty circus. On the left is an
early closed mouth glass eyes style. Beside it is the molded head
painted eye style made about 20 years later. Note that the spot paint of
the left one is dark brown while the one on the right is a much lighter
brown - sometimes called the "honey colored" giraffe. |
Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Sneed
Here the size of the GE giraffe is compared to the reduced size
giraffe. In both styles, the front legs are longer than the hind legs
and the tails are made from woven cord. |
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Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Kramer
Open mouth, glass eyes
The open mouth, glass eyes giraffe is very popular with collectors. It may be the
very earliest style. The glass eyes, wooden dowel horns, and leather ears were applied. The
nostrils and mouth were hand cut.
Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Kramer
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Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Kramer
Closed mouth, glass eyes
The glass eyes giraffe was also made with a closed mouth.
Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Kramer
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Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Kramer
Closed mouth, painted eyes
When the supply of glass eyes ran out, the eyes were painted as shown
here. Slits were still hand cut to make the nostrils and the mouth. No open
mouth version of the PE giraffe is known.
Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Kramer
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Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Sneed
Closed mouth, molded head, painted eyes
To reduce production costs, the head was finally changed to a molded wood composition. The eyes, nose, and mouth were all hand painted.
No deep nose slits are evident. The horns
were still made with inserted dowels. This style has a most primitive, folk-art look.
Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Sneed
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(need photo)
Reduced size, painted eyes
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Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Jim Sneed
Reduced size, decal eyes
The reduced giraffe made his entry in the 1920s. This example is the decal eyes
version. Its head is probably molded, his ears leather, and his horns
are dowels. The tail is woven cord.
Notice the dark painted horns in this decal eyes example.
Photo by Jim Sneed from the collection of Vicki and Mike
Smith
Wrap - around spots Most giraffes have an open space, void
of spots, along the underside of their necks and down their bellies.
This example has spots on its belly and around its neck. This is an
unusual spot pattern. |
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Closed mouth, molded head, decal eyes
This may be the rarest of all of the giraffes. It was probably the
last regular size made. Its head was designed for the lowest production
cost. The eyes were made with applied decals. The head, including the horns, was
molded from composition wood material. The nose slits and the month were
painted. The ears were still made with leather (replaced here).
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A regular PE, molded head giraffe over a DE reduced giraffe. |
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