The Curio Cabinet (Post 147)
I've always liked figurines. My great-aunt had a collection of china dogs when I was a child. My mother had a china spaniel, a gift from my dad when they were first married. I don't know why and it's too late to ask them now, but I suspect it was in memory of Mum's little dog, Penny, who so resented the tall lanky soldier who'd taken her mistress's attention. I started collecting in childhood, and I was always quite choosy. This made life a little difficult when well-meaning friends gave me a piece for my collection because there was a strong chance it wasn't quite what I liked. For the record, I liked china, (not resin), and I wanted animals to be in natural colours and natural conformation. Mum had a collection of Bambies, and many of these were big-eyed and cutesy; not me at all.
This collection of verses about my collection concentrates on just a few pieces. These include the following.
The Lady, a
china lady, a gift from my husband
The Adopted Dog, a mid 20th C piece that was an uncanny match for two pieces I had already. This was a market find
The Treasure Chest, a small glass and metal chest. This was a gift from an online friend. I've never seen anything like it before or since.
The Honeymoon Giraffe, a metal giraffe, purchased on our 1979 honeymoon. I think we got it in St Helens.
The Sugar Crock, a blue and white china crock, a gift from a deceased friend named Dorothy.
The Seal, a metal letter seal, a childhood gift from Mum's cousin.
The Kissing Cousins Cat, a china cat, bought - I think - in the '80s. I used its image in my book Kissing Cousins.
The Auction Dog, a metal spaniel, (bought at auction in the '70s.
The Adopted Dog, a mid 20th C piece that was an uncanny match for two pieces I had already. This was a market find
The Treasure Chest, a small glass and metal chest. This was a gift from an online friend. I've never seen anything like it before or since.
The Honeymoon Giraffe, a metal giraffe, purchased on our 1979 honeymoon. I think we got it in St Helens.
The Sugar Crock, a blue and white china crock, a gift from a deceased friend named Dorothy.
The Seal, a metal letter seal, a childhood gift from Mum's cousin.
The Kissing Cousins Cat, a china cat, bought - I think - in the '80s. I used its image in my book Kissing Cousins.
The Auction Dog, a metal spaniel, (bought at auction in the '70s.
The Wedding
Dress Doll, a wedding doll, made by Roma, a family friend, and dressed in blue to reflect my own dress.
The Cream Siamese, a china cat, gift from a childhood friend named Derris.
Two White Horses, white china horses, bought in the 1970s, possibly from the old Coles Variety Store.
The Jesus Donkey, a pottery model, bought - I think - in the 1980s.
Sweet Seventeen, a Beswick cat, bought from a jeweller in the mid 1970s. This was the first "good" piece I ever bought.
The Godmother Ducks, bone china ducks, a childhood gift from my godmother Josie, and one of the earliest pieces.
The Gossiping Cows, blue and white china, bought in the '80s.
Mama Zebra, china, bought in the '70s - '80s.
Zeb Jnr, china, market find, 1990s
The Genie Bottle, metal. No memory of how or when I acquired it.
Poddy, a painted tile. A gift from my friend Ngaire in my teens. The little painted dog was my real life pet.
Horses of Quartz. Quartz figurines, probably bought in the 1970s from a book shop.
Jacks (Elite) Elite Pottery dogs, bought online in the 2000s
The Cream Siamese, a china cat, gift from a childhood friend named Derris.
Two White Horses, white china horses, bought in the 1970s, possibly from the old Coles Variety Store.
The Jesus Donkey, a pottery model, bought - I think - in the 1980s.
Sweet Seventeen, a Beswick cat, bought from a jeweller in the mid 1970s. This was the first "good" piece I ever bought.
The Godmother Ducks, bone china ducks, a childhood gift from my godmother Josie, and one of the earliest pieces.
The Gossiping Cows, blue and white china, bought in the '80s.
Mama Zebra, china, bought in the '70s - '80s.
Zeb Jnr, china, market find, 1990s
The Genie Bottle, metal. No memory of how or when I acquired it.
Poddy, a painted tile. A gift from my friend Ngaire in my teens. The little painted dog was my real life pet.
Horses of Quartz. Quartz figurines, probably bought in the 1970s from a book shop.
Jacks (Elite) Elite Pottery dogs, bought online in the 2000s
The verses range from rhymed metrical verse to more conversational pieces. They were written over quite a long period. I didn't submit them to any publishers, because they are personal, and definitely not commercial. Nevertheless, I brought them out in a limited colour edition in 2016, just because I could.
About the Blog
Sally is Sally Odgers; author, manuscript assessor, editor, anthologist and reader. She runs http://www.affordablemanuscriptassessments.com and Prints Charming Books. (Sally is me, by the way, and I am lots of other things too, but these are the relevant ones for now.)
The goal for 2017 is to write a post a day profiling the background behind one of my books; how it came to be written, what it's about, and any things of note that happened along the way. If you're an author, an aspiring author, a reader or just someone who enjoys windows into worlds, you might find this fun. The books are not in any special order, but will be assigned approximate dates, and pictures, where they exist. If you enjoyed a post, or want to ask about any of my books or my manuscript assessment service, leave me a message.
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