Figural Ceramic Reamer

This figural monkey lemon-size reamer from an original German mold was released by the German Doll Co. (GDC). This company owns several thousand original molds and has been putting selected items back into production since early 2001. New products made so far include a wide variety of ceramic bathing beauties and mermaids.

Many of the old molds still have the original marks such as Germany, four digit production numbers and other phrases associated with old production such as Foreign that appears on the base of the monkey's head (Fig. 3). (Foreign was one of the marks required by England to identify imported goods).

Many of these marks are impressed, or molded, in the new pieces just as they appear in the original vintage pieces. It makes dating very confusing.

The GDC does mark most of their new production pieces with their company trademark, a roly-poly style clown in blue with Made in Germany (Fig. 2). All of the bathing beauties and mermaids made earlier have that mark. The reamer has an additional mark, the copyright symbol and the company initials, © by GDC.

Although the new marks are well intentioned, none of them so far are under glaze. They are generally on unglazed bisque surfaces and easily removed.

Fig. 1 New monkey lemon-size figural reamer, four-inches tall.

Fig. 2 The blue ink stamped clown mark of the German Doll Co., left. A second mark with their initials only, right, is stamped in black ink. New pieces may contain either one or both marks.

Fig. 3 Impressed mark along the back of the new monkey's head.

Fig. 4 Other new products from original molds by GDC have the original old marks like this impressed Germany mark.