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** FOR MEN ONLY !!

Like a lot of husbands throughout history, Webster
would sit down and try to talk to his wife. But as
soon as he would start to say something, his wife
would say, ".... And what's that supposed to mean?"

Thus, Webster's Dictionary was born.

** NEWSLETTRE ARCHIVES !!

I’ve made a minor change to my Newslettre Archives
Site, where you may read thru ALL past issues of my
Newslettre !! I’ve reversed the listing format, so to
have the most recent Newslettres listed first instead
of at the end of my list !! This will make locating
the more recent articles a bit quicker !! THANKS !!

** ENVIRONMENTALLY CORRECT ??

One day a man was walking in the woods when he got
lost. For two days he roamed around trying to find
a way out. He had not eaten anything during this period
and was famished. Over on a rock ledge he spotted a
bald eagle, killed it and started to eat it.

Surprisingly a couple of park rangers happen to find
him at that moment and arrested him for killing an
endangered species.

At court, he plead innocent to the charges against him
claiming that if he didn't eat the bald eagle he would
have died from starvation. The judge ruled in his favor.
In the judge's closing statement he asked the man, "I
would like you to tell me something before I let you go.
I have never eaten a bald eagle, nor ever plan on it.
What did it taste like?"

The man answered, "Well, it tasted like a cross between
a whooping crane and a spotted owl."

** HATPIN HOLDERS !!

As with most if not all collectibles, sometimes we
find that one collection leads us to yet another
similar or related collectible !!

If you aren’t currently aware, I begin construction
of what I now refer to as My Belleek Museum in
approximately the year 1970 !! I also had a lifelong
fascination with penguins and over the years
accumulated some of these as well !!

Of course,  there’s NO similarity between Belleek and
penguins,  unless, of course, you REALLY wish to stretch
your imagination wildly and confess to the fact that
Belleek did, for several years, produce a pair of
Belleek Polar Bears, penguins being one of their main
food sources !!

In any case, one day, an E-Bay Auction out of
Australia, offered a Belleek Patty’s Pig Hat Pin
Holder !! SO, now we see a connection between Belleek
and hat pin holders !! But, there are literally
THOUSANDS of different and distinct hat pins as well
as hundreds of fashionable hat pin holders !!

But prior to continuation, let’s regress a bit for
some definitions !! From Wikipedia, the free Internet
encyclopedia we discouver a very fine definition of
a hatpin :

“A hatpin is a decorative pin for holding a hat to
the head, usually by the hair. In Western culture, a
hatpin is almost solely a female item and is often
worn in a pair. They are typically around 20cm
(8 inches) in length, with the pinhead being the most
decorated part.

“The hatpin was invented to hold wimples and veils in
place, and was hand-made. In Britain, demand eventually
outgrew the number that could be supplied by hand-
making, and they began to be imported from France. In
1832, an American machine was invented to manufacture
the pins, and they became much more affordable. In
Britain, they rose to popularity towards the end of
the Victorian era, and continue to be a popular
accessory.

“Hatpins are also collectible items, and there is an
American Hatpin Society for collectors.”

References
• Encyclopędia Britannica <[1]>
        Accessed August 16, 2005.
• The Encyclopedia of Hatpins and Hatpin Holders
        by Lillian Baker

Therefore, I decided to combine my fondness of
penguins  and love of Belleek to ferret out porcelain
and possibly glass manufactures of hat pin holders in
the shape of penguins !!

The first I discouvered, was from the famous Pottery
of Royal Bayreuth !! It’s a fascinating item of
approximately 5” in height with some rather unusual
colouring !! As you will see from my photo (below),
he also has an inquisitive backward glance from his
eyes !! Unfortunately, I was NOT able to acquire an
example of this penguin hat pin holder for the next
several years.

To get a brief history of Royal Bayreuth, I turned to
Kovels Antique Price Guide, where, we discouver that
Royal Bayreuth is the name of a factory that was
founded in Tettau, Bavaria, in 1794. It has continued
to modern times. The marks have changed through the
years. A stylized crest, the name Royal Bayreuth, and
the word Bavaria appear in slightly different forms
from 1870 to about 1919. Later dishes may include the
words U.S. Zone, the year of the issue, or the word
Germany instead of Bavaria.

In the mean time, I came across another E-Bay Auction
that was offering a Ryde China Penguin whom, could also
be utilized as a hat pin holder !! I was successful in
this bid, BUT unfortunately my poor Ryde Penguin was
misplaced somehow in shipment and he was lost somewhere
around the world ?? OH well, I’ll get a Ryde another
day ??!!

 

        Here are two splendid examples of hat pin holders !!
      On the left, a Royal Bayreuth in the shape of a penguin,
          although it appears more like a gargoyle to me ??
      And, of course, our revered Belleek Pig on the right !!

So, now I decide that I’d better set my sights on at
least one hat pin to place in my hat pin holders !!
My BIG collection of ALL TWO of them !! Another E-Bay
Auction offered an actual penguin hat pin !! NOT the
holder, but the BIG long SHARP pin !! And here’s his
CUTE little picture !!

 

        A LARGER than normal hat pin at approximately 11¼”
          (approximately 28cm) with hand blown glass finial !!
                Note the Silver crown on his head !!

NOW, I know that MANY of you Belleekers out there
have secondary and tertiary collecting interest !!
If any of you would like to compose a short story
of your endeavours for me, I’d be glad to share it
with our friends !!