Child’s World

Have you ever noticed how many Doulton figurines incorporate dolls, teddies and other Christmas treats? The first Dolly was made in 1915 to accompany Darling HN and second version, also known as ‘Little Mother’ followed in 1920. Both Dolly figures were made in very small numbers and so are extremely rare today. Another very elusive figurine is Judge & jury featuring a little boy in his father’s judicial robes conducting the trial of a chained dog with a jury of dolls.

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The 2009 Bunnykins of the Year looks back in time. Huntsman Bunnykins is based on an early figure by Charles Noke portraying a rabbit in hunting dress HN101. This comical character was believed to be the inspiration behind the first Bunnykins family and so can be considered an early Bunnykins ancestor HN101 was introduced in 1913 and is extremely rare today so Bunnykins collectors can enjoy this 2009 tribute piece. Read the rest of this entry »

Why is the bunny associated with Easter? Rabbits have often been confused with hares, particularly in English folklore. Hares were sacred to Eastre, the Anglo Saxon Goddess of Spring, and ritual hare hunts were held in her honor. With the advent of Christianity, the pagan celebration of rebirth was absorbed into the Easter festival and the potent symbol of the hare was replaced with the fluffy Easter bunny. Incidentally, the pet name ‘bunny’ is a diminutive of ‘bun’, a provincial word for a tail. Read the rest of this entry »

We are now in the Year of the Rabbit, one of the 12 animal symbols in the Chinese Zodiac. If you were born in the Year of the Rabbit (1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987 and 1999) then the Chinese believe that you have inherited some of the characteristics of the sensitive rabbit – you are gentle, loyal, artistic, hard-working, well organised and family orientated. Perhaps you also collect Bunnykins, Beatrix Potter or some of the other rabbits from Royal Doulton, Lladró and Royal Crown Derby? Read the rest of this entry »

“Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end”, wailed Alice as she plunged down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. There everything grows “curiouser and curiouser” as she meets the bizarre residents of this extraordinary fantasy world created by Charles Dodgson, an Oxford don writing under the pen name of Lewis Carroll. With its brilliant use of nonsense, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland marked a turning point in children’s literature when it
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These figurines were inspired by Royal Doulton’s famous nursery ware and these cute rabbit characters are now amongst the company’s most popular collectibles. Since the early 1970s, more than 300 figurines have been issued in the Bunnykins DB series and we stock a large percentage of them, including some of the first models which are now hard to find and some elusive limited editions.

For many years, we have commissioned these exclusive figurines for collectors, notably the American series and balloon sellers, inspired by traditional Royal Doulton characters.

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