Wade Ceramics Ltd. (England) ceramics

The George Wade Pottery was founded in 1810 in Burslem, England and during this early time, produced mostly bottles and related pottery items, then in the early 19th century, ceramics needs for textile mills.

In the 1920s and 30's production of figurines with a new 'cellulose' finish were produced. However the new finish proved to turn yellow and peel off with age. At the onset of W.W.II, production of all non-essential ceramic items ceased.

In the early 1950s, George Wade Pottery re-introduced their retail line of pre-war animal figurines, in boxed sets of five, marketed as 'Whimsies', and were very successful. Between 1953 and 1959 Wade produced ten sets of Whimsies for retail sale with the last five sets each having a theme.

During the 1960's Wade produced a new set miniature animals to be included as 'one free', in each box of more... party crackers or tea bags. And again in 1971, due to their popularity, Wade introduced a new line of Whimsies for retail sale, consisting of 60 animals in twelve sets, which was marketed progressively over the next 13 years in groups of five.

Since the 1950s, Wade has produced several hundred of these porcelain mini figurines in numerous sets. The range includes dogs, cats, birds, snow animals, pets, wildlife, farm animals, dinosaurs, nursery rhyme figures, circus figures, miniature houses, leprechauns, monks and even Disney animals.

All these figures are highly collectable and some are very valuable as they are becoming more scarce. less...