Happy Thanksgiving from Glazed & Confused!

French Majolica Cemetery Decoration

Now and then I’ll come across lovely bouquets of majolica flowers for sale at auction. These floral decorations are often seen decorating the tables and mantels of collectors and well other appointed homes. It occurred to me that more often than not the owners aren’t aware of the history behind these beautiful decorations. 

I was inspired to write this post because the French tradition of decorating graves with these majolica flowers is basically unknown outside of France, Brussels and Switzerland. It’s a lovely tradition. Creating ceramic flowers that will never die assures these cemeteries will be filled with color and joy year round.

The French potteries Choisy-le-Roi and Sarreguemines were both among the producers of these grave decorations in the late Nineteenth century and early Twentieth century. At the Sarreguemines museum there are several examples of their grave decor.

20th century Sarreguemines mark on the back of grave flower

19th century Sarreguemines mark on the reverse of a grave wreath. 

The catalog number dates it between 1882-1889

While this tradition began at the end of the Nineteenth century, they continued in production through the Twentieth century. In fact they are still in production today by current companies like the one founded by Henri Mahieu in Northern France in the early 1900s. No longer technically Victorian majolica, they are still quite beautiful. Many of these are simply signed Made In France.

Happy Hooligan Majolica

The Happy Hooligan comics were an immensely popular comic series in the first three decades of the Twentieth century. Created by cartoonist Frederick Burr Opper, it debuted in 1900. Opper was a political cartoonist and illustrator who created the strip while working at the Hearst Newspaper chain. It gained international popularity running until 1932 when Opper’s eyesight began to fail, leading to his retirement.

The Happy Hooligan comic strip followed the exploits of the Hooligan brothers, three poor, affable hobos with an aversion to work whose adventures made up the premise for the comic strip. The family consisted of the three brothers, Happy Hooligan, Gloomy Gus and Montmorency. Rounding out the cast of characters were Happy’s girlfriend Suzanne, Happy’s dog Flip, the brother's three wisecracking nephews, and an ever present policeman. 

Frederick Burr Opper

Its great popularity led to a marketing boom for Hearst Newspapers with the creation of three live action short films and an estimated 50 cartoon features. There were also theatrical productions, books, dolls, toys, games, ceramics and associated ephemera.

Happy Hooligan comic strip (1914)

Happy Hooligan’s nephews with Happy, Gloomy Gus 

and the always present policeman.

Happy Hooligan game

Happy Hooligan Steiff doll

Happy Hooligan wind-up toy

German Happy Hooligan Christmas ornament

Happy Hooligan roly-poly toy

Ad for Happy Hooligan cartoon movie

Happy Hooligan sheet music

Happy Hooligan theatrical poster

Happy Hooligan Valentine postcard

Happy Hooligan holiday postcard

Happy Hooligan, the character, was resurrected briefly in the early 1960s as a recurring visitor in Sam’s Strip, a comic strip that featured characters from other comic series’. 

Happy Hooligan in Sam's Strip

All three Hooligan brothers made their way into majolica figures made by Continental majolica potteries with an occasional appearance by Flip, the dog.

Continental Happy Hooligan majolica humidor

Continental Happy Hooligan majolica bottle

Happy Hooligan majolica smoking stand

Continental Happy Hooligan majolica vase

Continental Happy Hooligan majolica candlestick

Continental majolica Happy Hooligan vase

Continental Happy Hooligan majolica planter

Continental Happy Hooligan majolica bottle

Majolica Gloomy Gus bottle

Continental Gloomy Gus majolica match striker

Continental Gloomy Gus majolica smoking stand

Continental Montmorency majolica bud vase

Continental majolica Montmorency dish

Majolica Montmorency bottle

Majolica Montorency smoker's stand

Montmorenccy majolica bottle

Continental Montmorecy majolica candlestick

Continental majolica Montmorecy match striker 

with Flip match holder

Montmorency, Happy Hooligan and Flip majolica humidor

1906 advertisement featuring Happy Hooligan majolica humidors

In spite of Opper’s health issues, it seems less than a coincidence that the strip ended in the darkest days of the Great Depression. The humor in the brother's poverty would have not been amusing to a Depression era audience going though much of the same hardship. Mocking these characters’ situation as well as the numerous racist stereotypes that often appeared in the comics would not be considered politically correct today but this strip was created for a a different time with different values and offers a window into the humor of the early Twentieth century.

You Just Never Know Where You’ll Find Majolica

Galveston Island, Texas c.1890

A reader told me a surprising story. 

During the pandemic she and her mother spent quite a bit of time strolling the beaches of Galveston Island, Texas. During that time they would stumble across pieces of pottery and glass that had been discarded over the years—fragments of history.

Galveston Island’s Stewart beach

Blue transfer pieces of Wedgwood's Ivanhoe pattern.

Wedgwood Ivanhoe plate

The nature of these broken shards she collected over the years vary widely, as you imagine they would, encompassing a number of different things. Among the things she has collected are pieces of transferware, as shown above, tiles, insulators, utilitarian pottery and, yes, majolica. 

What surprised me about this is that the majolica was instantly recognizable. How ever do you imagine, did Etruscan Majolica show up on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico?

Fragments of majolica found on Galveston beach

Many years ago I spent quite a bit of time on the beaches of Galveston and simply couldn’t imagine how any majolica at all got there. As rare as majolica is in the Houston area outside of antique stores, Etruscan is even more rare. Yet here it was, clearly identifiable from the GSH catalog number on one of the pieces. She found several shards from an Etruscan Cauliflower teapot on the beach.

Fragments of an Etruscan Majolica teapot found on Galveston beach

E-13 Etruscan Majolica teapot

The shards, their sharp edges worn smooth by decades of immersion in the churning water of the surf, still bore parts of their bright shiny glaze. One piece was clearly recognizable as part of a handle. Another showed a leaf that once encircled the teapot. Others showed the majolica pink glaze that lined the interior of the teapot. Like fossils uncovered, they spoke of a previous life in Victorian America long lost. 

The reader told me that the area of the beach where the pieces were found was adjacent to the home of a wealthy Galveston family. Maybe these shards belonged to a teapot that once served the family tea, only to be discarded when broken many years ago. Or possibly these were the remains of a teapot ordered from the 1884 New Orleans Cotton Centennial Exposition at which Griffen, Smith & Company exhibited. These could also be artifacts from the great hurricane that ravaged the city in 1900 killing many thousands of its residents and causing millions of dollars in damage. 

If only objects could speak!

6,000+ people were killed and 10,000 left 

homeless from the 1900 Great Galveston Storm.

It reminds us that those things we collect are far more than objects of beauty. They have their own history and were once a part of the everyday life of people like us, just going about their business day by day. They were made to be used and loved. It sort of puts our collections into perspective.