Golliwoggs! |
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| Many of us are familiar with battered old Gollies
left in the toy cupboard, much loved and then forgotten and
many of us have also been brought up with the Robertson Jam
Golly brooches which have now ceased production. Perhaps not
so familiar to some, is the fact that Florence Upton created
the golliwogg character in a series of picture books which
were written by her mother, Bertha Upton. The first appearance
of the Golliwogg in 1895 in 'The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls
and a Golliwogg' caused the Dutch Dolls to "scatter in
their fright". Happily for us, they soon got over their
shock and the Golliwogg became their closest friend. |
| Golly has many adventures
in the series of books published over twelve years, which
include 'The Golliwogg's Polar Adventures', 'The Golliwogg's
Fox Hunt' and 'The Golliwogg at the Seaside'. These books
now sell for around £300 to £500 in very good
condition so, if you have one, dig it out! I was lucky enough
to pick up a copy of 'The Golliwogg's Polar Adventures'
for £20.00 at auction about a year ago. Needless to
say, the book is in a pretty sorry state but the plates
are in lovely conditionOne day, when I have lots of |
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money (!?) I will
get it repaired. Florence Upton's Golly was the hero of
the day in these tales. Golly in the Enid Blyton 'Noddy'
series is more of a mischievous chap and likely to get into
trouble. Perhaps this was one of the reasons that Enid Blyton
books were taken off the school library shelf - in fact
the Gollies are really lovable characters who added spice
to the stories!
Having become a victim of
"political correctness", sadly, the Golly
is slowly becoming harder to find as one searches out
ephemera and novelty items.
Robertson's have now ceased production of their golly
brooches and have taken up producing brooches with Roald
Dahl characters instead. The reason being that the younger
generations may be unfamiliar with the golly having
been brought up with 'The Twits' and 'The BFG'. |
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As the golly gets harder
to find in the shops, it is becoming a desirable collectors
item and, in the space of just a year, I have noticed a slow
rise in prices as it becomes more scarce. So, come on everyone,
get looking for that golly you had as a child which is now
stuffed at the back of the loft!
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| Get him out, give him a good dust off, and let
him have pride of place! |
Contributed by Sonia Bryant
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