Unique Lalique mascots Vol 2

Unique Lalique Mascots Vol. 2 The automotive radiator hood & desk ornaments of master glass artisan R. Lalique (Including auction realisation prices with market values guide)

by

G. G. Weiner

All rights reserved Copyright Š Geoffrey George Weiner, 2017 The right of Geoffrey George Weiner to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 The book cover picture is copyright to Geoffrey George Weiner

This book is published by Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd Link House 140 The Broadway, Tolworth, Surrey, Kt6 7Ht. www.grosvenorhousepublishing.co.uk This book is sold subject to the conditions that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the author's or publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN ISBN 978-1-78623-903-7

Dedication To my late parents – my father Louis, who always supported me with every project, no matter how bizarre! And my mother Sarah, who gave moral support all the way through childhood and beyond. To ‘Gramps’, of whom I have very fond memories of holidays in Margate staying with my auntie Lilly who had the largest Bingo hall on the coast. Me riding the (now famous) roller coaster in Dreamland! To my Sister Rayna Altman and family, Darren, Emma, Callie and Jessica Jasmine (JJ), for their kind support.

Also to Fabrice Camus for his guidance with French words & accents, and especially to my good friend IT expert Richard Jackson for all his unselfish technical support with many tips for this project, and without whom it would have been very difficult to have completed it.

Also to the enthusiastic dedication of Robert White, an extraordinary person who in his relatively short life (he died of cancer aged 62), built-up a photographic business from almost nothing. His passion for all things automotive including a large collection of Lalique glass ornaments & mascots (two of the most spectacular pieces shown here), of which came up for auction to raise money for the NHS Foundation Trust at Poole Hospital Cancer Research unit in Dorset, of which the prices realised are listed in this book. The full story can be found in the Bonhams auction catalogue No. 23871 of 19th September 2016 (also search Google and see U-tube).

Vitesse and Hibou from the Robert White collection.

Contents Dedication iii Author’s Introduction

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About the Author

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Amendments and Aderna to the first Edition

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Foreword by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu

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Preface by Eric Knowles (of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow)

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Lalique 6 Moulded Glass

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Mounting Bases

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Signatures 12 Timeline major dates in the history of René Lalique

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Modern Crystal Reproductions, Copies or Out and Out Fakes

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Mascot, Bookend or Paperweight?

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The Importance of Colour

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How Rare? Very, Not So Rare, Quite Common

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Interesting Facts and Figures

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Fact or Fiction?

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Who Bought Them?

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What to Pay for Them

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Modern Paperweights (Presse-Papiers)

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Condition

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Summary

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Car Mascot Photo Gallery and Listings

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Where to See Them

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Illustrations

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Bibliography

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Credits for Consultation and Photos

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Disclaimer

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Author’s Introduction With further extensive research it was inevitable that more information and photographic evidence would come to light, of which I have included in this second edition. Many collectors’ contacted me or met me at the various fairs that I attend and asked about a price guide of which (is always going to be controversial). I have included here auction and other sources relalisation prices. I have taken this opportunity to correct mistakes and omissions from the first edition of which I faced a ‘deadline’ to complete. A lot more detailed information missing from the previous book including photographic evidence of rare pieces is now included here. I take this opportunity to thank once again Eric Knowles and also Lord Montagu for their valued contributions to this volume.

Unfortunately for me the original *publishers were taken over and moved premises to the Midlands which made it very inconvenient for me to liaise with them. So I found a more local publishing house who were willing to fulfill my ambitions to get this second edition in print... As it’s said that every cloud has a silver lining! I do hope this book is a welcome addition to your reference library and making a great companion to my first edition!

Yours sincerely, G.G. Weiner, I.A.M., O.T.R., C.S.M.A. *The first hardback edition was produced by The Book Guild Ltd, and at the time of writing there are a few copies available on Amazon, eBay etc. for collector’s who may wish to have it to go with this new edition (please contact the club, who’s details are shown on their ad’ at the back of this book). This second edition is produced by The Grosvenor House Publishing Co. Ltd. With whom I have worked closely to ensure everything is to my liking and approval prior to the print-run.

Images of R. Lalique (to the left) and the author G.G. Weiner (to the right). vii

About the Author Geoffrey George Weiner has been in retail for more than 50 years, starting as a schoolboy of 13 working on Saturdays for Roy Butler (of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow fame) at his collector’s shop in Kingstonupon-Thames. He now specialises exclusively in the car mascots, desk ornaments, bookends and paperweights of René Lalique, and has a specialist gallery in Kemp Town, Brighton. He has written many articles on the subject and also runs a dedicated club website offering information and advice.

Geoffrey was asked to advise on a prestigious auction (vii in auction listings at the end of this book) in Montreaux, Switzerland, where a Rolls-Royce mascot by Lalique achieved a world record price in 2010. He was invited to visit the new Musée Lalique in Wingensur-Moder that had opened in July 2011, in order to obtain material help and support for the Lalique Retrospective in London later that year for the 151st anniversary of René Lalique’s birth, and this proved to be a resounding success. He is now also a consultant for Miller’s art and antiques collectors’ guides and a valuer on Lalique for several online auction sites. He has advised auction houses and appeared on many TV shows and radio programmes about antiques and collecting, giving a lecture on the subject at The London Grosvenor Hotel, and more recently at The Worthing Lecture Theatre to The Antiques Collector’s Society with a question & answer interview.

He recently put on a loan exhibition of mascots from The Lalique Mascot Collectors’ Club, staged at Brighton racecourse to co-inside with the 2016 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run weekend. Other exhibitions are currently being planned.

He lives in Brighton and drives classic Morgan sports cars, having been a Morganist for more years than he can remember! (This is an abbreviated account, so please see the full story in Vol. 1, also his full up to date profile and C.V. on www.linkedin.com).

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AMENDMENTS & ADERNA to the First Edition:

Page 1 Should read René Jules Lalique (with the correct French accent over the end ‘e’ ).

Page 6 Tete de Paon, the very small ‘France’ within the mounting groove was omitted on non export pieces (non export and non commercial pieces did not have to have ‘France’ forming part of the signature).

Page 19 The make ‘Dusenberg’ was omitted from the American automobile listings and should have been included.

Page 26 Should read: (English translation) Catalogue listings of the automobile radiator cap mascots.

Page 39 Should read: ‘LALIQUE’ without the ‘R’ and including ‘FRANCE’.

Page 45 End of third paragraph Re: ‘Epsom’, “It was the usual practise at the time (at the Breves Galleries) to slightly grind-down the bottom edge of this particular mascots’ base, so as to fit into the metal mounting base, or Breves Galleries radiator base and also the desk display base. Thus some of the lower portion of the signature is nearly always missing due to this practice which is normal on this particular mascot”.

Page 47 Longchamp ‘A’ is shown in the photo on the extreme right.

Page 53 Vitesse ordered in a particular opalescent milky-blue would have been at extra cost.

Page 58 The Chrysis paperweight version is shown in the lower photo.

Page 65 The photo is by Poppy Francis (not C. Joslyn).

Page 67 Should read: ‘Les editions de L’Amateur’ (meaning, edition for collector’s).

Page 69 Credits: Tom Benford of Second Chance Garage (USA). None of the images were used in this book that were submitted to the publishers. Credit to RM auctions for supplying the images of Hibou and Renard courtesy of the photos taken by the photographer Michael Furman.

Page 70 Should read: “Back dust jacket cover photo of the author holding a Lalique Grand Libellule car mascot by Christine Joslyn” and not by The Virginia Grey Photographic Studio, London.

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The 1st edition.

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Foreword The car was, and to many still is, the ultimate object of desire. It didn’t take long for the purely functional aspects of early automobile construction to be complemented by stylish bodywork and other embellishments. Whilst the design and shape of the radiator became the manufacturer’s hall mark, the driver’s own statement was (apart from the choice of car itself) made through his or her choice of mascot.

And so a small industry developed manufacturing mascots for driver’s who wanted that finishing touch for their cars. The most prestigious of these was the French glassmaker Lalique who started business in 1888, the same decade in which Karl Benz made his first car. Whilst Lalique produced glass art in many forms, it was his company’s car mascots which became their most sought-after works, and the most seen as they were paraded for all to see on the front of some very exotic cars. The opportunity to light them from within ensured that they could even be admired at night!

But there were some mascots which were fitted by the manufacturer. The story of how this happened at Rolls-Royce is of special significance to my family. In the early twentieth century, the management at Rolls-Royce were unhappy that some of their customers were fitting frivolous mascots to their cars. My grandfather, John 2nd Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, was asked to advise and suggested his friend Charles Robinson Sykes, an artist and sculptor, should produce an official mascot. From this came the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ which was first offered in 1911 as an accessory and was later fitted as standard on all cars sold. Unsurprisingly, Lalique did not ignore such an important figurative work, and was commissioned

by Rolls-Royce Ltd. to produced their own version in chrystal glass to mark the 90th anniversary of this most prestigious of motor car manufacturers . I am delighted that this particular mascot is detailed in this book.

The inspiration, if not the actual model, for the Spirit of Ecstasy is generally accepted that my grandfather’s London secretary, Eleanor Valesco Thornton, who was also his mistress. Whilst she was travelling to India on the P&O liner SS Persia with my grandfather in 1915, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the island of Crete. Eleanor lost her life in the attack, but thank God my grandfather survived and returned to England, distraught with grief, but unable to openly mourn for his secret love... ... So she never lived to see how her form, interpreted by Charles Skyes, would become the most admired motoring mascot of all time.

Lord Ralf Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 4th Baron Montagu of Beaulieu

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Preface My first encounter with the glass of René Lalique occurred in 1971 whilst I was in the employ of an antique firm operating in my native north Lancashire. The items in question were a set of six shell design dessert bowls with matching under-plates, which I later discovered were retailed in pre-war years under the title of ‘Coquilles’.

Although the design of an open cockle shell was novel, what intrigued me most of all was the curious internal milky blue opalescent inclusions mysteriously restricted to the four areas of the underside that formed shallow supports.

Four years later I headed south to take up the humble position of porter in the ceramics department of Bonhams located in London’s ever-fashionable Knightsbridge.

With the passage of time I managed to move up the ladder, although my years as a porter were to prove of equal importance by virtue of the fact that I was handling the goods on offer and had unlimited and welcome contact with both dealers and collectors.

In 1980 I had become responsible for a department that dealt with art nouveau and art deco items and I was given the opportunity to sell a collection of some fifty or more pieces of pre-war Lalique glass.

The quality of the design work proved to be both totally captivating whilst unashamedly tactile, many of Lailique’s creations commanding visual appreciation then prompting an urge to handle ‑ needless to say, with care.

In the years that followed, my department developed an international reputation for specialised sales dedicated to the glass and occasionally the jewellery of René Lalique. I soon learned that Lalique was responsible for designing thirty individual car mascots, although only twenty-nine made it into production, and fortunately many found their way into Bonhams sale catalogues.

Given the choice, my favourite has to be ‘Victoire’ or ‘The Spirit of the Wind’, its alternative and personally much preferred title. For me, this now-iconic glass sculpture manages to encapsulate that dynamic yet politically uncertain age when the need for speed was paramount in travel by road, rail, sea and the sky.

In the present age, when the motor car is so omnipresent, it should be remembered that well into the 1950s such vehicles were recognised by the masses as an aspirational status symbol – a status now occupied by the helicopter.

The Lalique car mascots emphasised this exclusivity, and with the exception of the ‘Cinq Chevaux’, they were offered to be fitted to a vehicle of the owner’s choosing, and then, wonders of wonders, ‘illuminated’.

This exclusivity became only too evident when I was asked to sell a peacock’s head mascot, or ‘Tête de Paon’, that had initially adorned the bonnet of a pre-war Rolls-Royce then owned by a West Country dentist. After I sold the mascot for a tidy sum the dentist kindly sent a copy of the log book showing that the initial owner of this same car in 1934 was a lady, and her name was Miss Peacock.

Geoffrey is unquestionably a kindred spirit and I salute his devotion and tenacity in producing these superb reference works that are now a welcome addition to my ‑ and hopefully your ‑ reference library.

Eric Knowles, F.R.S.A.

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Eric Knowles with G.G. Weiner and his sister Rayna Altman at the launch day of Unique Lalique Mascots at Waterstones book store in Brighton.

The author with photographer Poppy Francis at the Waterstones book launch.

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Lalique Ah yes, what does that conjure up? Uniqueness, Mystique, Extravagance and probably most of all......glass. Very many books have been written on René Lalique and the subject of his glass, as shown in the bibliography at the back of this book.

However, as most of these books only skim over or just mention his automotive mascots, illustrating one or two examples, I thought it was about time to do something about that as this is a fast-growing hobby, and as I write this in these troubled fiscal times, a very good hedge against inflation! Collectors are a canny bunch and know where to put their money, be it into art, antiques, jewellery, coins, stamps, silver, gold or classic cars and automobilia in general – and why not, as all of these are rewarding not only to the pocket but to the mind too!

Much has also been written of the history and background of René Jules Lalique, who was born in 1860 and died in 1945, so there is no need to repeat here what is already widely known about him. After his death, the company was carried on by his son, Marc, until his death in 1977, and then by his daughter (René’s granddaughter) Marie Claude Lalique Dedouvre until her untimely death in 2003.

René Jules Lalique (in his Since 2008 the company has been Swiss owned, by ‘Art et formative years).

Fragrance’, and the CEO is Silvio Denz, President Directeur General de Lalique S.A. Denz along with Sir Elton John who recently collaborated with Lalique co-designing exclusive pieces are very passionate collector’s along with many prominent personages on the world stage and the company is in a very healthy state!

René Lalique was first introduced to the world of motoring in 1907 by Vincenzo Florio, who commissioned him to design a trophy and the award plaques for the Targo Florio races of that year. This spectacular trophy in gold with a flock of white enamelled swallows chasing a bas-relief gold racing car as it rushes by brightly coloured flowers cost Vincenzo the princely sum of 5,000 gold francs, or the equivalent of £11,000 in today’s money.

The Taga Florio competitors commemorative plaque in bronze by Lalique, 3.5 by 5.5cm (only 10 examples are recorded).

La Ville-Lumiere (the city of light) is a reference to Paris being one of the first cities in Europe to adopt street lighting. Lalique did not contemplate producing car mascots in glass until he was inspired by the shooting star atop the Eiffel Tower that was commissioned by André Citröen, along with his trade name in lights that was emblazoned up the side of the tower during the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratives et Industriels Modernes (art deco for short) of 1925.

In August of that year he produced a car mascot (bouchon de radiateur) of a shooting star (Comète Etoile Filante). He met with André Citröen during this Paris Exposition and Citröen told him about his forthcoming new car, the Citröen 5CV (Cinq chevaux-vapeur). Being an entrepreneurial type and known for his canny promotional skills, he asked Lalique if he could come up with an appropriate car 6

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mascot for this vehicle. What the latter came up with was something that captured the essence of this car ‑ five prancing horses graduated in line representing this five-horse-powered car... André Citröen was delighted!

It should be noted that although the Faucon (the Falcon) was the first car mascot design registered on 5/8/1925 by Lalique it is widely thought that the Cinq Chevaux was the first one actually launched commercially onto the market a few days after.

From then on Lalique was inspired to create more of the same, and re-introduced two mermaids, Sirène and Naïade; these two mermaids were listed in his 1920 catalogue as statuettes and they were adapted (by the Breves Galleries) to fit onto metal radiator bases as car mascots. In the 1932 catalogue 29 are listed, as this did not include Longchamp A (this is just listed as ‘Longchamp’, though with the later introduction of the single-mane version they were then given the letters ‘A’ & ‘B’ to distinguish between the first one, that had a **double mane, and the second with a single mane). So with this one included, 30 is the ‘complete’ edition. (It has been questioned whether the Naïade statuette, being the far taller mermaid was ever used as a car mascot, so some people say there were 29 in the range, not 30 ‑ but this is still debatable.)

Lalique took inspiration from his love of wildlife, birds and animals and also from his fascination with ancient Egypt and Greek mythology, and in 1922, with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter, all things Egyptian inspired artists all over the world, Lalique included.

You only have to look at the Hawk’s Head and Falcon mascots, along with the Grecian Archer mascot and the Cinq Chevaux, to see this inspiration coming through. Also a lot of the designs were influenced by the fact that Lalique lived through the art deco period – take, for example, the Cubist forms of the Longchamp horse head mascots: Coq Houdan is especially of a Cubist inspired appearance, and Toby (the Elephant) is distinctly Cubist in form; some think this is a mascot, but it’s a paperweight (presse-papier) that has a ‘stepped’ circular base (the inside ring has a 4-mm circumference) unsuitable for mounting as a car mascot.

Many are natural in appearance, such as his fish, birds and other animals. The nudes are extremely erotic and seductive, as in Vitesse and Chrysis. Perhaps the most well known of the range of mascots is the female head of Victoire, or Spirit of the Wind (also known as ‘Seminole’ in the USA). The majority of these mascots were produced in plain clear glass or in both clear and frosted glass, or in a satin finish.

Some are colour tinted, some are opalescent and the very rarest and most difficult to locate are the fully coloured glass examples, of which only one or two are known to exist; the others are obtainable ‑ at a price! To try and obtain the whole edition would be a lifetime’s quest as the rarest is certainly the Fox (Renard), probably the second rarest to locate is the Owl (Hibou), followed by the Comète. Only a few of these spectacular pieces are known to exist, but how many were produced is unknown as the Alsace and Lorraine region where the factory was (and still is) located was taken over by the German forces during the invasion of France in 1940, when the factory was occupied and the records either taken away or destroyed. It’s known that many of the moulds, original drawings and sketches were removed by the Lalique family and stored for the duration of hostilities. However, it is thought that very limited production was allowed to continue (as shown in the wartime manufacturing dates of pieces listed in all editions of the R. Lalique Catalogue Raisonné de l’oeuvre de verre).

I do hope the information provided here will be of particular use to collectors and students of Lalique and to those who trade in Lalique glass and provide much-needed information for the auction houses that sometimes get their descriptions wrong for lack of accurate and ready information.

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Moulded Glass Glass is an artificial compound crated by a fusion of silica, such as flint, quartz or sand, with an alkaline flux of potash or soda in a furnace. Additional ingredients can create varied effects related to hardness or sheen, or, with metallic oxides, opalescence and colour. The glass used was of a low lead demi-crystal content whereas the Lalique glass today it is of a much higher full lead crystal content, which makes for a whiter appearance. In fact the company today is known as ‘Cristal Lalique S.A.’.

Method The entire range of car mascots and paperweights was of moulded or pressed glass production, the method being that first rough sketches are shown and sent for approval, then working drawings are made of the desired piece complete with dimensions and full details of the artwork. A working clay sculpture is produced and then a plaster mould, from which a final (usualy) cast iron or steel mould is made to cast the piece from. A bubble (known as a glob) of molten glass is pressed into the mould with a special tool ‑ hence ‘pressed glass’. The resulting piece coming out of this mould is then annealed (cooled), hand finished, polished and any mould lines removed. After final inspection it is then signed by engraving or by a wheelcut signature as a Lalique approved item, even if the signature is already impressed or intaglio signed within the piece itself. (Other forms of signature methods are described later on.)

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Mounting Bases During the late 1920s the Lalique factory produced its own die-struck chrome-plated French bronze mounting bases to display the mascot as a desk ornament. This had a split-screw collar ring which secured the mascot to the top of the base, which had a red rubber washer to divide the metal from the glass. It had a splayed base platform.

A lighting base of a similar design was then devised that had various forms of light-bulb fittings; it was an early type that had the exposed electrical connector to the back of the base welded to the splitring collar which then screwed onto the mount, which in turn fitted onto the base, inside which was the light bulb, which was bayonet sprung.

But the factory decided to grant a licence to the Breves Galleries in the UK in order for them to come up with a better form of mount, which they did. These base mounts have the gallery’s address moulded clearly into the side of the base as ‘Breves Galleries, Knightsbridge, London SW3’ along with the patent number. Breves also devised a way of being able to mount the mascot onto the radiator top cap by a similar method, which included a large screw bolt with an octagonal nut on the underside of the base, which had a bayonet bulb holder to take a little festoon bulb (of 6 or 12 volts depending on the car’s battery size) which was located inside the hollow base. Part of the holder came out of the side and could then be wired up to the car’s battery and as the vehicle moved it got brighter and brighter. Inside were coloured filters that could be changed from time to time for a different lighting effect. There were two basic sizes but maybe up to a dozen different styles, which included the desk display bases which usually had a flared base plate. They were also of different heights. Two sizes of mounting rings were employed for the two base sizes ‑ these were split rings which screwed onto the top of the base. The ring had to be prized open and positioned very carefully over the mascot and then screwed onto the base. It was not easy to position the tight screw-grooves to align on the top of the base. Once aligned, it had to be gently screwed into position, not too tight, so as not to damage the lip of the base of the glass mascot.

Over time the rubber washer would perish in various weather conditions, and as it frequently got damaged by the vibration that occured, this was an ingenious but flawed method of showing off one’s mascot. Most owners preferred to show off their beloved mascot in which they took such pride and joy by displaying it in situ at a Concours d’Elegance. These gatherings of prestigious cars were very popular at this time. The vehicle was either driven very slowly around the display area or was static for most of the time, usually with a lady clad in matching attire as she posed next to the esteemed vehicle. I have photos dating from the period with such ladies posing in front of the car where the owner’s chosen Lalique mascot is clearly in the limelight!

I have encountered these mounts in chrome-plated brass, nickel or cadmium and polished steel. As stated, various sizes were produced to fit the different sizes of the circular mascot bases. They are difficult to locate and quite rare and hence expensive. Difficulty arises when you want to inspect the base of the mascot that you are contemplating buying, as they can be awkward to remove because with the passage of time they tend to stick and will not unscrew. Don’t force it, as you may do further damage to a possibly already damaged piece! Let the owner try to remove it if possible for you to inspect the piece, for if you do inflict damage (for example, at an auction viewing), I would say that means you’ve bought it! If it won’t shift, try WD-40 or any similar penetrating oil spray, allowing it to soak in.

These bases designed by the Breves Galleries are now being made again, and most are sourced and advertised in the USA, though they may actually be manufactured elsewhere. I have encountered 9

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original contemporary-period bases of various forms suitable for mounting the mascots that have been similar to the Breves types, but they are varied in quality, and most are not named, have no serial number and are unmarked.

42. Lalique’s own early attempt at a factory 43. An example of a Breves London Galleries produced metal car mascot mount (see text).

Lalique mascot radiator lighting base, showing the impressed address.

43A. An example of a Breves London Galleries Lalique mascot radiator lighting base, showing the inside.

43B. Breves Galleries radiator base in its componant parts.

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44. Close-up view of a Breves Galleries radiator lighting base mounted onto a turned wood display plinth.

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Signatures The word minefield springs to mind here! Attempting to explain the varied forms of signatures is difficult to say the least! The factory used various forms as intaglio (meaning moulded within the manufacture of the piece itself), moulded in relief (meaning raised out of the piece), sand-blasted, stencil signed, wheel-cut, acid etched or hand etched ‑incised with a diamond point or with a tungsten head engraving tool after the piece was checked and passed as OK. To make things even more complicated, some were both intaglio and etched on the same piece at the same time!

What is not a variant is that all inter-war pieces (i.e. pieces made between the First and Second World Wars) will be signed ‘R. Lalique France’... ... but hold on ‑ they still did this on some early post-war pieces (for example, St Christopher) right up until the 1980s (as this was intaglio moulded and part of the piece that could not be changed as the original mould was still in use).

So not all inter-war period pieces are truly signed R. Lalique prior to the death of the founder, as Tête de Coq was boldly intaglio signed (under its chin) with just ‘LALIQUE FRANCE’ in large block capitals, without the ‘R’ for René (for some unknown reason). After the war it was produced like this right up until 1957, after which it continued to be produced from a new mould employing crystal glass and then it was engraved ‘Lalique France’ etched in script form curving around the edge of the bottom of the base. Years with 7 in them seem to be crucial as some pieces were discontinued in the years 1937, 1947 and 1957.

The Tête de Paon will be signed ‘R. Lalique’ in intaglio in large block capitals on the side of the base together with a much smaller ‘France’ in between the groove of the integral mounting ring. However, I have also encountered a piece with ‘FRANCE’ in intaglio block capitals alongside the ‘R. Lalique’ with the usual and correct, much smaller ‘France’ to the inside of the groove in the integral mounting ring.

The Comète mascots (mentioned later on) that came up for auction, although possibly from the same mould, had the signatures in slightly different positions on the bottom edge of the tail of the star.

A double tailed ‘q’ form was used in the ‘q’ of the Lalique signature found on Vitesse, Victoire, Tête d’Epervier and some very rare examples of the Comète. Interestingly, an example of the rare Renard was offered at an American provincial auction (that wishes to remain anonymous) in 2011; this was not signed as it was supposed to be stencil signed ‘R. Lalique France’ around the rim of the base. Even so, it fetched the phenomenal amount of $204,750; it also had damage, proving that it remained very desirable even without the Lalique signature! It did, however have impeccable provenance, being from the Du Point family. I have no answer as to why this should have left the factory unsigned ‑ possibly a rejected or unfinished piece? (This auction house has declined an offer to publish photos of this mascot.)

Quoting from the Musée Lalique press kit of 2011: During the manufacturing process, a piece is checked at least ten times and may be discarded for a defect which is sometimes difficult to detect. Only those pieces that satisfy all the selection criteria are entitled to the signature, a guarantee of authenticity and quality.

(The signature should have been of the stencilled block lettering form on the left side of the circular base when viewed holding the piece with the head facing to the left.)

Another correctly signed example came up at auction (i) and fetched $338,500. In general, post-war 12

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to modern-day Lalique will be etch-signed ‘Lalique France’; in between Lalique and France there will be a small circled ‘r’ as ®., meaning registered and not standing for René! Some of the earlier post-war examples will just have ‘Lalique France’ without the ‘r’ registration, which was brought in later for copyright purposes.

The various forms of signatures were used at different periods during the company’s history and most of the known examples are shown in this book and also in some of the other publications mentioned. Some also had the catalogue number engraved onto the bottom of the base prior to them leaving the factory – namely, the two mermaids and the roundel (roundaliers) types of St Christopher, the Archer and the Greyhound.

All the Lalique range of car mascots were formed from cast iron or sometimes steel moulds ‑ hence the term ‘pressed glass’ ‑ so some intaglio signatures may be quite faint and need searching out on the piece, as, for example, with Tête d’Aigle, which is found at the side among the feathers, and Perche, which is between the fins, located near the base of the piece. The script signatures can also be quite hard to detect as they are extremely small, so a good magnifying glass needs to be carried with you while out on the hunt for them – not quite in the manner of Sherlock Holmes! ‑ a small folding one will suffice.

46A. An example of a inter-war period 47. An example of the inter-war ‘R. Lalique France’ signature (see text). period R. Lalique intaglio signature.

49. An example of a wheel-cut 48. An example of an engraved signature after 1926. signature before 1926.

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50. An example of a moulded intaglio signature.

Timeline MAJOR DATES IN THE LIFE OF RENÉ LALIQUE 1860 Birth of René Jules Lalique on 6 April in Aÿ en Champagne (Marne).

experiments and creations in glass date from this period.

Meets Augustine-Alice Ledru.

1876 The young René is apprenticed to the jeweller, Louis Aucoc. While learning jewel-making techniques, he takes classes at the School of Decorative Arts in Paris.

1892 Birth of Suzanne, daughter of René Lalique and Augustine-Alice Ledru.

1893 Is awarded a Second Prize for the Thistle Flower chalice and a commendation with medal for the vase. Vine Branches and Satyrs, at the goldsmiths’ competition by the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs.

1878 Spends some time in England and studies at the Sydenham School of Art for two years.

1897 Receives the Croix de Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

1882 Sets up as a freelance designer and works for the great jewellery houses such as Jacta, Aucoc, Cartier, Gariod, Hamelin, Boucheron, Destape...

1884 Joins forces with Varenne who places his drawings with jewellery makers.

1885 Takes over the workshop of the jeweller, Jules Destapes, Place Gaillon in Paris.

1886 Marriage to Marie-Louise Lambert. Their union will result in the birth of a daughter, Georgette.

1887 Transfers his workshop to 24, Rue du QuatreSeptembre in Paris.

1898 Buys a property in Clairefontaine. He sets up a glass workshop there.

1900 Takes part in the Universal Exhibition in Paris: this is the apotheosis of his career as a jeweller.

René Lalique is promoted to the honorary rank of Officier de la Légion d’Honneur on 14 August.

Birth or Marc, son of René Lalique and AugustineAlice Ledru.

1902 Marriage to Augustine-Alice Ledru. They move into the town house that he has just had built at 40, Cours-la-Reine in Paris. This also houses his workshops and exhibition rooms.

1888 Makes his first jewellery in chased gold with decorations inspired by Antiquity and Japonism.

1905 Opens a boutique at 24, place Vendôme where he exhibits not only jewellery but also pieces in glass made in his workshop at his property in Clairefontaine near Rambouillet.

1889 Takes part as an associate of Vever, Boucheron... in the Universal Exhibition in Paris.

1907 Meets François Coty for whom he will create perfume bottles.

1890 Sets up his studio at 20, rue Thérèse in Paris. His first 14

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1909 Rents the Combs-la-Ville glassworks in the Paris region.

First patent registered. Death of Augustine-Alice Lalique Ledru.

1911 Organises his first exhibition devoted solely to glass.

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1926 Is promoted to the rank of Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur.

Designs and constructs the stained glass windows for Saint-Nicaise church in Rheims.

Designs the gallery, Arcades des Champs Elysées.

1927 Participates in the interior design for the ocean liner, Ile-de-France.

1912 Organises his final jewellery exhibition.

1929 Participates in the decoration of the train, the Côte-d’Azur-Pullmann Express.

1913 Buys the Combs-la-Ville glassworks.

1919 Travels to Lorraine and Alsace looking for a place better suited to the production of pieces in glass and with qualified workers. He is helped to set up in Wingen-sur-Moder by Alexandre Millerand, a fan of his work in glass, who would later become President of the French Republic.

1921 The Verrerie d’Alsace in Wingen-sur-Moder starts production.

Participates in the decoration of the ocean liner, Paris.

1923 Collaborates in the decoration of the town house belonging to Madeleine Vionnet, on the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

1924 Participates in the decoration of the ocean liner, De Grasse.

1925 Takes part in the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris.

It is a triumph of Art Deco and the high point of René Lalique’s glass production. In working the material, his style expresses itself principally through what would become the famous contrast between the transparent and satin finish. He occasionally adds a patina, enamel or mass colour. Introduction of the famous range of Bouchon de RadiateurMascottes, presse-papiers, serre livres and ornamental desk ornaments to his range of glass objects and collectables.

1930 Produces a dining room for Madame Paquin.

1931 Takes part in the International Colonial Exhibition.

1932 Makes fountains for the Rond-Point des Champs Elysées.

Makes the front doors for the residence of Prince Asaka Yasuhiko in Tokyo (now the Teien Palace).

Designs and produces the interior of St. Mathews church on St Helier, Jersey, Channel islands.

1933 Retrospective at the Pavillon de Marsan - Museum of Decorative Arts.

1935 Participates in the decoration of the ocean liner, Normandie.

Leaves the Place Vendôme and moves into a new boutique at 11, rue Royale in Paris.

1940 The factory in Wingen-sur-Moder is requisitioned by the German army.

1945 Death of René Lalique on 1 May in Paris.

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Modern Crystal Reproductions, Copies or Out and Out Fakes As in all things in life, the maxim once popular, thrice copied applies here! Most collectors are well aware of copies of Lalique mascots. Fortunately, most of them are produced in inferior glass that is quite brittle and of the incorrect hue. Some are being produced in Eastern Europe (in the Czech Republic) and mounted onto (usually) black glass bases with the mascot glued in place! This was never the case with the genuine pieces. Look for moulding seems, faults within the glass, crude finishing, etc, as well as false intaglio and other crude R. Lalique signatures. The most popular fakes are Victoire and Longchamp ‘B’, and I’ve seen Tête de Paon in a whitish finish with a crude intaglio ‘R. Lalique’ without ‘France’ within the mounting groove of the base, which is incorrect as ‘France’ should form part of the whole signature. Tête d’Epervier was produced in black glass with a thicker base than the Lalique original, the copy by Christaleries Rigolleau S.A. Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have seen this in black glass with their signature moulded in relief and it’s from circa 1935. This is direct plagiarism of the Lalique original! There are certainly more types to be found and from time to time they seem to be coming out of the woodwork, so buyer beware!

Some years ago a genuine Lalique mascot collection was sold to Mansour Ojjeh, a well-known Formula One racing personality and (former) Force India team owner; however, all of them were irradiated to give the impression of a rare colour which never existed, using Cobalt 80 irradiation ‑ the only ‘Deep Purple’ I’m aware of are the rock band! The case came to the High Court and the dealers in question were prosecuted. This was a well-publicised case of 14 December 1998, and a comprehensive article was published in the Independent newspaper the following day (you could Google this, as it makes for fascinating reading).

Some genuine period pieces were produced under licence granted to the Persons Majestic Manufacturing Co. of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, and these have this company name clearly shown on every piece, moulded in relief on the base. Some were stylised copies made by rival companies, such as the other French glass makers, E.M. Sabino and L.B. Model, along with the Etling concern with designs by Verlux, while the British Red Ashay Co. and Warren Kesler, together with the very old and well-established Desna Glass company located in the Czech Republic, still produce glass car mascot designs influenced by Lalique’s inter-war period designs and they are quite good and reasonably abundant to collect. These are perfectly legitimate and well worth seeking out if your finances won’t stretch to Lalique. However, the quality and definition cannot rival Lalique!

Try to avoid copies as they are useless ‑ and I’m being kind here as they are indeed fakes and as such are less than worthless (to the serious collector especially so, because they cause confusion to the market). Expert advice needs to be sought from auction houses and specialist dealers.

Prior to going out and buying, I first purchased books on the subject, and especially auction catalogues, which are a mine of information. Then I studied and studied until I thought I knew what I was looking out for ‑ and you must do the same! Go out and handle the real thing; compare these with modern Lalique and you will soon see the definition and hue of old glass compared with the new crystal that is used to produce the modern paperweights now being reintroduced from the inter-war patterns and marketed as presse-papier desk ornaments for today’s collectors. Please don’t get me wrong here as these are superb pieces in their own right; however, the originals will never again be resurrected.

I was informed by a Lalique Paris executive during an informal chat at a cocktail party thrown at 16

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the Lalique shop in 2002 then located in Sloane Street, London that they would not be reintroducing the series of car mascots. However, they have since reintroduced Victoire, Vitesse, Tête de Paon, Grande Libellule and Longchamp B as paperweights (presse-papiers). There will possibly be more in the future as some of the moulds may still exist (it is known that most of the moulds, and hence the factory too, survived the German occupation of Alsace-Lorraine after World War II ended). The bases are altered for today’s collectors, and of course new moulds would have to be manufactured. They are well presented and packaged in the famous grey Lalique box and make wonderful display items and a sound investment as they tend to have an annual price hike every January. Likewise, some have never been deleted, such as Victoire, Vitesse and Chrysis, while some have been deleted, such as St Christopher (back in the 1980’s) and recently Tête d’Aigle, Tête de Coq, Hirondelle, Perche and Sanglier. Whereas Longchamp ‘B’ has recently been re-introduced (as a paperweight). Things change from time to time here and a wise eye needs to be kept on this market!

As mentioned the mascots are sometimes to be found on their original Breves Galleries bases.

Unfortunately, these too are being reproduced and are extremely well made. If you look carefully, you’ll see that the definition of the moulded address is not as good or as ‘deeply cut’ as in the original; however, you would need to compare it side by side with an original to tell this. I have seen them marketed in the USA, but they could be made elsewhere; they are expensive but useful if you want to display-mount your mascot. They are of course new and fresh in appearance but could also be artificially aged, so again buyer beware!

Looking down on an ‘almost complete’ collection of Lalique automotive mascots.

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Mascot, Bookend or Paperweight?

As already mentioned, although Toby the Elephant looks like it’s a car mascot, it’s a paperweight and not suitable for mounting as a mascot. The two types of mermaids were produced as statuettes in 1920 (the exact date of their introduction is not recorded); however, they were brought into the car mascot portfolio in 1925. Almost all of the mascot production was also marketed as paperweights. Some of the mascots were adapted as bookends by mounting them onto a chrome collar ring which in turn fitted onto either black mirror-finish or white frosted-glass square bases or onto black polished square marble bases. The bases are sometimes signed ‘R. Lalique France’ in stencil form on the edge of the bases.

Confusingly, most of the mascots, bookends and paperweights were listed with the same catalogue numbers in their own specific categories.

The types that were adapted as pairs of bookends (serre-livres) are: Faucon, Coq Nain, Coq Houdan, Tête de Coq, Tête de Bélier, Tête d’Aigle, Tête de Paon, Hirondelle, Epsom, Pintade and Longchamps A and B. It is interesting to note that an entirely different mould was later used for the Coq Houdan to create it as bookends (similar to the ends of the timepiece of the same name), and later in 1947 Hirondelle acquired block bases for use exclusively as bookends, and which had a different catalogue number. All the others were just mounted via a chrome collar ring onto a square (usually black) glass base also signed in block capitals ‘R. Lalique’. Incidentally, the Coq Nain (or Bantam Cockerel) had to be adapted to fit into a Breves base, and that is the reason why you may encounter them with the claws ground down! These particular types were chosen to form bookends as in each case the design lent itself to this use.

René Lalique was a marketing genius and combined his designs of mascots, statuettes, paperweights and bookends in order to form separate sales opportunities for his various retail outlets. You may encounter many additional forms of display bases, be they metal, glass, marble, Bakelite or wood, some in period and others more recent; they bear no relationship to the official bases mentioned, but they do in general enhance the look of any mascot.

22D. Longchamp ‘B’ in a rare amber-yellow colour, mounted as one of a pair of bookends (see text).

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The Importance of Colour Most of the Lalique mascots that you will encounter will be in clear or frosted glass; some may be more white than others, some will be in a satin finish or in a greyish hue, and some will be in both light to a graduating dark grey. You may if you’re very fortunate come across colour-tinted or stained (patiné) or opalescent (milky-blue) examples, as in Sirène, Naïade and Perche; I have also seen some vibrant orange-yellow versions of Perche, and some of these when held up to the light may have a bright golden centre. Recently Vitesse in a beautiful deep opalescent milky blue came up at auction, not once but on three occasions. The one in a provincial auction (ii) in England had some very slight damage to the feet and had a rather tired look about it, but still managed to achieve over £17,000. A perfect example came up for sale at auction (iii) in Paris, not achieving its reserve; more recently at auction (iv) back in England, it fetched £26,000, and this particular example may have been the one that had done the rounds of the auction houses previously.

The Tête d’Epervier was produced in a standard clear glass; however, there are opalescent and also smoky grey examples that were made and some that were also produced with a light amethyst tinting.

The more prolific examples that you may encounter will be in this light amethyst tint, as in Cinq Chevaux, Victoire, Vitesse, Faucon, Archer, Tête de Bélier, Tête d’Aigle, Coq Nain, Lévrier, Hirondelle, Sainte-Christophe, Epsom, Longchamps A and B, and Grande and Petite Libellule.

However, the rarest are the full-coloured examples, of which very few were produced. These may be in a full-colour dark (almost black) green with a magnificent amber glowing centre showing through when held up to the light, as in a superb Coq Nain that I have encountered. I have also seen this in dark graduated amber with a fire-glow red centre to it. There are also a few bright lilac-coloured versions of this bantum cockerel that sometimes come onto the market from time to time. An extremely rare Tête de Paon in a delightful full turquoise electric blue colour came up at auction (v) in 2009 and made $40,000. Another one (or possibly even the same one) came up at auction (vi) again in 2012 and made the same figure, and this one came up yet again in 2012 at Bonhams auction house (i), making $43,750 this time around!

A few of them were made as experimental factory-test full-coloured examples, such as the extremely rare violet-blue Grenouille and Renard, the violet-blue Coq Nain, the brilliant green Tête de Paon along with the electric blue Tete de Paon and Epsom and an amber-red Epsom. These pieces were sold at auction (vii) alongside a ‘complete collection’ in the same sale some years ago. You are highly unlikely ever to come across these as they rarely come onto the open market since they were in general made as in-house factory one-offs.

Modern Lalique is made of crystal glass with a much higher lead content and is generally far whiter than that made in the inter-war period, which has less lead content to the glass. Post-war until the late 1990s Lalique marketed some colour-tinted versions, especially Perche in opalescent milky-blue, pale blue, light green, orange-yellow and amber-yellow, and also Sanglier in dark grey. Then early in the new century it reintroduced Chrysis in a golden yellow hue and also in a stark matt black finish. The Tête de Paon was re-introduced in satin black, vivid dark blue and a golden metallic finish, but these have all now been deleted ‑ hence they should prove to be collectors’ items! What will be in the *offing in the future is anyone’s guess,,, 19

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Note that it is important with this crystal glass not to confuse age patination with coloured tinting for, as with all glass, it may take on a sepia patina of a yellowish russet-brown hue through exposure to sunlight, through contact with acid from handling, or simply with the passage of time. *Since the publication of Vol. 1 Cristal Lalique S.A. have introduced Bugatti Elephant mascots, and Bentley flying ‘B’s as desk ornaments and as after shave decorative items, which are detailed and listed in this edition.

40. Bugatti Elephant Rampante present day production by Cristal Lalique (see text).

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18A. Grande Libellule in the extremely rare and desirable full colour electric blue.

Modern chrystal dragonflys, one in clear & fosted and the other in deep ocean blue finish, in their factory boxes with inspection certificates.

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20E. Victoire with a very strong amethyst colour tint.

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23E. Epsom in a strong dark amber finish

   as a unique experimental factory colour test piece.

30E. Renard in a dark grey as a unique factory experimental colour test piece (see text on the various factory colour test pieces).

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How Rare? Very, Not So Rare, Quite Common The very rarest are the tinted and full-coloured examples as mentioned. The opalescent ones can be found without too much of a problem, but at a price. It is known and recorded that the first Longchamp had a very short production run from 12 June 1929 to 10 September 1929 owing to the fact that Lalique was not happy with the double mane and wanted to alter the design, so a new one was sculptured and hence a new mould, along with a new designation (Longchamp B); this is the only occasion where two similar pieces have been given the same name. However, apart from recorded evidence, the numbers produced of each one of the 30 pieces in the range is not known. However, only a handful of Renard, Hibou and Comète are known to exist, and all the others are available and do enter the world market quite frequently – and, as stated, they are available at a *price. I list the ‘magnificent and rarest seven’, starting with the aforementioned, along with Epsom, Grenouille, Longchamp A and Vitesse.

Others are fairly rare but not too difficult to locate, such as Cinq Chevaux, Tête d’Epervier, Petite Libellule and Coq Houdan. Then not so rare are Naïade, Pintade, Tête de Bélier, Tête de Paon, Lévrier, Grande Libellule, Tête de Coq, Hirondelle, Victoire, Faucon, Chrysis and Longchamp B, which were all produced in higher numbers. All the others come onto the market and are offered at auction and on the internet quite frequently and are no problem to find at reasonable prices. You could start by collecting the most common ones that were produced in more prolific numbers, such as Sirène, Perche, Sanglier, Coq Nain, Tête d’Aigle, St Christopher and the Archer, all in clear and frosted glass. (The above is my own personal opinion acquired through my buying and selling experience.) *When they were first introduced onto the market they were listed & priced according to whether they were clear, clear & frosted, colour washed or tinted or the more expensive opalescent and full colour pieces of which very few were produced.

22A. Longchamps ‘A’ and ‘B’ shown together for comparison.

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Interesting Facts and Figures The National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire once had a very fine collection indeed, being from the Pickard-Cambridge Family Collection, and it included not one but two examples of an extremely rare Tête de Paon in a superb electric blue turquoise colour (slightly different from each other in the graduation of colour). Also on display was a violet-blue Coq Nain a light-to-dark graduated amethyst Tête d’Aigle, light amethyst-tinted Victoire, Comète and Grande Libellule, an opalescent Tête d’Epervier with a golden orange centre, Perche in orange-yellow and a grey-green Coq Houdan.

Unfortunately the collection was dispersed some years ago. Lord (John) Montagu himself had a very handsome amethyst-tinted Cinq Chevaux mounted onto a Breves Galleries display base in the collection. Many were mounted onto Breves Galleries display bases and also onto Breves radiator lighting bases.

Lalique was asked to design a trophy mascot for the VIP guests who had been invited to the inaugural run in 1929 of the French National Railways Le Cote d’Azur over-night train. The name Compagnie des Wagons-Lits was on this intaglio inscription along with the date around the base of the statuette.

The dimensions were 16.5cm long by 15cm in height. This design was based on the Vitesse (Goddess of Speed) and had an elongated base. Canny Lalique then marketed this as a desk ornament (without the inscription) for general sale.

The Rolls-Royce Motor Company commissioned Lalique to produce a limited-edition run of 200 individual numbered statuettes of the Spirit of Ecstasy car mascot as a presentation desk piece ornament for its 90th anniversary in 1994. The dimensions were 190mm in overall height, the mascot itself being 160mm tall and the integral circular base 70mm in diameter. They were then marketed and distributed

by Rapiditas Editions Ltd. UK, who supplied a certificate showing the issue number on it, together with the Lalique warranty slip. These do show up from time to time, and one came up for auction (viii) in 2010 with an estimate of £7,000 to £9,000, though it did not reach its reserve. I’m sure others will be coming onto the market as it’s a relatively recent edition (in Lalique age terms). Another one came up for auction (xiv) more recently and was estimated at £8,000 to £10,000. It again did not reach its reserve but was sold just after the sale. Another one, on an English silver hallmarked display base mount, came up at an auction (x) in Switzerland in 2010 and was sold for nearly £10,000. In a final twist of fate, No. RR178 came up at a Bonhams auction (xi) at Beaulieu and sold for near to £5,000; however, the head of the Automobilia Department informed me that an absentee bidder had left a ceiling bid of £10,000 on it to ensure he acquired it ‑ which he did.

At one classic car auction (xii) the automobilia included rare Lalique mascots, all with very low estimates (in euros, €). These were: Epsom (€500‑800); Victoire (€500‑800); Tête d’Epervier (€400‑700); Lévrier (€400‑700); Petite Libellule (€500‑800); Grande Libellule (€700‑1,200); Cinq Chevaux (€1,200‑1,800); Hirondelle (€1,200‑1,800); Coq Houdan (€1,200‑1,800); Vitesse (€1,200‑1,800) and Faucon (€1,200‑1,800), and the same estimate for an amethyst-tinted Faucon on its original Breves lighting base! All had extremely low estimates, and all were withdrawn from the auction because of a fire at their warehouse. (I’m just reporting the facts, as it’s up to those who attended and the catalogue buyers to make their own minds up as to what happened here.)

In comparison, at the same auction house (see i), an Epsom fetched $68,500, a Victoire $25,000, a Grenouille $23,750 (US), a Longchamp Double Mane $21,250, a Petite Libellule $17,500, a Pintade

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$15,000 and a Tête de Bélier $12,500. A dealer associate of mine has on offer (at the time of writing) a delightful Chrysis in rare opalescent milky-blue, and the asking price is £55,000.

A special one-off Greyhound (xiii) was produced and designed on 1 July 1929 for an official Paris visit of the (then) Prince of Wales, George (Albert), Duke of York, who later became King George V1 of the United Kingdom for his visit with Queen Elizabeth to the French capital in 1931. Note: Some books refer to this piece as having originally been produced for the youngest of the three royal brothers being Prince George (Edward Alexander Edmund when Duke of Kent), who was killed on duty while traveling in a R.A.F. Flying boat that crashed in Caithness, Scotland on 25/8/1942, so he would have been alive prior to this date to receive this piece, if indeed it was originally intended for him? This unique piece has the animal arched and pouncing in beautiful detail picked out in frosted glass on a clear glass ground having the engraved signature ‘R. Lalique’ to the left-hand side near the foot of the rear leg (looking at it with the dog facing left) and without ‘France’ as part of the signature. Unfortunately this piece was damaged (fortunately only the base) some time ago during its ‘captivity’; the broken bits are kept with the piece and I was informed that the original owner (who has possessed it for over 25 years) did not wish to have it restored. It is fitted into its original-period split ring produced by the Lalique factory on a metal lighting mounting base with a working light with coloured filters. Its dimensions are 12.7 cm high by 17.5 cm wide, and as such, it is considerably larger than the other two roundel mascots in the series. It has since resurfaced and was placed into Christie’s London auction house on 14 October 2012, this being a well-lit room where it could be photographed. However, it did not sell as it had a very wide estimate of £300,000 to £500,000. It has probably gone back to the vendor ‑ but no doubt other ‘unique Lalique mascots’ will come out of the woodwork in the future!

All modern Lalique is presented and sold in a grey box that has a grey foam retaining support with a cut-out to take the paperweight (some more recent editions are in a black box). They are sold with a warranty and inspection certificate inside. Since these boxes can be dated, this allows the approximate date of the manufacture of the piece inside to be gauged. The present-day boxes have a more substantial foam inner support. The box for the Rolls-Royce desk piece described here is very large and has an outer slip-case as well.

Modern grey Lalique boxes.

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Fact or Fiction?

As mentioned, the Breves Galleries in London were commissioned by Lalique to design mounting bases for the full mascot base size range and to retail them. They were also the only outlet at the time licensed to to retail the car mascots as well. They promoted them very well with advertisements in many motoring magazines and popular newspapers of the time, making some outlandish claims that would not be tolerated by the advertising standards authority today! The following quotes are taken directly from the Breves Galleries’ advertising and promotional material of the period...

Taken from The Tatler issue No. 1424 October 10th 1925 ‘PARIS PROCLAIMS LALIQUE for MASCOTS The zenith of car fashion in Paris today is a Lalique Glass Mascot.

The exquisite art of this master craftsman in glass is a fitting seal for cars of connoisseurs. In design Lalique mascots are inspirations of a genius, in workmanship they are faultless, in effect they are entirely unique with a charm and brilliance hitherto quite foreign to mascots. They are internally illuminated and all are hard as metal to withstand hard wear.’

Quote from a supposed client: ‘I bought from you last Spring one of your Falcon mascots for cars. It toured over 10,000 miles in Central Europe over the worst roads imaginable and it is in as good condition as it was when new.

This, I think is pretty good, as the vibration must have been terrible’.

Lalique’s 1928 catalogue stated: ‘Moderately priced now, priceless, for only a certain number of each design are made and then the moulds are destroyed.’... What!!! (there is no evidence of this ever happening).

However the official motoring organ of the age, The Autocar, wrote: ‘By consensus of opinion, it has been agreed that Lalique glass mascots are among the most beautiful ever made available for use on a motorcar.’

Also this more believable ad, taken from the The Autocar issue of May 1929: ‘Mascots by Rene Lalique, Yes the greatest living artist in glass designed a series for the motorists of Paris ‑ and it was the judgement of Paris that nothing so original had ever adorned a car. Beautiful by day, they are altogether captivating at night, when illuminated with concealed lights in rich and glowing colours. The models range from a team of charging horses to a dragonfly poised for flight, 26

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and there are appropriate designs for every type of car. Exquisite works of art these, and practical too, for the glass is untarnishable and almost unbreakable. The authentic Lalique Mascots, signed by the artist, are obtainable only from Breves’ Lalique Galleries, where many other lovely forms of glass are on view ‑ all by the same master hand.’

Quoting from an advert placed by the Breves Galleries in the June 1929 issue of Punch magazine: ‘Shining, Scintillating, Lovely Lalique car mascots (the crystallised thoughts of the artist master craftsman Rene Lalique) are making their way to the bonnets of the cars of connoisseurs, there to stay poised, the dernier cri of aesthetic taste. Breves Galleries are the sole concessionaires for these mascots for England and would urge you to make your choice where there is yet time, for only a certain number of them are being made, and when these are produced the moulds will be broken, thus ensuring rarity. Made of metallised glass, practically unbreakable, they are illuminated so that you can at once pick out your car at night. Mascots for radiator or dash (usual fittings) £3.3.0 Mascots (with light fitting) £4.4.0’ (The average wage was £2.2.0 per week and a pint of beer a penny ha’penny ‑ so they were extremely expensive at the time!)

Quoting from the Breves Galleries original instruction leaflet: ‘Lalique Mascots look best when placed on the scuttle of the car, a short way behind the opening of the bonnet and anything from 6 to 8 ins. from the windscreen, according to the lines of the car. This shows them to the best advantage and obviates interference with temperature gauge or Club or Association sign. All that is necessary is to pierce a hole in the scuttle the required size to accommodate the flex and to have three minute screw holes for fixing; it can then be connected to the battery in the usual way. It is a good plan to link up the Mascot light with the rear light of the car, thus showing instantly if it is functioning properly. Lalique Mascots can be fitted to the Radiator Cap if desired; simply pierce the cap to required size, insert the stem and screw the bolt home. The light wires can be carried through a small hole made in the bonnet top as near as possible to the radiator cap. The Mascots are made of white glass and coloured by means of unbreakable and non-flammable disc inserted between the glass mascot and the electric lamp in the metal base. One disc is supplied with every mascot; extra one 6d. each. Colours: Green, blue, mauve, amber and white.

Multi-coloured discs, 1/6 each. Lamps are not supplied with mascots but may be obtained from any electrician or ordered from us if desired. (Festoon lamps 2/9). If any difficulty is experienced in fitting, please write to us at once, stating make of car, H.P. etc., and we will tell you how to put it right. DO NOT FORGET when ordering, TO SAY WHICH POSITION YOU WISH TO FIT THE MASCOT, Scuttle or Radiator Cap.’ Also quoting from a Breves Galleries promotional leaflet: ‘The motor mascots designed by Lalique achieve a rare combination of beauty and distinction. They are moulded from a special glass, non-tarnishable. At night their charm is enhanced by concealed illumination in soft colours ... Among all the famous artists in glass, there has never been such a consummate master as Rene Lalique. For Lalique not only possesses a rich imagination and an unerring sense of form he has an extraordinary faculty for exploiting the colour and texture of the glass itself.

His versatility is astonishing. He can be delicate, fantastic, bizarre or vigorous with his subject, and the originality of the true artist marks all his work.’

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The following piece appeared in The Studio Annual, vol 101 (1931), pp. 129‑134, entitled ‘Car Figureheads ‑ The Development by René Lalique of a Modern Field for Illuminated Glass by D.W. Last’: ‘Prior to the war, M. René Lalique held a widespread reputation for stimulating designs in metalwork and jewellery (see, for instance, the article in the number for July 1905 and back to 1898, at which date M. Lalique was first illustrated in The Studio). It was not till the post-war period that M. Lalique commenced the designing the glassware now associated with his name and of which, though now past his 70th year, he is still the sole designer. In conjunction with his son, with whom lies the responsibility for the economic and productional aspects of the business, Lalique exhibited work at the Paris International Exhibition of 1925, which brought immediate recognition and led directly to the opening of a London agency in the shape of Messrs. Breves Lalique Gallery, in Basil Street.

The combination of the two Lalique, father and son, is a happy one, and exemplifies in its practical success the truth, oft-repeated in these pages, that good design allied to sound economic manufacturing methods can be relied upon to be successful in fields where an equal, or even greater degree of manufacturing probity and skill supported by weak or second-rate design will fail. The method used is the commercially practical one of plaster-moulding.

Lalique moulded glass extends into the fields of domestic fitments and ornament of many kinds, from light fittings, fruit-bowls and ash-trays to glass tiles, plaques and dining tables, and has been familiar to readers of The Studio now for many years. The present article has therefore been confined to the recent examples of Lalique work in motor mascots in this material, with the one exception of the fish on p. 132, top, which is a large piece for interior decoration.

A car figurehead is essentially an item of décor, as much so as a glittering ornament in a lady’s hat.

Therefore style, form and colour are the important features. The two former are supplied by M. Lalique’s vigorous and versatile designing; the last-named is variable at will according to the colour of the interchangeable light-filter interposed between bulb and mascot, the glass normally being plain white. Had the Norsemen but had the advantage of M. Lalique’s science and material, doubtless their long ships’ figureheads would have been much enhanced both in ferocity and appearance, and indeed, there is scope here for a fine yachts’ figurehead, or truck-ornament. Nor is glass out of place in these modern structures of metal on the score of fragility, for the moulded glass is extremely tough, as is evidenced by these mascots having emerged unscathed from more than one head-on car crash. Moreover, being so easily cleaned, they represent a highly suitable solution in the modern logical spirit to a decorative problem.’

It is said that the post-war St Christopher mascot was produced in a thinner form of glass than the 16-mm thick inter-war period piece, with the signature engraved ‘R Lalique France’; however, I have not seen this. An entirely new mould would have had to be made to produce them and as far as I’m aware this did not happen.

Incidentally, Lalique did produce a St Christopher medallion in both clear and frosted glass as a dashboard plaque with a moulded image in relief of the infant Jesus along with the patron Saint of travel as catalogue number #1238 in 1943, then reintroduced in 1947 and again in 1951. It was 7.5 cm in diameter and was mounted into a chrome retaining ring with eyelets at the sides that enabled it to be fixed in the desired place on the dashboard. It is also said that the German high command used the Tête d’Aigle as a staff car mascot emblem representing the eagle of the Third Reich; again, I’ve never seen photographic evidence of this mounted on any vehicle of that period. If anyone has evidence of this, please get in touch... I’m sure the thought of it would cause Monsieur Lalique to turn in his grave!

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Who Bought Them?

Not everyone could afford them as they were very expensive at the time, especially when you included any of the mounting bases in the equation. The elite of society bought them mainly for what they were ‑ a luxury accessory to show off on the radiator tops of their cars, be they French (Citröen, Delahaye, Delage, Voisin), Belgian (Minerva), Italian (Bugatti, Isotta Fraschini), British (Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lagonda, Invictor, Napier, Railton), American (Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg, Lincoln, Packard, PierceArrow), German (Mercedes-Benz, Maybach), Spanish (Hispano-Suiza) or any of many other prestigious makes of the age that I have seen at the various auto shows I attend every season. The largest mascot produced was Victoire, which epitomises the art deco style of the period, and this premièred on the radiator cap of a Minerva at the 1928 Paris Motor Show (Salon). The oil billionaire Nublar Sarkis Gulbenkian (1896-1972) sported a Chrysis mascot lit with an amber coloured filter (replacing the usual Spirit of Ecstasy flying lady mascot, which in this case would have been the kneeling-lady version) on his special coach-built Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith limousine by Hooper’s of London.

31E. Nubar Gulbenkian’s Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith with a special colour-tinted Chrysis mascot in situ replacing the standard Spirit of Ecstasy flying lady (see text for details).

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What to Pay for Them ‘How long is a piece of string?’... The answer is variable! A mascot at a sale in the UK may fetch x amount and an identical one on the same day may fetch y amount at the next sale in another part of the country or world. The same mascot may fetch more or less than the last one, so there are no fixed prices; however, experts at auction houses will give you an estimate for any that are coming up for sale. The Chrysis mascots, for example, have averaged around the £3,000 mark, although one came up at a past auction (xxiii) and made over double this and remarkably one from the recent Robert White collection (xxv) made over £10,000!... so why, as they were all exactly the same? Always ask for a condition report prior to bidding (especially if you can’t attend in person). Have a look at past auction catalogues and websites for results and check out dealers’ listings (many are reluctant to make their prices public, so you would have to ask).

In general terms, the more common items will be the least expensive unless they are a colour-tinted variation. The rarer ones of course will always be expensive and continue to rise in value with the passage of time. Mention has been already made of a Renard with minor faults, but the following is the tale of the Comète (no pun intended!): one in poor condition with reduced tail and some chips to the star came up at auction (xvi) in London but still achieved £41,100; also, another very badly damaged Comète came up at auction (xv) just under a year later and made an outstanding price, considering how poor it was ‑ nearly £42,000! Another almost perfect example came up for auction (xvi) more recently and made over £60,000, and yet another damaged one came up at a Paris auction (xvii) with part of the ‘France’ signature missing, but making well over €36,000. Yet again, another example with a small chromed display mount and some minor nibbles and re-polishing came up at auction (xviii) and fetched the hammer price of £65,000, though the price to the purchaser on pick-up was nearer to £80,000! And the last one to come up at auction (xxiii) made just over $120,000 or £76,818. A rare Hibou ‑ a cute little owl mascot in perfect condition ‑ came up at a provincial auction (ixx) in the USA in 2007 and achieved the outstanding price of $47,300, leading to the following headline: ‘Little Owl Gives A Big Hoot at a Central Florida pre-Thanksgiving Sale’ Prior to the publication of this book another Hibou came up at auction (xxiv) in Paris which I viewed, and although not 100% perfect as it had a minor nick to the end of its tail, it still made the hammer price of €87,000. It is now argued that the owl could turn out to be rarer on the market than Renard, as more foxes have appeared recently (at auction) than owls!

Prices can be all over the place. For example, a perfect Grenouille valued in 2005 at £3,000 to £4,000 on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow (xx) by expert Lars Tharp was fair and reasonable. Then a damaged one jumped up at auction (xxi) in London in 2011 and made £6,900! A perfect example of Cinq Chevaux (on its Breves Galleries radiator lighting base) made about £20,000 at auction in the USA in 2007. I myself have one for sale, albeit with some little chips out of the base and mounted onto a contemporary metal display base, currently for sale at £7,500. The ‘complete collection’ has come up for sale only twice in my lifetime – one, as mentioned already, at Bonhams, and another offered by RM auctions (xxii) which fetched $805,000 and included some superb opalescent pieces such as Sirène, Naïade and Perche, as well as a rich amethyst blue-coloured Coq Nain and Grande Libellule along with a Tête d’Epervier smoked-glass example. I've included the mascots from the Robert White Collection that 30

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came up in two seperate auctions in 2016 (xxv), and also selected pieces from the specialist Lalique auction at Christie's the same year (xxvi). You would have to consult the catalogues to see mention of faults and damage to some of these. These facts and figures are to be seen on the Lalique Mascot Collectors’ Club website.

Note: The prices achieved and quoted here from auction catalogues all include the buyer’s premium.

Please also note that obviously no book can keep up with changing prices all the time with sales made privately, through the trade and at auction. I will of course update any interested parties on the world price situation on any piece(s) that are of interest. Meanwhile, the latest auction catalogues and internet auction sites should be consulted.

Auctions (i) Bonhams auction of 16/8/12 at Quail Lodge, CA (USA) (ii) Arthur Johnson Auction Rooms, Nottingham of 8/8/09 (UK) (iii) Bonhams auction of 15/8/08 at the Retromobile Classic Car Show, Paris (France) (iv) Bonhams auction of 29/6/12 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (UK) (v) Christie’s auction of 26/3/09 at the Rockefeller Plaza, New York (USA) (vi) Bonhams auction of 16/4/12 in Los Angeles, CA (USA) (vii) Bonhams & Butterfields auction of 1/5/04, in Brookline, MA (USA) (viii) Bonhams Rolls-Royce and Bentley auction of 19/6/10 at Rockingham Castle, Northampton (UK) (ix) Historics at Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey, auction of 3/3/11 (UK) (x) Le Montreux Palace auction of 13/2/10 by host sponsors Horus sur Messeure & Bullionaer on behalf of the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (Switzerland) (xi) Bonhams auction of 8/9/12 at the International Autojumble at Beaulieu (UK) (xii) Bonhams auction of 5/2/11 at La Vente du Grand Palais, Paris (France) (xiii) Photos supplied courtesy of Tony Wraight, the former owner (UK) (xiv) Bonhams auction of 1/9/06 in New Bond Street, London (UK) (xv) Bonhams auction of 31/8/07 at the Goodwood Revival (UK) (xvi) Artcurial auction of 8/2/13 at the Retromobile, Paris (France) (xvii) Christie’s auction of 9/12/10 in South Kensington, London (UK) (xviii) Christies auction of 22/5/13 in South Kensington, London (UK) (ixx) Turkey Creek Auction House sale of 17/11/07 Citra, FL (USA) (xx) BBC Antiques Roadshow of 17/12/05 at Arundel Castle (UK) (xxi) Bonhams auction of 28/11/11 in New Bond Street, London (UK) (xxii) RM classic car auction of 10/3/12 at Amelia Island, Florida (USA) (xxiii) Artcurial auction of 20/10/13 at Sur les Champs Elyseés, Paris (France) (xxiv) Bonhams Quail Lodge auction of 16/8/13 in Carmel, CA (USA) (xxv) Bonhams auction of 19/9/16 in New Bond Street, London (UK) and Bonhams Decorative Arts auction of 20/9/16 at the above location, also at Olympia on 7/12/16 (xxvi) Christie’s auction of 16/11/16 in South Kensington, London (UK) (xxvii) Christie's auction of 16/5/17 in King Street, London (UK)

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R. White collection: Day 1 first session Lot Nos. 405. Coq Houdan in clear & frosted finish £2,437 406. Cinque Chevaux on Breves base £8,750 407. Levrier in clear & frosted finish £2,250 408. Sanglier in amber-yellow £4,600 409. Cinque Chevaux in clear & frosted finish £6,875 410. Perche in opalescent milky-blue £1,875 411. Perche in amber-yellow £1,625 412. Faucon with a light amethyst tint £3,125 413. Vitesse in opalescent milky-blue £16,250 414. Côte d’Azur Pullman Express’ statuette £6,875 415. Vitesse in standard satin finish £3,500 416. Chrysis in standard satin finish £10,625 417. Sirène in opalescent milky-blue £1,500 418. Sirène in standard satin finish £600 419. Naïade in opalescent milky-blue £3,500 420. Sanglier in dark fumée finish £1,125 421. Tête d’Epervier in clear & frosted finish £937 422. Ditto in opalescent milky-blue £1,750 423. Ditto with a dark hue £1,625 424. Tête d’Aigle in clear & frosted finish £1,875 425. Tête d’Aigle in fumée finish £5,000 426. Longchamp double-mane in clear & frosted finish £11,250 427. Ditto single-mane £5,000 428. Epsom with slight amethyst tint on black glass bookend base £15,500 429. Tête d’Belier in clear & frosted finish £4,000 430. Coq Nain in fumée finish £2,250 431. Pintade in clear & frosted finish £3,250 432. Hibou £47,500 (large chip out of base with nick out of end of the tail) 433. Tête d’Coq ditto £1,250 434. Victoire ditto £21,250 435. Grand Libellule ditto £5,000 436. Hirondelle ditto £1,500 437. Tête de Paon ditto £4,000 438. Petite Libellule ditto £3,850 439. Grenouulle with a slight amethyst tint £8,500 440. Ditto in clear & frosted finish £4,500 441. Comète in clear & frosted finish shown as selling for £13,750? even with a damaged tail, and end of signature missing), however re-offered in their December sale at Olympia and selling for £8,500 442. Sainte-Christophe ditto £937 443. Archer ditto £1,625 445. Perche two modern clear & frosted paperweights £582 450. Longchamp ‘B’ produced under licence by The Persons Majestic Company, Worcester, Mass, USA in 1930 £400 454. Breves Galleries large illuminating radiator base £1,625 32

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Day 2 second session Lot Nos. 476. Coq Nain in smokey grey finish £1,250 508. Exposition plaquet of 1925 glass display case plaque £2,375 509. Hirondelle £1,125 510. Coq Houdan £2,500 513. Victoire clear & frosted £12,500 514. Vitesse in opalescent with damage & replaced base £3,750 516. Sainte-Christophe with a light amethyst tint £687 517. Pintade clear & frosted finish £4,750 525. Chrysis modern paperweight version (not sold) 526. Tête d’Coq clear & frosted finish £1,250 527. Victoire with a light amathyst tint £2,750 528. Faucon clear & frosted finish £1,875 530. Hirondelle pair of modern bookends (with large integral bases) £875 Christie’s Lalique sale: Lot Nos. 29. Petite Libellule on Breves Galleries radiator base mount (coroded) £4,375 30. Faucon in clear & frosted finish £2,500 31. Perche in buterscotch yellow colour tinting £3,750

And finaly just prior to me finishing this book I must include a rare Renard that came up for auction (xxvii), having a quite large chip out of the base and a tiny nick to one ear with polishingout. A fine piece which made mid estimate at the hammer price of £200,000 and with buyers commisssion plus vat the final price to the purchaser was £254,000 (a sly old fox indeed!).

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66. Automobilia stand with Lalique mascots on sale at a Goodwood Revival meeting.

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Modern Paperweights (Presse-Papiers) I have included photos of the modern paperweights that were taken from designs of past car mascots for comparison ‑ they are more or less the same as the originals but the bases may differ and of course they are now produced in crystal glass and the signatures are engraved, as discussed in the text. They will have a more or less similar retail price throughout the world. I have also indicated in the captions what is current and what has been discontinued from the Lalique catalogue. Of course, Lalique continues to update its portfolio with new additions and at the same time deletions of current pieces. I was thinking about a price guide that could be updated annually with this book (as with the Automobilia book by Gardiner & Morris); however, this would not work in practice as they are so variable, as explained, so the idea was abandoned. Auction realisation prices achieved are the very best reference guide that I know of ‑ so do keep and file the catalogues for reference!

38. Chouette as a paperweight (this thin barn owl is no longer in production) compared to the fatter current piece which is still in 35A. Toby close-up showing right side profile of production. the piece.

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Condition Extremely important! Yes, the condition is most important. Look at a piece very carefully, always have a good magnifying glass with you to see if there are any chips, cracks, scratches, grinding out of previous faults, etc. Run your fingers across the piece to detect any sharpness, which is a sure tell-tale sign of damage. Look for the clarity and definition; any air bubbles within the piece are quite acceptable as they sometimes occurred during the manufacturing process. If a piece is damaged, unless it is offered at a price you cannot refuse, walk away and wait for another one on another day ‑ unless the piece is extremely rare and important, only purchase perfect examples. I have seen many that have had questionable restoration using clear resin to replace broken and lost parts. All auction houses will give you a condition report on request, but there is no substitute for viewing and handling it yourself. Remember to hold it over a soft surface, so if you happen to drop it, it won’t be damaged.

A posed image of Lalique probably taken in a Paris photographic studio.

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Summary

Where to Find Them As with all art, antiques and collectables, you should search out autojumbles, antique fairs, markets, galleries, shops and stalls at specialist glass fairs here and abroad. A good starting point is to look out for auctions that include automobilia and mascots to see if there are any coming up for sale, and keep the catalogues for future reference; eBay and other auction websites are a good source, but with these you can’t handle the objects to check them out thoroughly!

Finally, please don’t be put off by the high figures quoted here as these are extremely rare and exceptional pieces with provenance You can go out and form a perfectly respectable collection for a reasonable outlay ‑ and why not?

A display of Lalique mascots along with other glass makers at the National Glass Fair at NMCM in Birmingham.

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Car Mascot Photo Gallery and Listings Les oeuvres/The works:

Catalogue Raisonné des Bouchons de Radiateur-mascottes de voiture/Catalogue listings of the automobile radiator cap mascots: In total, thirty different types of car mascots were produced during the inter-war period, which includes mythological figures, nude females, roundels, animals, insects and birds. Refer to the corresponding photos for numbers 1 to 30 below.

The full listings here include the official Lalique design registration/catalogue numbers from earliest to last, along with the date of introduction, deletion and any re-introduction as presse-papiers or serrelivres (paperweights or book ends) of each piece. Note that any current paperweights noted here without a deletion date were still in production at the time of writing (the signatures of these are always in scrolling script shown as ‘Lalique France’ with a small ‘r’ for ‘registered’ in between ‘Lalique’ and ‘France’. The Lalique catalogues and listings of 1928, 1932, 1937, 1947 and 1951 still ‘list’ the mascots; however, that is not to say that they were all still in production after 1945, as old stocks were depleted and the majority were long discontinued prior to 1940. However, it is thought that limited production of some Lalique products continued into the early war period after the German occupation of the Alsace region.

Sirène/Small Mermaid #831 introduced in 1920 as a statuette (precise date not recorded), adapted and used as a car mascot from 1925 and discontinued in 1947. Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals faintly moulded in relief below the tail, and sometimes found together with ‘R. Lalique France’ in scrolling script etched onto the rim of the underside of the base together with the catalogue number. Dimensions: 10cm in height / 4cm circumference of the base.

Naïade/Large Mermaid #832 introduced in 1920 as a statuette (precise date not recorded), adapted and used as a car mascot from 1925 and discontinued in 1947. Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals faintly moulded in relief just above the tail fin and sometimes together with ‘R. Lalique France’ in scrolling script etched onto the rim of the underside of the base together with the catalogue number. Dimensions: 20cm in height / 5cm circumference of the base.

Cinq Chevaux/Five Horses #1122 introduced on 26/8/1925 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals moulded in relief with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals etched between the tail and rear legs. Dimensions: 15cm in height / 4cm circumference of the base.

Comète Etoile Filante/Comet Shooting Star #1123 24/8/25 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals stencilled on the lowest ray of the tail. Also a variation of the signature ‘R. Lalique’ (with a double-tailed ‘q’) moulded in relief with ‘France’ wheel-cut underneath on the lowest ray of the tail slightly away from the end of the tail. Also seen an example as above but with ‘France’ wheel-cut underneath the tail at the very end of the lowest ray. Also of note is that an example came up at a 2013 auction (xxiii) with the whole of the signature wheelcut. Dimensions: 19cm in length / 4cm circumference of the base.

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Faucon/Falcon #1124 5/8/25 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals in intaglio on the base between the tail feathers and rear claws with ‘France’ etched on the rim of the base. Dimensions: 16cm in height / 6cm circumference of the base.

Tireur d’Arc/Archer #1126 3/8/26 (discontinued in 1947). Dimensions: 12cm in height. Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals in intaglio with smaller ‘France’ etched in block capitals underneath. 50mm circumference of the base / 12mm in thickness of the roundel.

Coq Nain/ Bantum Cockerel #1135 10/2/28 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a pressepapier, deleted in 2011 and subseqentaly re-introduced late 2016 in clear & frosted finish for £490, with a gold lustre for £520 and in golden colour wash for £550. These reccomended retail prices were obtained from the distributors at the time of writing). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique with France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the rim of the base. Also later versions with ‘R. Lalique France’ acid etched to the centre of the underneath of the base. The modern and present day signature is engraved in script around the bottom of the base (see illustration).

Dimensions: 20.5cm in height / weight 1.290kg / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Tête de Bélier/Ram’s Head #1136 3/2/28 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in relief on the lower part of the neck.

Dimensions: 10cm in height / 4.5cm circumference of the base.

Tête de Coq/Cockerel’s Head #1137 3/2/28 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier deleted in 2004). Signature identification: ‘LALIQUE FRANCE’ deeply moulded in intaglio in large block capitals on the neck below and to the side the chin flap. Dimensions: 18cm in height / weight 1.390kg / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Tête d’Aigle/Eagle’s Head #1138 14/3/28 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier in production right up to 2015 and since discontinued). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals on one side with ‘France’ on the opposite side very faintly moulded in relief around lower edge of neck within the feathers. Dimensions: 11cm in height / weight 1.38kg / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Tête d’Epervier/Hawk’s Head #1139 21/1/28 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique (with a double-tailed ‘q’) with France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower back of the neck. Dimensions: 6.2cm in height / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Tête de Paon/Peacock’s Head #1140 3/2/28 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier deleted in 2011). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’, the earlier types include smaller ‘France’ alongside in block capitals moulded in intaglio on the lower part of the neck, all types include ‘France’ in tiny block capitals within the mounting groove of the base. The exception is the extremely rare turquoise example, which has ‘France’ moulded on the underside of the base, with ‘Lalique’ moulded to the side of the base (without ‘France’ within the mounting groove).

Dimensions: 17.7cm in height / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Lévrier/Greyhound/ #1141 14/3/28 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in intaglio below the left hind leg near the base.

Dimensions: 20cm in height / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Sainte-Christophe/St Christopher #1142 1/3/28 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a pressepapier until 1987). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in intaglio on lower part of the roundel. Dimensions: 13cm in height / 6.5cm circumference of the base, 16mm in thickness of the roundel. Note that a circular plaque version was produced of exactly the same design and size apart from not having a base but having two holes drilled to mount onto the vehicle’s dashboard.

Hirondelle/Swallow #1143 10/2/28 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier with a noticeable very large and thick base, until deleted in 2009). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’

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with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in relief at the rear of the rim of the circular base.

Dimensions: 15cm in height / weight 0.9.15kg / 6.5cm circumference of the base.

Petite Libellule/Small Dragonfly #1144 12/4/28 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘Lalique’ (only) with a double-tailed ‘q’ in block capitals moulded in relief on the lower edge of the back end of the wing along with ‘R. Lalique France’ engraved in script around the opposite side of the rim of the circular base (some examples only have the moulded signature). Dimensions:16.2cm in length / 5cm circumference of the base.

Grande Libellule/Large Dragonfly #1145 23/5/28 (discontinued in 1947 and continued in 2007 as a presse-papier in ocean blue and clear and frosted finishes, discontinued in 2013). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with ‘France’ in block capitals on either side of the base along with ‘R. Lalique France’ acid-etched in script along the back of the body. Dimensions: 21.5cm in height / 15cm in length / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Grenouille/Frog #1146 3/5/28 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ very faintly moulded in intaglio behind the right leg with ‘France’ all in block capitals behind the left leg together with ‘R. Lalique France’ acid-etched in script around the edge of the base and sometimes to the underside of the base (as seen on a rare amethyst example). Dimensions: 6.5cm in height / 5cm circumference of the base.

Victoire/Victory Spirit of the Wind #1147 18/4/28 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier in 2010 and still in production). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ (with a doubletailed ‘q’) along with ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in relief to either side of the neck.

Dimensions: 25.6cm in length / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Longchamp A/Horse head A #1152A 12/6/29 (discontinued in late 1929 but still listed in the 1947 catalogue). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower edge of the neck. Dimensions: 13cm in height / 15cm in length / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Longchamp B/Horse head B #1152B 10/9/29 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a pressepapier in 2011 and still in production). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower edge of the neck. Dimensions: 13cm in height / 15cm in length / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Epsom/Horse head #1153 5/6/29 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower edge of the neck. Dimensions: 13.4cm in height / 18.2cm in length / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Sanglier/Wild Boar #1157 3/10/29 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier and deleted in 2002). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief between the front and rear legs and sometimes acid etched ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals in the middle of the underside of the base, also seen engraved ‘R. Lalique France’ in script around the underside of the edge of the base. Dimensions: 6.5cm in height / 9.3cm in length / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Perche Poisson/Perch Fish #1158 20/4/29 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier deleted in 2004). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals faintly moulded in relief in a panel in between the lower fins. Dimensions: 10cm in height / 18cm in length / weight 0.480kg / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Vitesse/Speed Goddess #1160 17/9/29 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier in 2009 and still in production). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ (with a double-tailed ‘q’) in block capitals moulded in relief to one side of the lower edge of the base, along with smaller ‘France’ to the other side of the base. Dimensions: 18.5cm in height / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Coq Houdan/Proud Cock #1161 30/4/29 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a pair of 40

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serre-livres until 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique with France’ in block capitals acidetched onto the edge of the base, also sometimes wheel-cut. Dimensions: 22.5cm in height / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Pintade/Guinea Fowl #1164 28/9/29 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower edge of the base along with ‘R. Lalique France’ hand etched in a panel below the tail. Dimensions: 10cm in height / 15cm in length / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Hibou/Owl #1181 27/1/31 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in large block capitals on the upper rim of the circular base, with smaller ‘France’ underneath in block capitals acid-etched (examples seen on either the left or right hand side of the base). Dimensions: 12.5cm in length / 5cm circumference of the base.

Renard/Fox #1182 9/12/30 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in large block capitals on the upper rim of the circular base, with smaller ‘France’ underneath in block capitals stenciled around the base. Dimensions: 21.5cm in length / 14.5cm circumference of the base.

Chrysis/Nude Female #1183 21/3/31 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier still in production in frosted finish and various colours up until recently). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ stencilled in block capitals usually found in the middle of the underside of the base and in some examples on the upper part of the front or on the side of the rim of the circular base. Dimensions: 14.5cm in height / 15.5cm long / 14.5cm circumference of the base. The Chrysis paperweight version introduced in 1937 (which was exactly the same as the above in every respect but without the mounting groove cut into the base). This was catalogue #1670. Also both versions have been found with only ‘R. Lalique’ without ‘France’ in the signature.

Note: For export all pieces had to have the country of origin on them as it was not nessasary to have ‘France’ on non export pieces. However most of Lalique’s production was for both the home and overseas market, therfore ‘France’ was included on almost all of the pieces.

A modern Rolls-Royce mascot in situ by ‘Cristal Lalique’, as an optional extra.

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A display of part of the Pickard-Cambridge collection formerly on show at The Beaulieu Motor Museum.

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Details herewith of the car mascots and assoicated pieces you may encounter

Car Mascot Photo Gallery and Listings 1. Sirène / Small Mermaid #831. Introduced in 1920 as a statuette (precise date not recorded), adapted and used as a car mascot from 1925 and discontinued in 1947. Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals faintly moulded in relief below the tail, and sometimes found together with ‘R. Lalique France’ in scrolling script etched onto the rim of the underside of the base together with the catalogue number. Dimensions: 100mm in height, 40mm circumference of the base. Available in clear and frosted finish, finished with a grey hue and in opalescent milky-blue.

2. Naïade / Large Mermaid #832. Introduced in 1920 as a statuette (precise date not recorded), adapted and used as a car mascot from 1925 and discontinued in 1947. Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals faintly moulded in relief just above the tail fin and sometimes together with ‘R. Lalique France’ in scrolling script etched onto the rim of the underside of the base together with the catalogue number. Dimensions: 130mm in height, 60mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear and frosted finish, finished in a grey hue and in opalescent milky-blue (shown right). The piece on the left is finished in a superb opalescent milky-blue with a fire-glow orange core.

3. Cinq Chevaux / Five Horses #1122. Introduced on 26/8/1925 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals moulded in relief with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals etched between the tail and rear legs. Dimensions: 150mm in height, 40mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear finish, a light amethyst tint and sometimes in a rare dark amethyst colour.

4. Comète Etoile Filante / Comet Shooting Star #1123. Introduced on 24/8/1925 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals stenciled on the lowest ray of the tail. Also a variation of the signature ‘R. Lalique’ (with a double-tailed ‘q’) moulded in relief with ‘France’ wheel-cut underneath on the lowest ray of the tail slightly away from the end of the tail. Also seen an example as above but with ‘France’ wheel-cut underneath the tail at the very end of the lowest ray (shown in bottom photo). On a few examples the ‘France’ is not included (as shown below this). Dimensions: 190mm in length, 40mm circumference of the base. Only available in a clear glass finish.

5. Faucon / Falcon #1124. Introduced on 5/8/1925 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals in intaglio on the base between the tail feathers and rear claws with ‘France’ etched on the rim of the base (shown right). Dimensions: 160mm in height, 60mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear finish and also in a light amethyst tint.

6. Tireur d’Arc / Archer #1126. Introduced on 3/8/1926 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals in intaglio with smaller ‘France’ etched in block capitals underneath. Dimensions: 130mm in height, 50mm circumference of the base, 12mm in thickness of the roundel. Available in a clear and frosted finish, alight grey hue and with a light amethyst tint.

7. Coq Nain / Bantum Cockerel #1135. Introduced on 10/2/1928 (discontinued in 1951 and 43

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continued as a presse-papier, deleted in 2011). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the rim of the base. Also later versions with ‘R. Lalique France’ acid-etched to the centre of the underneath of the base. Dimensions: 205mm in height, weight 1.290kg, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear and frosted finish as standard, also a light mauve version and in a deep topaz with an orange core. Rare fire-glow fume/e tinted finish examples are also known.

8. Tête de Bélier / Ram’s Head #1136. Introduced on 3/2/1928 (discontinued in 1951). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in relief on the lower part of the neck. Dimensions: 90mm, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear & frosted finish, a light amethyst tint, a light greyish hue and in a very dark grey hue (examples of which are shown here).

9. Tête de Coq / Cockerel’s Head #1137. Introduced on 3/2/1928 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier deleted in 2004). Signature identification: ‘LALIQUE FRANCE’ deeply moulded in intaglio in large block capitals on the neck below and to the side of the chin flap.

Dimensions: 180mm in height, weight 1.390kg, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear and frosted finish also in a light to dark grey hue.

10. Tête d’Aigle / Eagle’s Head #1138. Introduced on 14/3/1928 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier still in production). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals on one side with ‘France’ on the opposite side very faintly moulded in relief around lower edge of neck within the feathers. Dimensions: 107mm in height, weight 1.38kg, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard clear and frosted finish and in a dark grey hue and with a light amethyst tint, also in a rare fire-glow fumée tinted finish.

11. Tête d’Epervier / Hawk’s head #1139. Introduced on 21/1/1928 (discontinued in 1951). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ (with a double-tailed ‘q’) with ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower back of the neck. Dimensions: 61mm in height, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear finish, a greyish hue, an opalescent very light milky-blue and also in a light amethyst tint (as the examples show here).

12. Tête de Paon / Peacock’s Head #1140. Introduced on 3/2/1928 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier deleted in 2011). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’, the earlier types include smaller ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in intaglio on lower part of the neck, all export examples include ‘France’ in small block capitals within the mounting groove of the base. The exception being the extremely rare turquoise example which has ‘France’ moulded on the underside of the base together with ‘Lalique’ being moulded to the side of the base (without ‘France’ within the mounting groove). Dimensions: 177mm in height, 145mm circumference of the base.

Available as standard in clear and frosted finish and in a greyish hue. Full electric blue colours are known but are extremely rare (as the colour test piece examples shown here).

13. Lévrier / Greyhound #1141. Introduced on 14/3/1928 (discontinued in 1951). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in intaglio below the left hind leg near the base. Dimensions: 200mm in length,145mm circumference of the base. Available as standard in a clear and frosted finish and in a light amethyst tint.

14. Lévrier / Greyhound. The mascot shown in the photos listed in this edition was produced on 1/7/1929 signed engraved in block capitals ‘R.Lalique’ (without ‘France’) below the left hind leg.

This was not catalogue numbered as a special one-off (non commercial) presentation piece presented to the future King George VI for his official visit to Paris in 1931. The base of the piece is badly shattered. The special Lalique factory produced metal mounting base plate is also shown here. See main text detailing the background history of this piece.

15. Sainte-Christophe / St. Christopher #1142. Introduced on 1/3/1928 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier until 1987). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ 44

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in block capitals moulded in intaglio on lower part of the roundel. Dimensions: 130mm in height, 65mm circumference of the base, 16mm in thickness of the roundel. Available in a standard clear and frosted finish in a light grey hue and in a light amethyst tint.

The two roundels of the Archer and St Christopher are shown in the bottom photo for comparison.

Hirondelle / Swallow #1143. Introduced on 10/2/1928 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier with a noticeable very large, thick base until deleted in 2009). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in relief at the rear of the rim of the circular base. Dimensions: 150mm in height, weight 0.915kg, 65mm circumference of the base.

Available in a standard clear and frosted finish and in a light amethyst tint. Also as catalogue #1143 B retailed as a pair of bookends with thick integral bases (discontinued in 2009).

Right: Hirondelle mounted onto a contemporary Breves Galleries non-illuminating display base.

Hirondelle shown below, introduced on 17/7/1942 (possible very limited wartime production and continued in 1947) catalogue #1143 B as a pair of bookends with thick integral bases (discontinued in 2009).

Petite Libellule / Small Dragonfly #1144. Introduced on 12/4/1928 (discontinued in 1947).

Signature identification: ‘Lalique’ (only) with a double-tailed ‘q’ in block capitals moulded in relief on the lower edge of the back end of the wing along with ‘R. Lalique France’ engraved in script around the opposite side of the rim of the circular base (some examples only have the moulded signature). Dimensions: 162mm in length, 50mm circumference of the base. Available a clear and frosted finish and with a light amethyst tint.

Grande Libellule / Large Dragonfly #1145. Introduced on 23/5/1928 (discontinued in 1947 and continued in 2007 as a presse-papier in ocean blue and clear and frosted finish, discontinued in 2013). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with ‘France’ in block capitals on either side of the base along with ‘R. Lalique France’ acid-etched in script along the back of the body. Dimensions: 210mm in height, 150mm in length, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear and frosted finish, in a light grey hue and in a light amethyst tint. Full-coloured electric blue examples are known but are extremely rare.

Grenouille / Frog #1146. Introduced on 3/5/1928 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ very faintly moulded in intaglio behind the right leg with ‘France’ all in block capitals behind the left leg together with ‘R. Lalique France’ acid-etched in script around the edge of the base and sometimes to the underside of the base (as seen on a rare amethyst example). Dimensions: 65mm in height, 50mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear finish, also in a greyish hue and in a light amethyst tint. An extremely rare full colour electric blue example is known to exsist (which is proberbly a factory colour test piece).

Top: Grenouille mounted onto a contemporary Breves Galleries illuminating radiator base. Above: An extremely rare full colour electric blue example.

Victoire / Victory Spirit of the Wind #1147. Introduced on 18/4/1928 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier in 2010 and still in production). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ (with a double-tailed ‘q’) along with ‘France’ in block capitals moulded in relief to either side of the neck. Dimensions: 256mm in length, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard clear and frosted finish, a light or dark grey hue and also with a light amethyst tint.

A modern Victoire mascot in crystal on a modern retaining base in situ on an original period Type 57 Bugatti tourer.

Below: Detail of the Breves Galleries illuminating radiator base.

Longchamp A / Horse head #1152A. Introduced on 12/6/1929 (discontinued in late 1929 but still listed in the 1947 catalogue). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower edge of the neck. Dimensions: 155mm in height, 150mm in length, 45

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145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard clear and frosted finish and also with a light amethyst tint. One of a pair of bookends is known to exsist in a rare amber-yellow colour.

Longchamp B / Horse head #1152B. Introduced on 10/9/1929 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier in 2011 and still in production). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower edge of the neck. Dimensions: 155mm in height, 150mm in length, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard clear and frosted finish and also with a light amethyst tint.

Top right: Longchamp B shown in situ mounted on to a (modern) radiator cap.

Epsom / Horse head #1153. Introduced on 5/6/1929 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower edge of the neck.

Dimensions: 182mm in length, 134mm in height, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a clear and frosted finish and with a light greyish hue. Also full-coloured experimental examples are known to exist.

Top: Epsom shown on its contemporary Breves Galleries metal illuminating radiator base, mounted on to a good quality wooden display plinth. Alongside is the polished metal radiator cap mount.

Sanglier / Wild Boar #1157. Introduced on 3/10/1929 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier deleted in 2002). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief between the front and rear legs and sometimes acid-etched ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals in the middle of the underside of the base. Also seen engraved ‘R. Lalique France’ in script around the underside of the base. Dimensions: 93mm in length, 65mm in height, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard clear and frosted finish, in a yellow tint, in a light to dark grey hue and in a dark topaz fumée coloured tint.

Perche Poisson / Perch Fish #1158. Introduced on 20/4/1929 (discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier deleted in 2004). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals faintly moulded in relief in a panel in between the lower fins. Dimensions: 189mm in length, 100mm in height, weight 0.480kg, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard clear and frosted finish, also many coloured tints such as light green, light blue, opalescent milky-blue and opalescent yellow to amber and orange.

Vitesse / Speed Goddess #1160. Introduced on 17/9/1929 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a presse-papier in 2009 and still in production). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ (with a doubletailed ‘q’) in block capitals moulded in relief to one side of the lower edge of the base along with smaller ‘France’ to the other side of the base. Dimensions: 185mm in height, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a silky satin finish, a light grey hue and in a light amethyst tint.

Above: Shown on a metal Breves Galleries non-illuminating desk display base.

Right, clockwise from top left: Vitesse in a grey silky satin finish, in opalescent light milky-blue with an orange core, and in a deeper opalescent milky-blue.

Coq Houdan / Proud Cock #1161. Introduced on 30/4/29 (discontinued in 1947 and continued as a pair of serre-livres until 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with ‘France’ in block capitals acid-etched onto the edge of the base, also sometimes wheel-cut. Dimensions: 200mm in height, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard clear finish and in a light amethyst tint. A dark topaz colour is also known to exist. The image below shows them as a pair of bookends, see main text.

Pintade / Guinea Fowl #1164. Introduced on 28/9/1929 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique France’ in block capitals moulded in relief around the lower edge of the base along with ‘R. Lalique France’ hand-etched in a panel below the tail. Dimensions: 100mm in height, 155mm in length, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard clear and frosted finish, a light grey hue and with a light amethyst tint. The example shown here is on a chrome metal support ring mounted onto a factory black glass plinth. The plinth is also signed engraved in block capitals ‘R.Lalique France’. As marketed as a pair of bookends.

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29. Hibou / Owl #1181. Introduced on 27/1/1931 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals with ‘France’ underneath in block capitals acid-etched onto the upper rim of the circular base. Dimensions: 205mm in length, 50mm circumference of the base. Available only in a clear and frosted finish.

30. Renard / Fox #1182. Introduced on 9/12/1930 (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ in block capitals with smaller ‘France’ in block capitals underneath, stenciled around the upper rim of the circular base. Dimensions: 210mm in length, 145mm circumference of the base.

Available only in a clear and frosted finish, however one or two experimental full-coloured examples are known to exist.

31. Chrysis / Nude Female #1183. Introduced on 21/3/1931 (discontinued in 1951). Signature identification: ‘R. Lalique’ with smaller ‘France’ stenciled in block capitals, usually found in the middle of the underside of the base and in some examples on the upper part of the front or on the side of the rim of the circular base. Dimensions: 135mm in height, 155mm long, 145mm circumference of the base. Available in a standard silky satin finish, also in a rare opalescent deep blue and a milky-blue with an orange core. Some coloured tinted examples are known to exist.

32. The Chrysis paperweight version (which was exactly the same in every respect to the above but without the mounting groove cut into the base) was catalogue #1670. Available in a standard silky satin finish only, as were the pair of serre-livres catalogue #1754. Discontinued in 1951 and continued as a presse-papier and was in production in various colours up to 2014. Continued today and only available in a clear & frosted finish.

Previous page: Chrysis in a glowing orange-coloured tint, mounted onto the radiator base of Nubar Gulbenkian’s Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith.

33. Toby Éléphant presse-papier / paperweight 1192. Introduced on 30/3/1931 as a paperweight in a clear and frosted finish. Listed in the1932 and 1937 catalogues and discontinued in 1947.

34. Chouette / Owl #1193. Introduced on 27/1/1931 in a clear & frosted finish only (discontinued in 1947). Signature identification: ‘R.Lalique’ with ‘France’ in block capitals on the base, then later post war examples engraved in scrolling script. Continued post war as #1667 almost exactly the same with a slightly fatter design and still in production today. Signature identification: ‘Lalique ® France’ engraved in scrolling script running up the side of the base. Both examples shown here for comparison.

35. Côte d’Azur Pullman trophie / desk piece, presented to the VIP passengers for the inaugural run of the night train to the South of France, having an integral inscription as part of the base. Introduced on 12th October 1929 and the dedication moulded around the bottom edge of the base reading ‘W.L. Côte d’Azur Pullman Express 9_Decembre 1929’ with engraved ‘R. Lalique’ (without ‘France’) signature engraved in block capitals. Dimensions: 15,5cm long x 5,4com in height”. This was then marketed and sold as a desk ornament without the dedication.

36. Rolls-Royce trophie mascotte / desk ornament, not catalogue numbered and produced in a limited hand engraved numbered 1-200 edition for the 90th anniversary year of the company commissioned by Rolls-Royce to Lalique. It was only available in a standard clear and frosted finish and came with a certificate and warranty slip. It was marketed and retailed by the Rapiditas Co. Ltd. It was sold in a grey Lalique box with sponge inner liner and complete with an outer slip-case.

37. Leda with the Swan presse-papier / paperweight. A modern piece in a very white clear and frosted crystal.

38. Diane holding a doe, a post-war to modern piece in a greyish hue.

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Note: Note: The modern paperweights mentioned here have had various catalogue numbers throughout their production period and so are not listed to avoid confusion. They are mentioned and recorded here because they have circular bases and have been adapted and seen as 'car mascots' by the author.

39. Clockwise from top left: Detail of Lalique intaglio signature on the base of Victoire. Metal Breves Galleries, Knightsbridge radiator lighting base. Various advertisement cabinet or desk labels, left to right: a pressed moulded glass inter-war example, a 1950s-60s example and a modern plastic example.

40. Plaquet verre blanc moule presse / Plaque moulded in pressed glass. Official Lalique factory produced advertising & promotional cabinet label in clear & frosted glass ‘Exposition Des Oeuvres De R. Lalique’ in intaglio. Introduced on 31/12/1928. 8 cm in length by 7 cm in height.

41. Plaquet verre blanc moule presse / Plaque moulded in pressed glass. Official Lalique factory produced advertising & promotional cabinet label in clear & frosted glass ‘Exposition Des Oeuvres De R. Laique’ in intaglio. Introduced on 2/7/1931. 9 cm in length by 7 cm in height.

Please note the shades, tints, colour staining and full colours are stated where known examples have been seen, in most cases examined and recorded. Also note that the original prices reflected whether they were ordered as standard clear & frosted, tinted or opalescent. The most expensive being the full coloured pieces, now being extremely rare and difficult to locate. The sizes shown should be accurate (taking final polishing into consideration) and the ones in milimetres are quoted directly from the Lalique Glass 1932 sales catalogue. The weights shown are courtesy of Lalique, London.

A selection of circular black glass display stands in various sizes to accommodate the mascot bases.

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Where to See Them To see them ‘in the flesh’ so to speak is not easy, but there are a few specialists out there who have them on view, and of course there are museum collections. The following are some places where you can view them: The Lalique Gallery at the White Lion Garage, Kemp Town, Brighton, Sussex (UK).

The Lalique Mascot Collectors’ Club has photos of all of them all on its website and is also a mine of information and advice, at: http://www.brmmbrmm.com/lbcc.bb. They held a Lalique Retrospective Exhibition in London in 2011, and details of this are on their website.

RLalique.com is an even deeper mine! It is a most comprehensive website covering all of Lalique’s inter-war output, if you are into everything possibly connected with the great man! Highly recommended, at: http://www.rlalique.com Museé Lalique, Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace, France has a wonderfully lit small display of car mascots along with most of the great man’s other work in glass, jewellery etc. The factory is on site but is not open to the public for obvious reasons of health and safety.

The Toyota Museum at Hakano in Japan has the complete collection, though Chrysis, strangely, is the paperweight (without the mounting groove cut into the base) and not the correct car mascot version (as of the time of writing).

The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu used to have a comprehensive collection (from the Pickard-Cambridge family collection, now dispersed); however, just a few examples are on show.

Many national and local museums have one or more examples among their glass displays.

There are many glass-related societies and club websites out there, so start a Google search for them.

If you know of any museums or private collections that can be visited (with the owners’ permission), we want to know, so please do get in touch.

An older Lalique in his office checking-out a large vase.

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The Lalique display of mascots at The Toyota Museum in Japan.

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Illustrations The images numbered 1 to 31, correspond to the car mascot listings here, also numbered 1 to 31. I have also shown the modern versions of these mascots, which were and in some cases still are marketed as paperweights (desk ornaments) and bookends for comparison (as mentioned in the text). I have indicated whether the piece is still marketed or if it has been discontinued (at the time of the publication of this book).

1 Sirène in opalescent milky blue.

1A Sirène in opalescent with yellowish age patination.

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2 Naïade in clear and frosted glass with a grey-coloured tint.

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2A.Naïade in opalescent milky-blue.

3.Cinq Chevaux in clear glass shown on a contemporary chrome metal display mount.

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2B. Naïade three quarters view.

3A. Cinq Chevaux also showing an example mounted on a Breves Galleries desk base.

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3C. Cinq Chevaux showing the rear of the mascot and top of the radiator mounting base.

3D. Cinq Chevaux replica mascot mounted onto a Citröen 5CV car radiator (see text).

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4. Comète in clear glass, shown on its original Breves Galleries radiator lighting base.

4A Comète in clear glass shown on its original Lalique factory chrome mounting base.

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4B Comète showing a variation of the standard signature, this being ‘R. Lalique’ moulded in relief with a double-tailed ‘q’ with wheel-cut ‘France’ underneath the end of the tail. On a contemporary radiator steel cap mount.

4C. Comète showing close-up detail of the whole of the ‘R. Lalique’ intaglio signature.

4D. Comète overview.

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5A Faucon with a slight amethyst tint showing the ‘R. Lalique’ intaglio signature on base.

5B. Faucon showing oppoiste side with the wheel-cut ‘France’ signature.

5C. Faucon in a slight amathyst tint, mounted onto a Breves Galleries radiator lighting base.

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6. Tireur d’Arc in clear glass, un-mounted.

6B. Tireur d’Arc in blue tinted glass, close-up 6A. Tireur d’Arc in clear glass, close-up of intaglio of intaglio ‘R. Lalique’ signature along with ‘R. Lalique’ signature along with engraved ‘France’. engraved ‘France’.

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7A. Coq Nain in graduated light to dark green full colour with a topaz centre.

7. Coq Nain in clear and frosted finish.

7B. Coq Nain in a deep violet-blue full colour.

7C. Coq Nain modern boxed paperweight clear & frosted version with certificate.

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8. Tête de Bélier in a dark grey-coloured hue, mounted on a contemporary Breves Galleries polished metal lighting base.

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9. Tête de Coq in clear and frosted finish.

9A. Tête de Coq in clear and frosted glass with a greyish hue, side view showing the large ‘LALIQUE FRANCE’ in block capitals (without the ‘R’) intaglio signature.

9B. Tête de Coq in clear and frosted glass showing the detail of the feathering and combe to the head of the piece.

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9D. Tête de Coq mounted on the vehicle’s radiator cap in situ.

9C. Tête de Coq in clear and frosted finish with a greyish hue, mounted onto a contemporary chrome plated Breves-style radiator lighting base.

10. Tête d’Aigle in clear and frosted finish.

10A. Tête d’Aigle pair of bookends signed ‘Lalique France’ on block bases, modern post-war, discontinued.

10B. Tête d’Aigle in clear and frosted finish modern paperweight boxed with certificate.

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11A Tête d’Epervier in clear finish with a greyish hue, showing detail of the intaglio signature (leftside view).

11. Tête d’Epervier in a clear finish with a greyish hue, showing detail of the intaglio signature (right side view).

11C. Tête d’Epervier close-up of the intaglio signature.

11B. Tête d’Epervier in a clear finish. with a slight amethyst tint mounted onto a Breves Galleries non-illuminating desk display base.

Note the extensive damage to the piece.

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12. Tête de Paon in clear and frosted glass with a satin finish and doublesigned ‘France’ (see text).

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12A. Tête de Paon in a rare light-to-dark cobalt blue colour (right hand side view).

12B. Tête de Paon (left hand side view).

12C. Tête de Paon showing two different versions of finish and signatures (see text).

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12D. Tête de Paon showing detail of the intaglio signature. Note the tiny France within the mounting groove.

12E. Tête de Paon modern paperweight version in black, boxed with certificate.

12F. Tête de Paon modern paperweight version in cobalt blue, boxed with certificate.

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12G. Tete de Paon in a very vivid green as a unique factory experimental colour test piece.

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13. Lévrier in clear glass (showing right side view).

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13A. Lévrier in clear glass (showing left side view).

13B. Lévrier in clear glass showing the intaglio signature detail.

13C. Lévrier in clear glass with a slight amethyst tint, mounted onto its contemporary Breves Galleries radiator lighting base.

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14. Lévrier / The King’s Greyhound mounted onto a contemporary Lalique display base (see text for details).

14A. The King’s Greyhound right side view.

14B. The King’s Greyhound left side view.

14C. The King’s Greyhound close-up right-side view.

14D. The King’s Greyhound close-up right side view.

14E. The King’s Greyhound showing close-up detail of the engraved ‘R. Lalique’ signature.

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14F. The King’s Greyhound showing the underneath of the damaged base.

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14G. The King’s Greyhound showing the base area underneath of the damaged base.

14H. The King’s Greyhound showing detail of the lower Lalique metal base mount.

15. Sainte-Christophe in clear and frosted finish, with Lalique chrome base mount fitted onto a modern wooden display base.

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15A. Sainte-Christophe showing close-up detail of the intaglio signature.

15B. Sainte-Christophe and the Archer roudleiers shown together for comparison.

15C. Sainte-Christophe modern clear & frosted boxed version with certificate.

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16. Hirondelle in clear glass on its contemporary Breves Galleries lighting display base.

16A. Hirondelle in clear glass on its Breves Galleries metal screw on-off base ring.

16B Hirondelle in clear and frosted glass, modern crystal as a pair of paperweights now discontinued (note the large integral block bases).

16C. Hirondelle in clear and frosted glass, modern crystal as a pair of paperweights (frontal view).

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17. Petite Libellule in clear and frosted finish on its Breves Galleries radiator lighting base.

17A. Petite Libellule in clear and frosted finish (left side view).

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18A. Grande Libellule in the extremely rare and desirable full colour electric blue.

18. Grande Libellule in clear and frosted finish.

18C. Grande Libellule modern boxed in deep oceon blue colour tint with certificate.

18B. Grande Libellule showing close-up of the engraved signature along the tail.

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19. Grenouille in clear and frosted finish (front view).

19B. Grenouille in clear & frosted finish with a slight grey hue mounted onto a Breves Galleries radiator lighting base.

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19A Gronouille in clear and frosted finish (left side view).

19C. Grenouille in clear and frosted finish with a dark grey hue, mounted onto a Breves.

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19D. Grenouille in a very deep blue as a unique factory experimental colour test piece.

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20. Victoire clear and frosted with a satin finish.

20A. Victoire showing close-up of the ‘France’ intaglio signature on the base.

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20B. Victoire showing close-up of the ‘Lalique’ intaglio signature to the base.

20D. Victoire modern boxed version with certificate.

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20C. Victoire showing close-up of the left-hand side of the base.

20E. Victoire with a very strong amethyst colour tint.

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21. Longchamp ‘A’ showing the double mane, in clear and frosted with a satin finish.

21A. Longchamp ‘A’ in clear and frosted finish, frontal view.

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22. Longchamp ‘B’ showing its single mane.

22A. Longchamps ‘A’ and ‘B’ shown together for comparison.

22B. Longchamp ‘B’ showing the detail of the intaglio signature.

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22C. Longchamp ‘B’ which is mounted onto a modern radiator cap.

23. Epsom mounted onto a contempory Breves Galleries radiator lighting base (which is display mounted onto a modern turned & polished wooden display base).

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22D. Longchamp ‘B’ in a rare amberyellow colour, mounted as one of a pair of bookends (see text).

23A. Epsom mounted onto a contempory Breves Galleries radiator lighting base (left side view).

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23C. Epsom showing the commponant parts of the metal radiator base mount.

23B. Epsom mounted onto a Breves Galleries radiator lighting base (right side view).

23D. Epsom showing detail of the intaglio signature.

23E. Epsom in a strong amber finish as a unique experimental factory colour test piece.

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24. Sanglier in clear and frosted glass.

24A. Sanglier modern version having less detail and in a more whiteish finish crystal glass with engraved ‘Lalique ® France’ in script plus a Lalique Paris factory sticker label to the base.

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24B. Sanglier in clear and frosted glass having a topaz finish.

24C. Sanglier in clear and frosted glass having a topaz finish, showing the detail of the signature underneath the base.

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25. Perche in a standard clear and frosted finish.

25A. Perche in an opalescent milky blue finish.

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25B. Perche in an opalescent light to dark orange tint.

25C. Perche in an opalescent light to dark green tint.

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25D Boxed Perche.

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26. Vitesse in clear and grey satin finish.

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26A. Vitesse in a clear satin finish, mounted on part of a metal radiator base.

26B. Vitesse in a rare and desirable light opalescent milky blue.

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26C. Vitesse in satin finish, showing the ‘R. Lalique’ intaglio signature to the base.

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26D. Vitesse in rare opalescent milky blue showing the ‘R. Lalique’ intaglio signature to the base.

26E. Vitesse in opal showing detail of the ‘R. Lalique’ intaglio signature to the base.

26F. Vitesse in opal showing detail of the ‘France’ intaglio signature to the base.

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26G. Group of Vitesse and Chrysis, rare and desirable in various grades of opalescent milky blue.

26H. Vitesse in opalescent milky blue, modern paperweight boxed with certificate.

26I. Vitesse in clear satin finish, modern paperweight boxed with certificate.

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27. Coq Houdan in a clear and frosted finish on a Lalique chrome retaining mount.

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27A. Coq Houdan as a pair of bookends mounted onto heavy black square glass bases.

28 Pintade in a clear and frosted finish on a chrome retaining ring mounted onto a Lalique signed black glass display base (which were sometimes retailed in pairs as bookends see text).

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29. Hibou in a clear and frosted finish, right-side view showing the ‘R. Lalique’ signature.

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29A Hibou left-side view showing the ‘France’ signature.

30 Renard (Fox) right side view.

29B. Hibou right side view detail, showing it mounted onto a display base.

30A Renard in a clear and frosted finish, left side view.

30B Renard, left side (close-up) view.

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29B. Hibou, showing close-up detail of the base.

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30D. Renard as a paperweight (contempory with the car mascot, see text).

30E. Renard in a dark grey as a unique factory experimental colour test piece (see text on the various factory colour test pieces).

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31. Chrysis in a clear and frosted glass with a satin finish.

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31A. Chrysis as a paperweight desk ornament, post-war to modern by Cristal Lalique.

31B. Chrysis paperweight version as above but without the mounting groove cut into the base, left-side view.

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31C. Chrysis showing the detail of the ‘R. Lalique’ (without ‘France’) stencilled signature to the edge of the bottom of the base.

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31D. Chrysis in rare opalescent redish-pink showing the detail of the ‘R. Lalique France’ stencilled signature in the centre of the bottom of the base, (ex Nublar Gulbenkian’s RollsRoyce Silver Wraith).

31E. Nubar Gulbenkian’s Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith with a special colour-tinted Chrysis mascot in situ replacing the standard Spirit of Ecstasy flying lady (see text for details).

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Chrysis car mascot mounted onto a black glass display base.

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31i. Chrysis car mascot (with groove cut into the base) along with the paperweight version to the right (with a solid base).

31G. Chrysis modern paperweight version in opalescent milky blue, boxed with certificate.

32. Cote d’Azure inaugrial Pullman night train presentation desk trophy with intaglio dedication. (right side showing ‘R. Lalique’ intaglio signature).

31H. Chrysis as a car mascot as noted by the groove cut into the integral base to take the metal radiator mount.

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32A. Cote d’Azure with Pullman train promotional brochure as background.

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32B. Cote d’Azure with Pullman train brochure showing a Lalique decorative panel from the dining car.

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32C. Cote d’Azure showing the left side of the piece.

32D. Cote d’Azure showing right side of the piece.

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32E. Cote d’Azure showing the rear of the piece.

33. Rolls-Royce commemorative desk trophy, frontal view (see text).

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33A. Rolls-Royce right side view.

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33B Rolls-Royce left side view.

33C. Rolls-Royce 90th anniversary desk trophy mascot showing Lalique stick-on label and box as retailed by Cristal Lalique in 1994 (see text).

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33D. Rolls-Royce complete with its box and outer slip case.

34. Bentley flying ‘B’ present day produced in blue coloured glass, car mascot with after shave container as the base.

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35. Toby ÉlÊphant, the Elephant paperweight showing the doublestepped base (see text for details).

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35A. Toby close-up showing right side profile of the piece.

36. Diane the huntress holding a doe in clear and frosted finish as a paperweight.

37. Leda with the swan in clear and frosted finish as a paperweight.

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38. Chouette as a paperweight (this thin barn owl is no longer in production) compared to the fatter current piece which is still in production.

38A. Chouette detail of the modern engraved ‘Lalique ® France’ signature (see text).

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38B. Chouette present day production in box with certificate by Cristal Lalique.

39. Chouette (fat owl) present day production in clear & frosted finish by Cristal Lalique.

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46. An example of an engraved signature in script post-war to modern.

47. An example of the inter-war period R. Lalique intaglio signature.

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46A. An example of a inter-war period ‘R. Lalique France’ signature (see text).

47A. An example of a postwar signature engraved in script with an etching tool.

47B. An example of the ‘R. Lalique’ stencilled signature.

48. An example of an engraved signature before 1926.

49. An example of a wheel-cut signature after 1926.

50. An example of a moulded intaglio signature.

51. An example of an acid etched signature.

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53. An example of post-war to modern engraved signature in script.

52. An example of an engraved signature in script.

54. Lalique - various promotional labels for shop counter tops and display cases.

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55. Lalique post-war to modern boxed paperweights.

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55A. Lalique post-war to modern paperweight boxes.

56. The Lalique Gallery display cases contaning pre & post-war to modern pieces.

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56A Various post-war to modern boxed Lalique pieces.

57. Close-up of four modern Lalique boxed pieces.

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57A. A display of post-war, modern and present day boxed pieces.

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58 Vol.1 of the Unique Lalique Mascots book.

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58A. Vol.1 of the Unique Lalique Mascots book (showing example pages).

58B. The American Antiquing collector’s magazine with Lalique article.

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59. Signs to the Muse/e Lalique in France.

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The Lalique Gallery in Brighton has one of the finest collections on offer as being one of the world's leading specialists for the aquisition of the glass car mascots, trophies, book ends, and desk ornaments etc. by RenĂŠ Lalique. We also stock post-war to modern pieces by Christal Lalique. Our passion, integrity and discretion in aquiring these unique pieces for collector's & investors is unrivalled due to our team's experiance and assurance that each very special piece is sold with a certificate of authenticity giving you the client a lifetime guarantee which can be produced and viewed by any auction house specialist and recognized organisation.

So please ask for our fully illustrated fold-out leaflet to be sent to you by enclosing your stamped self addressed envelope to us at: The Lalique Gallery at The White Lion Garage,, Clarendon Place, Kemp Town, Brighton, Sussex, BN2 1JD, UK. Contact: laliquemascots@virginmedia.com Website: www.uniquelaliquemascots.co.uk Landline: 01273 622722 mobile: 07890 836734 Note: Visitors are welcome by prior appointment only as security devises as well as CCTV are in 24hr operation both inside & outside of the premises. The images are never passed onto any third parties except by any specific demand from the emergency services, where English laws apply.

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59C. Taga Florio bronze presentation plaque (see text).

60. The Paris Exposition of 1925 promotional poster.

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61. Breves Lalique Galleries ad’ from the Studio magazine.

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62. Breves Lalique Galleries booklet of the period.

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63. Lalique retospective in London in 2011, promotional poster (see text).

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64. Lalique Gallery in Brighton showing the display case containing various pre, post-war to modern pieces.

63A. Breves Lalique Galleries (former) building in Knightsbridge.

65. Lalique Gallery in Brighton showing the display case containing various pre, post-war to modern pieces.

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67.The Lalique display of mascots at The Toyota Museum in Japan.

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68B. Review of the Lalique London retrospective and antiques fair of 2011.

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68C. Review in Classic Car Weekly of the Lalique retrospective of 2011.

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68D. Advertisment in The Royal Ascot magazine.

68E. Advertisment in The Automobile magazine.

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68F Advertisment in Octane magazine.

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71. The author holding a Cinque Chevaux car mascot (giving an idea of scale).

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72. The author holding a Grand Libellule car mascot (giving an idea of scale).

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The author holding a Tete de Coq car mascot (giving an idea of scale).

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Bibliography Arwas, Victor. Lalique. New York: Rizzoli, 1980.

Bayer, Patricia and Waller, Mark. The Art of Rene Lalique. London: Bloomsbury, 1988.

Bloch-Dermant, Janine. Le Guidargus de La Verrerie de L’Antiquite a nos jours, les editions de l’amateur, Paris, 1990.

Card, Peter. Automobilia Including Price Guide. London: Dunestyle Publishing & Boxtree, 1989.

Chesney, Ele. Lalique Automobile Mascots. Private publication of her collection, USA, 2002. Her ‘complete’ collection was sold on 10/3/12 by RM Auctions at Amelia Island, Florida, USA. Dawes, Nicholas. M. Lalique Glass. New York: Crown, 1986.

Di Sirignana, Guiseppe and Sultzberger, David. Car Mascots: An Enthusiast’s Guide. New York: Crescent, 1977.

Furman, Michael. Automotive Mascots Vol. 2, USA, 2015 Gardiner, Gordon and Morris, Alistair. The Price Guide and Identification of Automobilia. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1982, 1992, 1998.

Jewell, Brian. Motor Badges & Figureheads. Speldhurst, Kent: Midas Books, 1978.

Knowles, Eric. Lalique. Oxford: Shire Publications, 2011.

Lalique, Mark and Lalique, Marie-Claude. Lalique par Lalique. Paris: Société Lalique, 1977.

Lalique, René et Cie. Catalogue des Verreries de René Lalique. Paris: Mars, 1932. Re-published by the Corning Museum of Glass in association with Dover Publications, New York, 1981.

Lefkowith, Christie Mayer. The Art of René Lalique, Thames & Hudson UK & USA, 2014 Legrand, Michel. Mascottes Automobiles, vols. 1 and 2. Paris: ETA Editions, 1993, 1994.

Legrand, Michel. Mascottes Passion. Paris: Antic Show. Editions, 1999.

Mack, Vicki A, Mullin Peter W. Lalique Automotive Art, Mullin Automotive Museum, Oxnard, CA, USA, 2015.

Malevski, Mirek and Waller, Mark. Les Mascottes de Lalique, Automobiles Classique, Summer 1985, pp. 114‑122.

Marcilhac, Felix. René Lalique, maitre-verrier, 1860-1945: Analyse de L’oeuvre et Catalogue Raisonné de l’oeuvre de verre., les editions de l’Amateur. First published Paris, 1989. Revised in 1994, with the latest revised publication in 2011.

Marsh, Madeleine. Miller’s Collectables Price-Guides. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2002 onwards.

McClinton, Katherine Morrison. Lalique for Collectors. New York: Scribner, 1975.

McDonald, Jesse. Lalique. New York: Crescent, 1995 Moran, Mark F. Warman Lalique Identification and Price Guide. Iola, WI: Kraus Publications, 2004.

Mortimer, Tony, L. Lalique. London: Octopus Books, 1989.

Percy, Christopher Vane. The Glass of Lalique: A Collector’s Guide, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1977.

Prescott-Walker, Robert. Collecting Lalique. London: Francis Joseph, 1996.

Warmus, William. The Essential René Lalique. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003.

Weiner, G.G. ‘“L” for Lalique’, in The Friends of The National Motor Museum Trust, 2009, Spring issue. Beaulieu, Hants.

Weiner, G.G. ‘Quest for Perfection ‑ A Century of Lalique’, Collect It! issue no.139, February 2009, UK. Weiner, G.G. Unique Lalique Mascots: The automotive radiator hood ornaments of master glass artisan R. Lalique, The Book Guild (publishing) Ltd, October, 2014, UK. Weiner, G.G. ‘Lalique Mascots – Hood Ornaments’, Southeastern Antiquing Magazine, February 2014, U.S.A. Williams, William C. Motoring Mascots of the World. Portland, OR, USA, Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company & Robert Ames, 1990.

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Credits for Consultation and Photos Glendinin, Dorothy. ‘The Hood Ornaments of Lalique’, Road and Track, June 1974, pp. 50-52. (USA).

Bonhams Auction House (UK).

Bonhams & Butterfileds Auction House USA).

Joy McCall of Christie’s Auction House, South Kensington, London, UK, for information and images of The Kings’ Greyhound.

Delage with Tête d’Aigle in situ at Techno Classica Essen in 2005 (Germany).

David Burgess-Wise Lalique article ‘Art of Glass’ in Supercar Classics, December 1989 (UK).

Frank Dale & Stepsons Ltd., London (UK) for images of the ex Nublar Gulbenkian’s Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith with Chrysis mascot in situ.

The British Antique Dealers’ Association (UK) for advice on cleaning and preservation.

The Orient Express magazine, The Illustrated London News Group (UK).

The Pullman Society, Burgess Hill, West Sussex (UK).

Penman Fine Art & Antiques Fairs, Lalique Mascot Exhibition 2011, London (UK).

The Lalique Mascot Collectors’ Club website (UK).

Boutique Lalique HQ, Rue Royale, Paris, France.

Shop Lalique, Conduit Street, London, UK. George Kay of Harrods of Knightsbridge, (London, UK) crystal department for information and images on the various signatures used by the Lalique factory.

Museé Lalique, Wingen-sur-Moder, Alsace, France.

Gallery Moderne – LSL Ltd., Piermont, New York, (USA) courtesy for the use of the image of The Pickard-Cambridge collection.

The owners of the (former) Galerie Moderne, London, UK, for images of the rare & unique Lalique factory colour test pieces.

Tony Wraight (UK) courtesy for the use of images of his rare opalescent pieces in his (former) collection.

Mascotte Automobile Bouchon de Radiateur Ancienne (France) for Lalique mascot information.

Maki Fujii, Assistant Curator of the Lalique Car Mascot Collection at the Toyota Automobile Museum, Hakano, Japan.

Higashigotanda auctions of Tokyo, Japan, for the image of Longchamp ‘B’ in rare yellow-amber.

The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Hampshire, UK. Peter Andrews of Art Deco Express (Austria) for images supplied from his collection.

John Hammond (UK) for the Comète variation showing alternative signature.

Rago Arts and Auction Center’s Nicholas Dawes (USA) for his kind advice.

John H. Shearer (USA) for permission to reproduce the Lalique signatures from his website.

Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance (USA) for various Lalique mascots in situ. autoblog.com for Coq Nain and Longchamp B in situ.

The Studio Magazine, 1931, Vol. 101, courtesy of the Brighton & Hove City Libraries, UK. Jill Reger – photography of fineartamerica.com – courtesy for the Image of the reproduction Cinq Chevaux.

The front cover design of Hirondelle mounted onto the radiator cap of a Duesenberg courtesy of The Southeastern Antiquing Magazine, February 2014, U.S.A. The back cover design of Breves’ Lalique Galleries promo ad’ with Vitesse mascot. Courtesy of The Nethercutt Museum, Sylmar, California, U.S.A. Note: The images of R. Lalique are courtesy of Le Musée Lalique photographic archive. The images of the author holding a Cinq Chevaux, Grand Libellule and Tête de Coq mascots are by The Virginia Grey Photographic Studio, London, UK. The majority of the other mascot and paperweight images are by The Christine Joslin Photographic Studio, Brighton, Sussex, UK. The remainder are as credited.

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Disclaimer Every attempt has been made by the author to secure the appropriate permissions for materials reproduced in this book by sending out a ‘Release Form’ with a Royal Mail receipt to everyone and every company involved and so credited here. If, however, there has been any oversight the publishers will be happy to rectify this in retrospect and a written submission should be made to them. Any reprint, revised or follow-up editions of this book will contain these omissions.

End

The Lalique family grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France.

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