Learn more about… Royal Doulton figurines

Refined crinoline ladies, court jesters and elderly balloon sellers: of all the ceramic items produced by the Royal Doulton factory over the years, none have captured the public imagination more than the array of colourful, expressive and highly collectable figurines. Over a period of nearly one hundred years, characters from every walk of life, Duchesses to fishwives and Geishas to sportsmen, have been finely depicted, each figurine evoking a more dignified era, exotic location or bustling street scene. In producing irresistible and popular figurines, Royal Doulton has successfully continued the tradition for fine, whimsical English figures that has its roots in the Staffordshire potteries.

Doulton, which became Royal Doulton c1901, was established in 1815. It initially produced functional and industrial items, but in the 1860s, Henry Doulton (1820–1897), the son of the founder, began to perceive a growing market for art pottery. Society was changing on an enormous scale and the expanding middle classes aspired to tastefully decorated homes. Importantly, people now had the income to indulge their passion for buying beautiful ornaments. In 1867 Doulton took on sculptor, George Tinworth (1843-1913), and established an art pottery studio to focus on decorative domestic pieces. With a large potential market, the new venture paid off and by the 1880s, 300 members of staff were employed, some based at the newly acquired premises in Staffordshire. Despite some success with figurines, nothing was to prepare the company for the popularity of the later HN series.

In the first decade of the 20th century, Charles Noke (b.1858-1941), a modeller originally from the Worcester factory, took the radical step of employing a number of established sculptors to create a whole new range of small-scale figurines. With an acknowledgement of the promotional potential of the situation, the resulting work was launched in 1913, during a royal visit to the factory. King George and Queen Mary were impressed with the range and a favourite figurine of the Queen’s, a model of a sleepy child that she had described as a “darling”, was later named ‘Darling’ in her honour. Now worth up to £2,000, this very model became number 1 in the HN numbering system used by Doulton for its figurines. Each different figurine and colour way was given a unique HN number, enabling easy identification and dating to a broad period. This system is still used today and has now reached over 4,000. The HN referred to Henry Nixon, who was in charge of the figurine painting department at the time.

Over the next few years, a vast array of different figurines were introduced, including 'The Jester' HN308, by Charles Noke, now worth £3,000-4,000 and ‘The Crinoline’ HN8, the first of Royal Doulton’s popular ‘fair ladies’, modelled by George Lambert and now worth up to around £1,500. Figurines produced in small numbers, as happened frequently before WWII, like Noke’s Jester, are hard to find today and therefore valuable.

Although a number of talented modellers became involved with the company, one of the most significant in the history of Royal Doulton figurines was Leslie Harradine (1887-1965). The young Harradine first joined the company as an apprentice in 1902, but left in 1912 to start a new life in Canada. When he returned to England after WWI, he realised the dream of setting up his own independent studio. Royal Doulton was supplied with his first figurine, ‘Contentment’ HN395 in 1920 and he continued to model for the company on a freelance basis for nearly forty years, producing at least one figurine every month.Figurines from series such as the ‘London Street Sellers’ and ‘Dickens’, as well as favourites such as ‘Top o’ the Hill’ HN1834, now worth around £70-100, are very popular today.

Another freelance modeller who had a major impact on the company was Margaret ‘Peggy’ Davies (1920-1989), who produced her first figurine, ‘Christmas Morn’ HN1992, now worth around £70-100, in 1946. Davies was fascinated by costume, and as well as modelling figurines in historical dress, she introduced a number of teenage figurines in contemporary fashions. Her ‘Marriage of Art and Industry’, depicting a couple, was produced in a run of just 12 for the Brussels International Exhibition of 1958 and may be worth up to £8,000 today. Other significant designers include Mary Nicoll, Pauline Parsons and Alan Maslankowski.

With such an enormous choice of different modellers and a vast array of varied figurines, Royal Doulton has many devoted enthusiasts. Collectors tend to limit their collection to examples modelled by a particular maker or from a particular series or of a particular type, fair ladies being the most popular. Values vary a great deal and the key determining factors are condition and rarity. Many fair ladies are worth £70-100, but there are many exceptions. A figurine that was in production for a long period is likely to be less valuable than a figurine produced in much smaller numbers.

Harradine’s easy to find ‘Top o’ the Hill’ HN1834 figurine, in continuous production since 1937, may be worth around £70-100, while less readily available older pieces, generally produced in runs of less than 2,000, tend to be more valuable, such as Harry Fenton’s ‘Newhaven Fishwife’, produced 1931-37 and worth  £3,000-4,000. It is almost impossible to distinguish older examples of long running figurines, from newer ones with the same HN number, so this does not generally affect value. Variations in colour have a major influence on price. A ‘Paisley Shawl’ HN1392 figurine could be worth £150-200 in red, but the HN1707 purple variation can fetch twice as much.

Limited editions from recent years can also attract a great deal of interest, as can Tolkein figures, although many recent figurines are yet to rise in value.

Royal Doulton remains very popular and the company continues to produce enchanting, new and reissued fair ladies, historical figurines, and storybook characters such as Bunnykins, Brambly Hedge and Beatrix Potter.

The prices of many Royal Doulton figurines, as well as thousands of other interesting and appealing collectables can be found in our 2005 Collectables Price Guide.