Bunnykins Nurseryware

The Bunnykins family are produced by Royal Doulton, were originally created over 60 years ago by Barbara Vernon, a young nun known in her convent as Sister Mary Barbara. She first imagined the Bunnykins family as a tool to entertain the children in  her class. Her father, Cuthbert Bailey, who was at that time Royal Doulton's managing director, saw the marketing potential of these characters and used these to create a series of nurseryware china.

Sister Mary Barbara signed all of her work Barbara Vernon and by the early 1950s she had contributed more than a 1000 drawings to the Doulton factory. her signature was used until the mid-1950s and signed pieces always command a higher price.

Hubert Light  created the backstamp from the Tug of War scene and designed the chain of running rabbits that has appeared around the rim since 1934. This backstamp  has changed over the years but the central bunnies remain the same.

When Sister Mary Barbara discontinued her drawing other designers continued the tradition. Walter Howard adapted her later drawing and began to design his own. Hoopla and Juggling, two of his deigns were very complex and only produced between 1967 - 1970, each is worth several hundred dollars because of their rarity.

These days the Bunnykins motif extends beyond far beyond the Royal Doulton factory and the designs are reproduced under license on everything from plastic ware to baby's clothing, however, these items serve to increase the value of the genuine fine chins Royal Boulton Bunnykins nurseryware.

Bunnykins Figurines

The first Bunnykins figurines were modelled by one of Doulton's most famous artists, Charles Noke, and released in 1939. NO more figures were released until 1972 when Doulton relaunched the range with new designs modelled by Albert Hallam. A small number of  Bunnykins were released in 1973 and 1974 and then every year since 1981 more have been released.

The Bunnykins figurines with DB pattern numbers are amongst the most collectable Royal Doulton products, with collectors multiplying every day. It is a good idea to purchase figures as soon as they are issued as an investment for the future.

(c) Merlene Fawdry

I hope this information has been helpful to you.

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braddieboy