Nipper info

[KCW]

I’ve been thinking about buying a Nipper for me if my phonographs. I’ve got a Vic V and thought it would be cool to have a Nipper looking into the horn. I know it’s the wrong machine but thought it would be fun to replicate the scene. I was looking in eBay at the various ones for sale and couldn’t figure out what’s what. I’d love to have an older vintage one, but most if the listings don’t list what era they’re from. I’m not sure what size one would be good too. Any feedback from people who know? I found one listed as “chalk ware” for about 200$ which looks cool, about 14 inches tall, but wasn’t sure. Feedback and advice most appreciated!

[Jerry B.]

In my opinion this 18" plastic Nipper is a nice size to display with most any Victor. I also consider it about the last of the genuine RCA Nippers. They are blow mold plastic Nippers. They came from the factory with features, such as the ears, eyes, nose, and collar painted directly over the plastic. The plastic was not properly prepped and these Nippers frequently have a great deal of paint from the features that is flaking off. I repainted the two Nippers in my photos. First I stripped off any remaining paint, strayed plastic prep on all of Nipper, painted the entire dog with a creamy color, painted all features, and finally painted they entire Nipper with a satin clear coat. I think they look terrific.

Both of the Nippers in my photos had very little of the features remaining. I would not paint one with good features. I would expect to pay about $175 for one needing attention to $300 for one ready to enjoy. I think an 18" Nipper like this would look good with your Victor V.

[KCW]

This looks great! What era is it from? Is there an approximate date? There seems to be a lot of “chalkware” ones on eBay that are about 14 inches high. I’m trying to figure out what era these came from and who made them as well. Any ideas? I don’t see any of the 18 inch ones for sale currently.

[Jerry B.]

I'd estimate the blow mold plastic Nippers were made from the 70's and well into the 80's. It's not unusual to find one with RCA markings. I am very very suspect of the chalk ware Nippers. I believe the only chalk Nipper was made by Victor over 100 years ago as part of a store display. The display consisted as a 3' base, a facsimile of a trademark machine, and the Nipper shown in my photos. This Nipper is the only part of the display in my collection. Also notice the base on this nipper is tapered so it fits into the base. There have been attempts to reproduce this Nipper since phonograph collecting has become popular. I'd suggest anyone look at the details and, in particular, the nails on the paws. I've never seen a reproduction with a faux wood grain base. All that I've seen have a black base.

I'm not suggesting that collectors should not purchase recently made Nippers. I always hope that any purchase is made with eyes wide open and exercising some Nipper knowledge.

Jerry B.

[KCW]

Ok, I know it’s not the right phonograph for the scene, but I still love the look of this nipper looking into a horn. The original painting was a cylinder player after all!

[Django]

I agree with Jerry’s advice. You can also find lots of information regarding Nipper Collectibles in the book by the same name. I think that Jerry’s restored plastic Nippers look great and are the best bang for the buck, but it takes some talent and effort to make them look like that. I’ve seen some scary looking restorations on ebay.

Some of the more recent chalk ware Nippers look decent and some look like hounds. They sold new, (30 years ago), for about $25.00. At 14” they would be a bit small sitting on front of your machine, but you could have him sitting up on a stack of books to get the height right.

Old King Cole made some nice 18” glass eyed paper mache Nippers. I believe that they were only made in 1916 and they are hard to find, especially in decent condition. I bought two wrecks, (restored one and I am in the process of restoring the other). Those early Nippers are nicely detailed and probably the most true to life.

They were both missing their ears and the finished one was missing its right foot. Both had a lot of damage, but I am fortunate enough to have the more complete example as a model for the amputee.