The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

On our way back from Union we stopped at an antique mall where they had a 36" paper mache Nipper. The tag said it had been repainted. Since it was in an antique mall, no one there knew anything about it. I looked it over and it had no makers mark that I could find. The bottom of the feet appeared very clean and white. Not what I would expect to find on an item with some age to it. Are these being reproduced? Since most everything that is collectable and of value is being copied, I figured these are too but wanted to ask.

Reproduction paper mache Nippers were made about fifteen to twenty years ago. They were somewhat different from the originals so maybe it was an attempt at a facsimile. The 36" plastic Nipper looks very much like the last generation of 36" paper mache Nipper. I think it's always a good idea to inspect a paper mache Nipper carefully. The large examples were often used as a sidewalk sign to bring customers into a store. Those Nippers lived a hard life and it's common to find them with several repaints. Jerry Blais

phonogal wrote:On our way back from Union we stopped at an antique mall where they had a 36" paper mache Nipper. The tag said it had been repainted. Since it was in an antique mall, no one there knew anything about it. I looked it over and it had no makers mark that I could find. The bottom of the feet appeared very clean and white. Not what I would expect to find on an item with some age to it. Are these being reproduced? Since most everything that is collectable and of value is being copied, I figured these are too but wanted to ask.

There is no real way to tell if the dog you asked about is a repro or original unless you post pics of the item in question. Many are re-painted and labels fall off, etc....