I have just spotted a PenDelfin Cyril Squirrel on eBay. Cyril Squirrel was designed by Doreen Noel Roberts and only produced for around two years from c1963-1965.
I always advise people to be careful when buying off eBay. Be sure to ask the seller any questions before you bid and check out the photographs properly. It’s all to easy to be disappointed when you receive something that isn’t as good as you were expecting, and quite often it can be prevented beforehand.
So it’s nice to see this seller has included plenty of photographs of Cyril. They illustrate that he isn’t in perfect condition (far from it!) but it gives a clear indication of all the little bangs, nicks and paint flakes that he has so you can judge quite clearly how much to pay for him.
I’ve just spotted this Cyril Squirrel on eBay. Cyril is one of my favourite PenDelfin’s, he was designed by Doreen Noel Roberts and is quite large in size standing around 7″ tall so stands out amongst the rabbits. With him only being produced for such a short time, around 2 years from 1963 to 1965 he’s quite sought after nowadays.
This example doesn’t seem in too bad condition although he does have some paint flakes. It’s nice to see him with his original label and no big chips to his nose! I’ve seen quite a few with nose chips, I think it might be due to him standing quite tall and occasionally being knocked forward hence his nose bangs down and chips!
It’s always good to check condition with PenDelfin, they must be one of the few figurines that really are exceptionally easy to damage. Slight rubbing can result in paint flakes and knocking can easily end in chips or larger areas of paint flaking. Dungaree father and Thin Neck mother are famous for having been beheaded at some point!
At the moment Cyril is only £26 (bargain!) although he does have 4 days to go. As with all auctions the action is usually towards to the end, I expect he’ll rise quite some more!
One of Pendelfin’s leading designers, Doreen Roberts, has died, aged 77. She first met Pendelfin founder Jean Walmsley Heap through the Burnley Art Society, which she joined in the late 1940s. Doreen subsequently joined the Pendelfin team and was responsible for many memorable rabbit designs, including Jingle, Muncher and Phumf.
Doreen was also responsible for many of the Pendelfin display stands, including Castle Tavern, the highly collectable Christmas Scene (only made for one year) and Cobble Cottage.
Doreen Noel Roberts continued to work at Pendelfin right up until the company’s sale in March 2006, when UK production of the rabbits ceased and the company’s Burnley premises closed.