Jean Walmsley Heap, the founder of much-loved Burnley pottery PenDelfin, has died aged 87.
Jean started out as an artist, illustrating children’s books. The PenDelfin figurine business grew out of a idea sparked through her friendship with Jeannie Todd, whom she met at a Burnley Artists Society meeting in 1953.
From its early beginnings in a garden shed, the pottery grew to be an internationally-known business – all the time maintaining its base in Burnley. Early pieces – such as the Pendle Witch and the Fairy Shop plaque – are today extremely rare and collectable, as are rare, early rabbits like Aunt Agatha.
Here are a few examples of Jean’s finest work – a wonderful creative talent who will be missed by the PenDelfin community:
We have just added a rather nice early PenDelfin Dungaree Father to our PenDelfin section! Dungaree Father was designed by Jean Walmsley Heap and is one of the very first PenDelfin rabbits to have been made. Originally introduced in 1955 the PenDelfin Dungaree Father was only produced for 5 year and was retired in 1960.
1st Edition PenDelfin Father Rabbit - Dungaree
His delicate neck and large ears made him difficult to produce with broken necks quite common! Due to this his body was revised and he retired from production with the Kipper Tie Father replacing him – he has a much more solid neck and is far more stable!
The Dungaree Father is a fabulous rabbit really displaying the features that made PenDelfin so collectable. To view further details about him please click here, or if you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
In 1953 Jean Walmsley Heap created PenDelfin – a company whose products would bring joy to thousands of people over the 5 decades. Many years later, Jean wrote ‘The PenDelfin Story’ – her first-hand account of PenDelfin’s remarkable history.
In this hardback 1st edition book Jean Walmsley Heap personally recollects the history of PenDelfin and how what started as a garden shed-based hobby in 1953 became a major British success story employing dozens of people. Illustrated throughout it is truly a wonderful book for any PenDelfin collector.
”The PenDelfin Story” was first published by PenDelfin in 1993 and consists of 132 pages of history, illustrations and photographs. Click on the image below for more details:
Please click here to see further photographs of this lovely edition, and don’t forget all our PenDelfin prices DO include postage and packaging! If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Recently we added two rather nice early PenDelfin rabbits to our PenDelfin collection – a PenDelfin Shiner and an original PenDelfin Robert with Satchel.
Both Shiner and Robert were designed by the PenDelfin founder Jean Walmsley Heap and are examples of the early PenDelfin rabbits.
Shiner (shown above) was only in production for 7 years from 1960 to 1967. This is a lovely example with his original green felt and early PenDelfin pottery label to his base.
The original Robert with Satchel (illustrated right), also designed by Jean Walmsley Heap, was in production earlier than Shiner in 1956 and he retired in 1967 also. Robert was revised after this in 1967 to became Robert With Lollipop – he is holding a lollipop and a satchel! This version of Robert continued until 1979 when he was retired from production.
Both Shiner, a mischievous character, and Robert a studious looking rabbit, wouldn’t look out of place in the Old Schoolhouse playground!
It’s like waiting for a bus, you stand around for ages and then two always come at once! The same came be said for PenDelfin Cornish Prayers on eBay at the moment!
The Cornish Prayer figurine from PenDelfin was originally designed by PenDelfin founder Jean Walmsley Heap. He is one of the very early PenDelfin figurines and was originally produced in 1962 and produced for just 3 years. He’s a rather strange little fellow; peaking out from beneath his bed covers he certainly adds variety to a collection.
On eBay at the moment there are two to choose from! The first one appears to be in relatively good condition with a few nibbles here and there but looks to still have good colouring. He has his green felt and both PenDelfin labels – including the Ghoulies label which is always rather nice.
The second one seems a little worse with some nibbles and small chips, and in places looks as though he may have been over-painted (this might be worth checking with the seller).
Whichever one you choose make sure you are confident about the condition before bidding. Don’t be afraid to ask for further photographs or condition descriptions if you are unsure. eBay offers the buyer lots of choice but always be careful when buying not everything is as good as it seems!
For anyone looking for the PenDelfin Bath Tub that Barney rabbit stands by we have just added one to our site, and it still has it’s original box! 
The PenDelfin Bath Tub was designed by the well-known Doreen Noel Roberts and only produced from the late 1960s to c1975.
This example is in superb condition with its original label, green felt and PenDelfin box! I know many collectors (including myself!) are always keen to acquire pieces that come in their original packaging so it’s nice to see this example with its own box.
If you’re after an old member for your PenDelfin bandstand then I’ve just spotted this PenDelfin Cha Cha on eBay.
If you have a look at him you will see he’s obviously been fighting with his fellow bandmates! The seller has included some large photographs illustrating the damage which is always good and it’s nice to see that he still has the original PenDelfin gilt rectangular label on his base.
Cha Cha is one of the rarer PenDelfin rabbits and quite collectable. He was designed by PenDelfin founder Jean Walmsley Heap and only in production from 1959 to 1961, so he’s not as common as some of the other models that were made for longer. Playing a tuba he fits perfectly alongside Squeezy and Phumf on the PenDelfin bandstand!
The Metallion Range that PenDelfin produced in the 1980s is often overlooked. Whilst the majority of the range features mystic designs and witches there are one or two rabbit pieces if you look hard enough!
Take this bronze Mother & Baby rabbit currently on eBay. It was designed by PenDelfin founder Jean Walmsley Heap, stands approximately 7″ tall and was only produced from 1980-1985. To complete the pair a Father Rabbit was also made, similarly designed by Jean Walmsley Heap and standing approximately 7″ tall.
This pair was also made into a set of rather nice and very weighty(!) bookends, one with Father Rabbit on a stone base and one with Mother & Baby on a stone base, fit to hold up any books I’m sure!
So if you’re interested in expanding your collection into the Metallion range then Mother & Baby isn’t a bad place to start, she’ll blend in with her other cousins and will add a nice bit of variety among all those pottery rabbits.
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.
This month’s Antiques Info magazine includes a feature article on the current state of the PenDelfin market – along with a full three pages of captioned photographs! You may recognise a few of these photographs – they were all provided by Perfect Pieces.
The article itself was written by the other half of Perfect Pieces, Roland Head, and is well worth a read for anyone interested in building a worthwhile collection of PenDelfin figurines.
This issue also has the first of a series of articles about collecting, written by the magazine’s editor, John Ainsley. This makes interesting reading for anyone who is just starting out in the world of antiques, or who is interested in improving the quality and value of their collection.
The PenDelfin article is in the May/June issue of Antiques Info magazine and it’s in newsagents now.
