1945 "JOAN CRAWFORD" CERAMIC FIGURAL HEAD MUG- BARCLAY

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

is a VINTAGE 194 ERA "JOAN CRAWFORD" CERAMIC FIGURAL HEAD MUG BY "HOLLYWOOD MUGS BY BARCLAY" . This is a beautiful ceramic caricature mug, measures 5 1/2" tall at the handle, 5 1/2" wide & 5 1/4" deep. This mug was made by "Barclays", the bottom is marked "HOLLYWOOD MUGS by Barclays". Barclays would make figural head mugs of celebrities during the 1940s after they made achievements in film or the entertainment business . This mug was made of famed actress Joan Crawford just after she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in "Mildred Pierce" . According to my research t are only 11 different Barclays celebrity mugs that were ever produced . T was a recent past Hakes Americana auction that had a lot of 7 different ones up for auction, the mugs were of : Joan Crawford, Pat O'Brien, Barry Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Frank Sinatra. While sculpting was done in caricature, the stars are easily recognizable to fans. Often, something closely associated with the star forms the mug's handle. For instance, Joan Crawford has an Oscar-like statuette, Irish actor O'Brien has a harp, Irish Actor Fitzgerald has shillelagh, Crosby has pipe, Hope has golf club, Durante's caricatured large nose could be used as a handle and Sinatra's handle is comprised of a swooning female fan and his caricatured large ears. This Joan Crawford mug features an Oscar statue leaning against her head. is a link from the Hakes auction: /item.asp?ListID=20&ItemNo=58686 The mugs in the Hakes auction all were hand painted under the glaze, this Babe Ruth one and the the other one I have listed, the Joan Crawford, were never painted, they are both all flesh color- my digital camera couldn't get the color quite right, the color doesn't have the darkish brownish hues as the photos show. The lot of 7 mugs in the Hakes auction sold for $2,875.00 , and some of those had chips & cracks. I found 2 other references on the internet for Barclay mugs, one was a 1989 Camden House auction for 2 Joan Crawford mugs just like the one I have listed, except they were painted under the glaze & the handles had a gold colored plating, those 2 mugs sold for $2,400. and that was in 1989. is a link to see those: /jpg-tour/camden-may1989i.asp The other reference I found was a collector who found a Barry Fitzgerald mug and sent a question about it to an internet collector site, they replied that they could find any info on it or Barclays, they thought it could have been an import from Japan & worth several hundred dollars, but I doubt they are from Japan, most ceramics from Japan are marked and that info would have come up in the Hakes auction if that were true. This Joan Crawford mug is in great condition- no chips, no crazing- only flaw is a hairline crack on the very back side bottom- 1 1/16" on the visible side & 3/4" on the very bottom- this is VERY hard to see, especially the part that is not on the very bottom- if paced in front of a mirror on a shelf it would be near impossible to spot. These are 2 micro gray spots on the left cheek that are under the glaze from when it was made, not very noticeable and doesn't detract. Because this mug & the other one I have listed do not have any painting I believe it is possible that these are very early production pieces and could be more rare that the painted ones. I actually like this one better without the paint, eyes look more intense and more like a caricature!! These came from an estate sale in Burbank, California this past weekend of a family who had been in the movie business, this is fresh to market- NEVER OFFERED ANYW BEFORE. My reserve is very fair for what is an ULTRA RARE Babe Ruth item. If it doesn't sell I may consign it to a large auction house. If you are really serious about this mug you will place a reasonable bid early- most people who track an item plan to snipe at the last minute, but forget when the auction ends, then they never get a shot at the item..... THIS MUG IS VERY RARE, MOST OF YOU COLLECTORS WILL KNOW T... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.