Ventriloquist Central Blog

I have been asked why I like Marshall ventriloquist figures so much so I thought I would try to address that question. As a dealer of antiques for most of my life this is not hard to explain. When you buy and sell you always strive to purchase better and better items because the value increases. You can purchase items that cost $10.00 add a 20% profit and sell it for $12.00. Then you purchase and item for $100.00 add the same 20% and sell it for $112.00 and so forth and so on up the price ladder. Of course as you find more expensive and better items the price and profit increases.

Now I decided I wanted to get a ventriloquist figure like the one I first traded for as a youngster (see my biography) and that was the start. I did the same thing I have always done with buying and selling and quickly moved up the ladder as far as price is concerned.

When I finally purchased my first Marshall ventriloquist figure I was thrilled with the quality that he put into his figure so I decided I would keep him and went searching for another to be able to sell. Much to my surprise when I purchased the second Marshall again I loved him and was unable to part with him. This continually happened with each succeeding Marshall purchase. I finally realized that as far as Frank Marshall figures are concerned I am a true collector and not a dealer. I just can’t part with any of the Marshall figures I have purchased.

I have discovered that every one of Marshall’s ventriloquist figures has a mystique about them. They each have a unique personality and they all are lovingly created by a man who was able to give birth to an inanimate object that just breathed life. I love Marshall’s work and I don’t think I will ever be able to part with any of the ones that have become part of the Willinger ventriloquist figure collection.

Remember I am always looking for more because you never can have enough!!!

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

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All writings here are copyrighted by Dan Willinger and Ventriloquist Central. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.

Being a prolific builder of Ventriloquist figures meant that as Frank Marshall grew and changed his characters and became more of his own style as far as his heads were concerned, remember he used the Mack heads at first, he also changed his hands.

He of course started using Mack’s flat hands but in the late 1920’s he changed his style and gave the fingers just the slightest bend (picture number 1).

He then took this same hand and separated the fingers (picture number 2) these two styles of the same hand were used for the most part into the mid 1940’s.

Then came the appearance of the bent fingers hand (picture number 3) which were used right up until the end of his figure making career and are actually the most recognizable style of hand that Marshall created.

Picture number 4 is a variant of the number 3 hand but is about a third the size larger and was used on his special order custom built Frank Byron Jr. replicas that he made. I do have both a Frank Byron Jr replica in my Marshall collection called Theodore Peckerwood. Also the figure named Joe Doaks has the oversized hands.

Hands number 5 and number 6 are again variants of the number 3 standard hand but number 5 has the index finger pointing. This style was used on Charlie McCarthy.

Number 6 has the index finger attached to the thumb to create a circle.

It is fun to see the progression that Marshall used and the variations.

Dan
www.ventriloquistcentral.com

***************************************************

All writings here are copyrighted by Dan Willinger and Ventriloquist Central. You may not use them without written permission but you may link to the posts or give out a link to the posts.