From the face of it, this is a pretty basic, common Woodstock bank. However, you usually see this bank in ceramic, while this one is papier-mache! Find out where I found it on the full Patreon post.
What I Love – Finding interesting pieces! What makes it interesting is that it’s a different material than the usual ceramic, of course. It’s a slightly different size and doesn’t have the Schulz signature decal on it. See a photo of the comparison on the full Patreon post.
The ceramic piece is definitely my more favorite look of the two. The glaze can give more definition to Woodstock’s features and the sheen is nice. However, as a collector, the papier-mache is much rarer and harder to find in decent condition. Mine has a break on his top feathers, unfortunately.
Papier-mache
What is papier-mache? It’s not exactly like the school project of putting a gluey mess of newspaper strips over a balloon and calling it art. Instead, it’s more like a light mixture of paper pulp and glue that results in a light-weight, plaster-like, material. The material is prone to chips and cracks. Since it’s not as breakable as ceramic, you’ll see these pieces survive in broken and cracked condition. In the Peanuts world, papier-mache pieces sometimes also have terrible paint issues, especially if the varnish is too thick.
The ceramic version was released in 1977, but I have no details on the papier-mache version. Some other banks, like the junk food series, were released in both ceramic and papier-mache. I see the papier-mache junk food banks most in European listings. Is this also a European market bank? Or is it an earlier, or later, version of a popular style? It’s an interesting mystery!
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