Scottie Sunday

I thought I'd do a little something different this Sunday and hope to carry
through with this idea. It is going to be called "Scottie Sunday" where I'm
going to share some of my Scottie Dog Antiques with you all. I don't think many
people know that before I got obsessed with beading and doll making, my biggest
passions was collecting Scottie Dog pieces. It all began back in 1989 when I bought my first Scottie
dog named FalaPink. We wanted a Scottie dog after going to Hyde Park and saw a picture of FDR with Fala hanging out the window of the car. On FDR's desk was Fala's collar. I grew up with Dauschunds so I had no idea how a terrier would change my life. Boy, did Fala ever do that. I remember taking him to my vet after purchasing him from an elderly couple on the south end of town. My Vet asked me if I knew anything about Scotties. Well, I didn't as I just thought they were cute. My Vet laughed and told me do I have a lot to learn as terriers are unique and have a wee bit of a controlling attitude and can be stubborn. And yes, I learned that real fast with Falakins. So with my new four legged baby boy taking over my life and changing it forever, I began to surround myself with trinkets and knick knacks making my house look like some Scottie dog museum.


This is one piece that I was lucky to find at a Scottie Dog Antique convention in Cincinnati called Wee Scots started by Donna Newton. This is a pair of Hubley bookends. They are cast iron and have been painted. This pair is in fair condition. Here is a little history of the Hubley company out of Pennsylvania:

Hubley Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by John Hubley and produced toys throughout its history. Early Hubley production consisted of many cast iron toys including various horse drawn vehicles, guns, and household objects such as doorstops and bookends. Many of their cast iron objects were dogs, and they are highly prized by collectors today. With the automotive age, cars, trucks, and other transportation became their focus. The Hubley Company made accurate metal replicas of Model A Fords and other cars for many years; for example, there are 7 Model A Ford body styles alone: Sedan, Station Wagon, Coupe, Roadster, Roadster Pickup, Victoria, and Phaeton. Though mass produced, Hubley toys and doorstops were painted by hand, so each has become a unique treasure appreciated both for its subject matter and the �folk art� quality of its paint, form and design. After WW II, die-cast zinc alloy models for the most part replaced the cast iron ones. In the casting process at Hubley, metalworkers would carve out a form of wood, or hammer the doorstop or toy design out in metal. The form was then pressed into finely compacted sand, making an impression. Cast iron heated to 3000 degrees was poured into the sand mold and, when cooled, the form would pop out and rough edges were filed off. In the decorating department, painters applied a base coat (usually white or cream but sometimes black) to the doorstop. Then, colorists used a variety of hues to highlight important details, usually only on the side that would face toward the room. Many doorstops bear identical color schemes, suggesting that decorators may have copied a model finished by a master artisan. A well-cast iron doorstop will be smooth in texture. Small chipping of paint is acceptable, but there should be no repainting of an antique item.

I do have a few of the Hubley door stops in my collection, but most of them have all be packed away for the future. Someday, Chris & I are going to get all those boxes out of the basement of closets and go through what I have. I collected for over 25 years so there is quite a bit of those pointy ear dogs residing in my house. I haven't sold any of them as I decided to just wait until I retire, and then "rehome" some of them like other members of Wee Scots passing on their treasures to me.