Collecting Wade Figurines: A Brief History

It all started at an antique fair while on vacation. My youngest daughter found a booth selling tiny animal figurines and she begged for them. The young man selling these items happily informed me that they were Wade figurines. I had never heard of Wade, so he educated me.

The Wade family owned potteries in several towns and their famous pottery became known by their last name. George Wade opened the family's first pottery in 1810, and it was not until 1950 that the various Wade family potteries consolidated into one large company, Wade Potteries Limited. The Wade family eventually sold their company in 1989 and it is now known as Wade Ceramics Limited.

The various Wade potteries created interesting ceramic products for companies to use in promotions, such as piggy banks for the National Bank to distribute to customers. The Wade family also teamed up with Disney to create a line of Disney figurines.

The Disney Wade figurines are hotly pursued by collectors. The original Disney Wade series is known as the Hat Box series. In 1955, when Disney was releasing the movie Lady and The Tramp, the first four Disney Wade figurines were created. In the movie, Lady was given a Christmas present packaged within a hat box. Wade used that as a unique way to package their new creations. The first four Disney Wade figurines were packaged in small hat boxes. After the success of the Lady and The Tramp series, Wade began creating other favorite Disney characters, packaging them in tiny hat boxes.

The most prized Disney Wade figurines come from the movie The Sword in the Stone. The figurines of Merlin and his alter-egos are the most sought after. The most difficult Hat Box figurine to find is Merlin as a turtle.

Just as we did, most people who happen across someone selling Wade figurines will find the Wade Whimsies collections. These were first created in 1953 and are miniature figurines of animals. Originally, Whimsies came in boxes of four or five figurines. In 1959, Wade stopped producing Whimsies for the general public. Whimsies became a promotional item to be given away with other purchases. Since they were so popular, Wade changed strategies and began selling them again in 1971.

The Whimsies created from 1971 until 1984 were packaged individually and sold either individually or as a set. Wade once again pulled Whimsies from the market in 1984 and they have not returned. Currently, new Whimsies are commissioned-only pieces.

Only 109 individual Whimsies were produced in twenty-two sets. The original series contained farm animals, zoo animals and various dog breeds. The second series introduced birds, large cats and sea animals. The second series were not made as well as the first and many collectors make note of the poor detail.

Whimsies have become very collectable and the second series is easy to find and relatively inexpensive.

It was the second series of Wade Whimsies figurines that my family came across at that antique fair. Since many of the figurines were only a dollar, I purchased five to start my daughter off on her new collection.