Collecting & Buying Mid Century Siamese Cats

One of the most popular vintage animal ornaments being collected by yay retro! customers are cats. Mid century cats are most often tall Siamese cats which can come singly or in pairs. Some were made in Japan for the gift and souvenir market, whilst others were made by well known local pottery brands such as Hornsea & Trentham. Vintage cat ornaments can date from the 1950s, 60s or 70s.

Kitsch, flowery 1960s cats are fun and almost always snapped up quickly by eager collectors. Probably designed for the holiday souvenir & fairground market, these come in all shapes and sizes and look fantastic displayed singly or in large groups.

The Hornsea cats (below top left) were designed by Marion Campbell and come in 3 or 4 sizes from small to large. People are always looking out for particular ones to complete their collection.

Trentham Pottery Cats (above middle right) can be straight forward Siamese or bright orange and turquoise glazed, both are really lovely and are popular gift buys at yay retro!

Extra special cat ornaments from the 1960s would be the more abstract and minimal cat designs such as Elizabeth Skipworth's Lotus Pottery Cat (below top right), The Baldelli Italy cat which comes in bright orange, lime and blue glazes (below bottom right) and Celtic Pottery cats designed in Newlyn, Cornwall by Bill Fisher (above bottom left). Arthur Wood created a Baldelli styled money box cat which can be seen below (middle left).

Stylised minimalist cats are always at a premium and the one by Blue Mountain, Canada (above bottom left) is absolutely superb. This flat faced design with it's long curving tail was only in the yay retro! shop for minutes before being bought by a regular cat collector.

We are not at sure about the date of the minimal cat above top left, however he certainly has the right look for any vintage cat lover. If you have any info on him please feel free to email me hello@yayretro.co.uk.

In the 60s Brandy Glass vases became a much loved ornament, with a siamese cat climbing up the side of the glass and a terrified praying mouse sitting inside. These are now much sought after as a complete set, and it's rare to find all the pieces together as seen in the one below which is for sale at yay retro! now. Search 'cat' at yay retro! by clicking here.