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Vintage Ventriloquist
Dummy, Hand-carved in 1981 by Maher Studios
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Seller: |
Matt Kimbro |
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Contact Info:
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matthew.kimbro@gmail.com
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Item #:
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110116a |
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Price:
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$795.00 shipped |
Today I’m proud to offer a
vintage, mint-condition, hand-carved basswood dummy (yes dummy,
not "figure") produced by Maher Studios in 1981. If you look at
the photo of the macro shot I took inside the head you will see
it says Custom Rush Order, and it gives a date of December 1981
with the initials BL (Brian Lovik). The mechanics look fantastic
as well for being 29 years old and all-original. Brian Lovik
designed these mechanics to last a lifetime!
This figure is simply an exceptional example of an early 80's
Maher basswood figure. To give you a bit more history, Craig
Lovik actually designed these wonderful figures and the basswood
versions of his characters were duplicarved and pieced together
like a puzzle. This was an extremely labor intensive process.
The heads were "roughed" on a duplicarver (a technique used by
the grandmaster of basswood, Frank Marshall himself!) - and then
all finished carving, sanding, customization was done by hand.
As noted inside the head, this character was "custom" meaning
the customer wanted something different done in the carving from
the original. He is truly a one of a kind, almost 30 year old,
carved figure. Is that collectible or what? If you look inside
the mechanics photo you can see that they had their production
really down to a science.
This character features side to side eyes, moving mouth, and a
great handshaker. The body is actually an extremely solid
casting, made of the same stuff Selberg uses. Extremely better
than the rubber that Lovik cast his earlier bodies in. This
stuff is SOLID! The hands are those wonderful "shrunken" McElroy
Brothers hands that Lovik and Jackson used for many, many years.
I specifically like that he used some weird, plaid design to sew
the legs out of. How cool is that? And yes, the head, hands,
body, arms, and legs are ALL ORIGINAL and virtually mint
condition. The ONLY thing I changed on this figure is putting a
new Lovik style wig on him. I lucked out and found one that
replicates those original 70's style wigs that Lovik used on his
figures and can be seen in many of the original catalogs.
From head to toe this figure is a full 40". He has a nice sized
basswood head! Here is a great video of the dynamic
ventriloquial duo of Vince and George. George is a figure
virtually identical to this gem I'm offering for sale today,
except he has the added movements of winkers and eyebrows.
Please check out this youtube link and check out how hilarious a
character like this can be if used correctly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sySJL69sTB4
This wonderful piece of ventriloquial history is suited to
simply look fabulous sitting in a collection, or earning you a
paycheck on stage. I'm partial to these early Maher figures!
Please bid fast - because basswood figures, from this era, in
THIS condition, as THIS LOW PRICE do NOT come up often! Please
email matthew.kimbro@gmail.com
with any offers/questions. This low price includes INSURED
SHIPPING! |
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Click on Pictures
for Larger View |
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| Not
responsible for any typographical errors. All information is
copied and pasted from person listing the ad. |
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