After Benny our standard poodle came to live with us, I started noticing a lot of poodle collectibles at flea markets. I had never been very interested in them before, but now I found their kitchiness endearing. Before long I was starting my own poodle collection. I found most of the poodles at flea markets and by pouring over the "poodle collectibles" pages on eBay.
I found ceramic spagetti poodles, a vaseline glass jar with a poodle standing on the lid, a wooden poodle with jointed head and legs, two small stuffed vintage poodles, a poodle in a convertible car salt and pepper shakers, and a small statue of a Barbie walking a poodle. One of my favorite finds was a faux wooden tray by Kentley with scene 1 from the five tray series, "The Romance of Fi Fi and Pepe". Each tray depicts a different scene from their romantic adventures.
I added some poodle graphics to my collection including a sheet music cover with a poodle tugging on a clown's pants, and a poodle paper doll page from a 1923 Ladie's Home Journal magazine. Another addition was a vintage hemmed fabric piece with blue flocked poodles. A collector friend became interested in my poodle collecting and started alerting me to the poodle finds that she discovered.
Now that I had this nice but small poodle collection, I wanted a place to display it. Another collector friend took me to a shop that along with painted country furniture and foods, carried a huge selection of display cabinets ranging from large furniture to smallish wall pieces. I fell in love with a cherry wall cabinet and it came home with me. Here is the cabinet which holds a large part of the poodle collection. (and my reflection in the glass - oh, well) The poodle graphic designs were framed and flank both sides of the poodle wall cabinet. The tray is too big to fit in the cabinet, so it's displayed in a nearby wall unit.
Cherry wood wall cabinet displaying poodles made of various materials including ceramics, wood, stuffed fabric, glass, plastic, and chenille
Poodle Collectibles of the 50's and 60's by Elaine Butler is a fun book with lots of great photos of poodle collectibles. It's out of print now, but may be available used or through libraries.
The inspiration for the collection:
