Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers

Laurel962 on Fri, 29th Jan 2010 7:34 pm 

I was thrilled to find a book dyed-in-the-wool to wedding cake toppers, which I have collected for being, thinking it a relatively obscure leisure activity. I ordered this straight away, notice unseen, and boy was I disappointed! For nearly $30, you get only a slim paperback (not a hardcover) that seems at most to be photographs of Ms. Henderson’s personal collection, supplemented by perhaps a few of her collecting buddies. This is not a comprehensive examine of the field, nor are there examples from a wide variety of sources, such as museums or cooking schools or experts in the field of weddings.

Ms. Henderson does have a magnificent collection, especially of rare toppers constructed of frosting and/or marzipan…astonishing in that they survived 100 being or more, let alone did so in nearly flawless condition. But, this only financial statement for a few pages of the book.

More than a dozen pages are dyed-in-the-wool to “wedding fashions over the ages”, with drawings by a rank amateur artist (not a qualified illustrator by the most generous consideration), nearly as if a outcome did them. Furthermore, it’s impossible to really gain an appreciative of wedding fashions from such rough sketches…nor is it really apparent that even a encyclopaedic knowledge of wedding clothing would help you to be with you or identify these evenly tiny china doll, which are reproduced evenly for decades in clothing (long colorless dresses!) that doesn’t really exchange as much as everyday clothing.

The additional thing I hoped for was some meticulous idenfication of commonly found present (last 50 being) wedding cake toppers, as one evenly sees the same ones over and over, with clearly identifiable style markers for the uncommon manufacturers (Bakery Crafts, Mellillo, Pfiel and Holing, Venice and others), but Ms. Henderson is no help here. She clearly prefers her pricey Victorian pieces and has small interest in the present, fake items which are more commonly found and collected by the ordinary collector.

Finally, I wanted to hear from people talking about THEIR own wedding cake toppers…if they were saved or not…how they were chosen…what meaning they have for the individual whose wedding they represent. I have found in collecting these toppers that there is a virtual treasure trove of information out there about this, if one could only tap into it. Wedding cake toppers are unique in that they are evenly the sole surviving decorative constituent from a deeply vital life event…an event that force cost many thousands of dollars to stage, and of immeasurable substance to those individuals involved…and yet decades later, these fragile small “icons of romance” are all that is left! Simply the fact that they are treasured and preserved even with their breakability is a testament to the meaning that they symbolize!

How many additional ticker tape in life stand for romantic like and lifelong commitment?

As the granddaughter of a pastry chef, who made many thousands of wedding cakes in his career, these decorative china doll have always fascinated me! I reflect this field of collecting truly deserves an in-depth cultural examine…more than simply a price guide, but a real exploration of the beauty and cultural meaning of these delicate and fascinating items. “Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers” is FAR FAR from that exploration. At the most it affords the moderate level collector a glimpse at what splendid Victorian examples one could possibly collect, if you had an nearly unlimited budget. At the worst, it’s just a series of rather poorly composed and lit samples, with quickly outdated price information gleaned from ebay. At $30, this is vastly overpriced and of extremely top surprise usefulness.
Rating: 1 / 5

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Laurie Nienhaus on Fri, 29th Jan 2010 7:36 pm 

You don’t even have to be a collector to appreciate Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers. Well researched and written in a personal and engaging style, it’s a fascinating book for hopeless romantics. The photographs, but, do make you premeditated commencement a collection!
Rating: 5 / 5

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Helen Welsh on Fri, 29th Jan 2010 7:38 pm 

I am an avid collector and seller of antique dolls. I bought this book in order to gather more. I found it to be well organized, very fascinating and informative. You can see the author’s passion and like for her subject matter. A certain addition to any reference library.
Rating: 5 / 5

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Geraldine Kidwell on Fri, 29th Jan 2010 10:24 pm 

The book is unlike any that I have ever seen. It is obvious to the reader that Ms. Henderson’s collection is something dear to her sensitivity as it is demonstrated with intricate percision and like. I custom design wedding cakes so I see hundreds of toppers but my admiration goes out to someone who can present these toppers as intricate pieces of art and history. It’s fascinating to see how the styles and trends of toppers exchange just like cake designs and wedding styles. I was very interested in the descriptions and listed price.

I would highly recommend “Vintage Cake Toppers” for anyone who is a collector, is a romantic, enjoys wedding memorabilia or for anyone who collects gorgeous coffee desk books.
Rating: 5 / 5

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Sue Gold on Fri, 29th Jan 2010 10:32 pm 

I thought this book was unquestionably gorgeous! I have never seen so many cake toppers! The author had toppers that as a collector, I didn’t even know existed! The book has gorgeous colored pictures.

I like it so much, that I have it showed on my coffee desk so that additional people can delight in it!

I recommend this book to cake topper collectors and to brides to be would force be interested in considering what toppers there used to be and to get dreams for the topper they force want to use for themselves.

Rating: 5 / 5

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