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Franklin Mint FigurinesThe Franklin Mint created a set of three porcelain figurines that was officially authorized by Georgette Heyer's Estate. They were designed and made by James Moore. The figurines were of three of Heyer's most popular heroines and you can see my primitive versions of moving pictures of them to the right; Arabella, Léonie and Sophy.
The original figurines came with a Certificate of Authenticity
that basically states that they are what they are, for example; "This is to
certify that Sophy is an original work of art by James Moore and the
first-ever work of art officially authorised by the Estate of Georgette
Heyer. It is also certified that Sophy is crafted of fine
hand-painted procelain adorned with 22 carat fold and porcelain lace. It is
further certified that Sophy by James Moore is available
exclusively from Franklin Mint."
Although I can find no details for when the set were originally released, the Arabella figurine is labelled on the base as a 75th Anniversary Tribute. Assuming that this is an Anniversary of Heyer's birth, this would place the release date in 1977. However, one fan was first introduced to Heyer when she saw Arabella advertised, around 1996, indicating that the anniversary is of Heyer's first publication in 1921 of The Black Moth. Unfortunately, the figurines are no longer for sale, so the only way of
acquiring one is via any second-hand channels (e.g. online auction houses).
Listed below are recent sales of the Léonie figurine on eBay.
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