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Sylvac: Shrunken Moulds, Fakes and intrigue

"A great collectable series but much copied and faked . . .read on " Harry the Hare! How do you plead . . guilty or not guilty? Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury do not be fooled by the prisoners innocent expression. Do not be taken in by this imposter.

YES ladies and gentlemen for what you see before you is a phoney . . the accused may look like the actual Harry the Hare, he may feel like Harry the Hare and probably will sell to the unwary for the same price as Harry the Hare.

The little fellow you see before you is IN FACT . . . . . . A FAKE.





So here we are with a Sylvac 'Harry The Hare' bought at retail price but with a slight suspicion that all may be not as it seems. The reason for the initial doubt over Harrys' authenticity was just a feeling at first and then on closer inspection the detail seems a bit flat and 'lifeless' somehow which led me on to figure out how to tell is he is a Phoney or not. As you will see it's not always easy to tell but it makes the collecting hobby much more interesting I think you'll agree.
(The 'real' Harry is shown below. Just a lot 'crisper' is the best way to describe him)

Sylvac was originally known under the name of Shaw & Copestake, producers of household items until the late 1920's when they started manufacturing 'fancies' as novelties.

Sylvac was the combination of two words, Sylvan from the Sylvan Works where the factory was based and 'C' for Copestake. The name was first used in 1936 and continued to be used until 1982 when the company went into liquidation.

So what makes Sylvac so collectable? Animals!! The general public love animals and the most popular items are the rabbits and the dogs, especially the terrier models. Such a cheeky little face, instantly loveable and needed to be bought as quickly as possible and taken to a good home!

Many shapes came in a series of sizes with different mould numbers and that's the way to identify the various models. Size is important and the larger figures are generally worth more. Colour is also an important factor when determining value with fawn the most common, followed by green.
Pink is extremely rare and one of the most sought after colours by collectors.

Modern reproductions are becoming common and are not marked. This proves that whoever is producing them is attempting to deceive. Even if we have difficulty pronouncing 'caveat emptor', we must be aware of what it literally means - 'let the purchaser buy at his own risk'.

So how can we spot a fake? The answer is, I fear, with great difficulty. I have been in the business for many years and can still be fooled! A fat Harry? Or Is It Rabbit?

My main tip is that size really does matter! Quite a problem to see with the naked eye when we're talking about a quarter of an inch (approx 6 mm), so a tape measure in the bag is a must when out on a buying trip.

Firstly we need to know the exact size of the original, genuine piece of Sylvac and I work from the Sylvac Collectors Handbook parts 1 and 2 compiled by Anthony Van Der Woerd. These little books list the mould number together with a description, the size and an approximation of value of Sylvac items.

To, hopefully, illustrate the point further I have photographed Harry the Hare, mould number 1299 registration number 815840 c1936. My trusty little book shows the height of this model as 7.75" high, but when I measured the example as shown in the photograph, the measurement was 7.5" high!

Problem!! When a flexible mould is taken from an original a certain amount of shrinkage takes place when fired, hence the difference. A quarter of an inch or approximately 6 mm, not a vast amount, but sufficient to make me suspicious. We concluded therefore that Harry the Hare is probably fake. Several (in our opinion) fake Harrys have been sold recently on ebay so be very careful.

The trouble is that the modern reproductions are so very good it would need a true Sylvac expert to be 101% sure, but remember, caveat emptor - or as I have found when parting with money 'If in doubt - don't'. Another good maxim is 'If it seems too good to be true, it usually is!'

To prove my point on the difficulty of spotting fakes, and leave you with a little problem, I have taken a photograph of model number 1380 the very popular terrrier dog in two different colours.

The brown version I bought privately and can vouch for its authenticity by speaking with the seller whose mother bought it. But it's the yellow version that I'm worried about. Bought from a Sylvac dealer and exactly the same size as the brown model - 11" high - so my flexible mould shrinkage theory doesn't work in this instance,
but it just feels wrong! Any help please??

Below is a collection of Sylvac Dogs. (All Genuine)

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