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Vintage Cake
Toppers
The following article was published in the Ruby Lane "Past Times" Newsletter in February 2006. The Wedding Cake Topper – The quintessential love token and promise of eternal love. The topper stands proudly on top of the wedding cake symbolizing the beginning of a new life together as husband and wife. I have been collecting wedding cake toppers since the 1980’s. Just when I thought I had seen them all I find other varieties and compositions to add to my collection. The dates of my cake toppers span from the 1870’s to the 1980s. My favorites however are the antique toppers that are very difficult to find. They are rare because, with the exception of the fabric flowers, they are made entirely of a sugar base material, which includes the base, the bride and groom, cupid, or a horseshoe on top. Discussing cake toppers is my favorite subject, and because my collection was expanding into the hundreds, and I had gathered so much information about them, I decided to write a book on the subject. The book is called “Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers” and is published by Schiffer Publishing. In this newsletter I am going to discuss how to get started collecting, what you should know about the topper, and how to avoid disappointment. Since there are also many kinds of cake toppers with different decorations, such as, brides and grooms, cherubs, horseshoes, kewpies, bells, and birds, I will concentrate only on the traditional bride and groom cake toppers in this newsletter. There has been no documentation found to date, as to exactly when the first “bride and groom” actually topped a wedding cake. However, the actual ‘cake toppers’ that could be taken off the cake and saved for posterity were being produced in the 1890’s. Cake toppers are made of various kinds of compositions. Beginning in the 1800’s they were made of different types of sugar based materials, hereafter described as food product. Most of them were made in molds but occasionally you can find examples of hand made brides and grooms, cupids, and horseshoes as well. The molded types of bride and groom cake toppers using food products were produced well into the 1930s. The only difference is the skirts became shorter in the 1920s due to fashion changes. I recently acquired two bakery supply catalogs and made an interesting discovery. One catalog is from the late 1920s, and the other dates to the 1930s. Both catalogs were still selling cake toppers that look exactly like the Victorian style toppers made in the late 1800’s. There always seems to be something new to learn about cake toppers. Later brides and grooms were made in bisque, porcelain, celluloid, plastic, paper mache, metal, chalkware, ceramic, wax, and wood. Just about everything you could imagine. Figures made of bisque, paper mache, food product, and celluloid was prevalent in the 1920s and 1930s. Wax figures and ‘hands’ were used to decorate cakes from the late 1800s and into the 1930s. If these decorations were set on bases the base was usually made of a food product. In the late 1930s and early 1940s a new form of hard, thick, plastic was also being used for the bride, groom, and base. However, production of cake toppers appears to have ceased during the WWII period. During this period wedding cakes were in short supply due to sugar rationing. Imports from Japan and Germany ceased during these years. After the war American companies began producing chalkware cake toppers. Chalkware brides and grooms can be found on food product, and chalkware bases. The chalkware bride, groom, and base were also molded into a single unit. In the 1950s chalkware, ceramic, and later plastic, brides and grooms appeared on plastic bases. The 1960s became the era of the all-plastic topper. The above is a good rule of thumb, but on the downside, there are no guarantees about the compositions since there was a lot of overlapping of materials into different decades. That is why it is helpful to consider the style of clothing the bride and groom is wearing on the cake topper. Bride and groom cake toppers can be closely dated by the style of their attire. However, there are always exceptions that can mislead you, such as the example I mentioned above, with the Victorian style toppers being produced into the 1930s. That being said, you should come close to identifying the age of most cake toppers by the styles of the time. Below is a short synopsis of the style changes from the 1890s to the 1970s. Throughout the late 1800s to the early 1900s the bride wore the long flowing Victorian wedding gown. In the late teens to the early 1920s gowns became slightly shorter so the feet could be seen. The mid-1920s gown was just below the bride’s knees and usually had a tiered hemline. The 1930s was the long sleek form-fitting gown. In the 1940s the fuller gown with peplums and puffed shoulders was in style. The 1950s ushered in the crinoline skirts and molded bosom, while the 1960s lifted the waistline and the shift style prevailed. In the late 1960’s the style became nostalgic with the Victorian style button down fronts and high collar and cuffed sleeves. Brides wore knee length skirts as well as all the former styles from past decades in the 1970s. Once again, there is no guarantee of the actual date the cake topper was used because at the time they were still producing cake toppers from one decade to the next without changing the styles on the bride and groom. The style changes that I have mentioned above will give you an idea of the time the topper may have been used, usually within a 10 year period. Sometimes we are lucky enough to find a cake topper with written documentation, or the date handwritten on the bottom. Unfortunately, it is rare to find documentation and the exact date the wedding topper was used. The good news is, when the chalkware cake toppers were being produced the companies often dated them and gave the manufacturers name. Many of the plastic toppers in the late 1950s through the 1970s also give you this information. These dated toppers were probably used on a wedding cake within five to ten years after they were produced.
The cake toppers that are made of a food product are the most desirable for most collectors and rarest to find because of their fragility. Many of them have deteriorated because they weren’t properly taken care of or bugs have chewed on them. Because of this they are very rare and you can expect to pay a high dollar depending on the age and quality. Quality is most important, however because antique toppers are so rare, some damage or discoloration is usually expected and is acceptable. The only other exception, with damage considered acceptable, are the WWII wedding cake toppers. They are rare to find so you can expect to pay top dollar for them even with a little damage. Personally, unless the cake topper is one of a kind, or as described above, I don’t accept damage of any kind. However, if you find one that is damaged and inexpensive enough, you might consider purchasing it with the intent of replacing it with one of better quality at a later date. Depending on how ornate the topper is you can expect to pay from $200.00 to 600.00 and possibly more for a rare example from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The World War II military toppers range from $100.00 to $400.00. The ones with more decoration such as flags, red, white, and blue ribbon, and/or the size of the bride and groom, the price will escalate. If you find a rare military topper from the WWI period you can expect to pay much more. Celluloid and bisque toppers range in price from $50.00 to $200.00. Depending on their decorations. If the bisque couple is made in Germany, prior to the war, the value could go higher. Chalkware toppers start at $50.00 and can go for as much as $130.00. Once again depending on the decorations. Plastic toppers range in price from $10.00 to $85.00 depending on age and uniqueness. Please note that these price evaluations were NOT gathered from on-line auctions, such as eBay. Auction prices are not consistent due to many different factors. I compiled my values from antiques shows, shops and malls, and antiques flea markets across the country. You will find many types of wedding cake toppers for sale on Ruby Lane. By now, you should have an idea of what type of a cake topper you’d like to collect whether it is by decade, style, composition, or all of the above. With the tools I have given you, hopefully you will feel comfortable making an educated evaluation of your cake toppers value and date. Most important, collect what you like so you will be happy with your collection for many years to come.
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Vintage Wedding Memories @ 2006 - All Rights Reserved |
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