Few people know about the charming figural pins produced by the Elzac company for a few years in the first half of the 1940s. The company is now regarded for: pioneering the use of new materials like lucite; being experimental in design; and offering pieces finished by hand. Elzac pins were predominately made in lucite, wood, ceramics and leather - or a combination of these. The materials were a practical alternative to those used in traditional costume jewellery - the production of which had been curbed by the lack of rhinestones coming out of war torn Europe and the rationing of most metals for the war effort. These handmade creations were also often adorned with a variety of trimmings and embellishments like fur, feathers and very occasionally, finely embroided cloth and tiny hand woven hats and baskets. The cute, often whimsical animals and people created by the Elzac company, were well received during the war period and the company rapidly expanded from California, across the US and Canada. The pins featured in popular magazines at the time including Vogue, Glamour and Bazaar, and they are said to have been a favourite among the Hollywood stars of the time. Pins were originally sold for between $1 and $8. It is now known, that Elzac was co-founded by Elliot Handler in 1941 and several design patents for ceramic lady brooches were registered by Handler in 1943. After rapid expansion in a short period, Elliot Handler left the Elzac company in 1945 - not long before its eventual demise in 1946. It was around this time that he founded Mattel with his wife Ruth and another business partner from Elzac, Matt Matson, and the rest is well known history. But this impressive provenience of the Elzac pins was not widely known until recently - particularly that these pins had any connection to the iconic Barbie doll, which was created some fifteen years after the demise of the Elzac company. Yet upon making the connection, one can see many parallels between the wild success of both. Design patents filed by Handler in 1943, coupled with jewellery advertisements and department store catalogues, have provided some insight into the variety of designs created. However, as these pins were only ever signed using paper labels, most of which have long since been removed, familiarity with the designs and materials used by the company are essential in identifying Elzac brooches. Before the provenience was established, the gorgeous figural ladies were collected in their own right, but they were nicknamed 'Victims of Fashion' - a name which has stuck, even though each design originally had its own name. Until the rest of the jewellery and Barbie collectors catch on, those in the know are quietly hoarding away these little beauties, which represent one of the greatest investment opportunities in costume jewellery.
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