I've always loved frogs and other amphibians. Reptiles too. When I was a kid, I would go to a pond with a bucket tied to a long rope. I would fling the bucket into the pond as far as it would go, the reel it in, hoping to find tadpoles, mud puppies, or even frogs. Occasionally I would strike it rich with a bucket full of tadpoles. I was fascinated by them, especially when their little legs would sprout. Leopard frogs were usually too crafty to get caught in my bucket, but I would see them around the pond. Perhaps that's why I am so enamored with ceramic frogs as an adult. The little collection below is on display in my living room at all times:
The giant frog pictured above was a great find at an antique mall for $24.00. It was made by McCoy Pottery, as were the smaller frogs. Often unmarked, some of the McCoy frogs were created as planters, others as just decorative figures. My antique mall find large frog was under-priced by about $50, by my estimate. And I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the little old lady I knocked over as I ran towards my $24.00 bargain!
A more common McCoy piece is this solid-color frog planter. These usually sell for $20-$30 if in good condition, like this example:
This glossy glazed McCoy frog planter has a raised under-glaze mark:
Another type of frog that I appreciate is the prickly lead flower frog. Flower frogs, used in the bottom of vases to secure the stems of flowers and greenery, were made in many varieties, some very decorative and expensive, others more for utilitarian purposes like the frogs pictured below:
Aren't they amazing? These sell like hotcakes in my antique mall booths, primarily because people use them to hold a picture or other paper ephemera.
This little nympth is a common figure from the Art Deco era, and serves as a very decorative flower frog. You can only see one hole in the base, and this part would typically be submerged in water. These decorative frogs often came with a matching shallow bowl to hold the water. Once the flowers were arranged, the little nympth could be seen cavorting amidst them.
As long as we're talking frogs, I have fond memories of the first real "horror" movie I got to see at the theater. "Frogs", released in 1972, was not just about frogs, but other crawling amphibians and reptiles as well. It was pretty cheesy, compared to other bigger budget horror movies like "The Birds", for example. But back in 1972, it was big screen scary movie fun for me!
The tagline of "Frogs" is quite thought-provoking, so I'll end this post with it:
"Today The Pond, Tomorrow The World!"
