In 1942 Muriel
Joseph, of Arcadia, California, had been making and selling lucite
jewelry
under the name of "Muriel of California". World War II
caused
the price of lucite to be un-affordable, even to Muriel. Muriel
then
converted her skills to making ceramic figurines. In 1945,
working
out of their basement and garage, Muriel and her fiance' Tom began their
own pottery business. Their printer had misspelled the name from
Joseph to Josef on their label. Since they had no time to fix the
error, the name Josef Originals became the name of the new
company.
Muriel enjoyed sculpting
children and people the most, and did many little girls, pixie
children,
and animals of all kinds. In the early 50's Muriel discovered
that
cheap reproductions of her earlier pieces were being made in
Japan.
Many people took the Japan copies as Josef Originals, and Muriel fought
back by making some very beautiful detailed pieces. Her hope was
that the new pieces would not be so easy to copy. However the
newer,
more expensive pieces, along with the Japan reproductions really hurt
their
business.
In 1954 Muriel & Tom met
Mr. Good, a man who convinced them that if they made their figurines
in
Japan, it would greatly reduce their expenses. They continued to
make Josef Originals in California, until 1960 when they opened a
factory
in Japan, and began operations by the name of "George Good
Corporation".
The name of their new partner & Muriel's new married name (Muriel
Joseph
George). For six weeks Muriel was in Japan, teaching workers how
she wanted things done. After that she would create the designs at
home,
drawings and instructions were sent to the factory, and pieces were
sent
back for her approval. With the factory producing the finished
product,
this left Muriel free to create to her hearts content, and she put her
heart into every piece she created.
In 1981 Muriel retired, though
she continued to create new Josef Original designs until 1985.
George
Good bought the company in 1982, and sold it in 1985 to Southland
Corporation.
The Josef Original name now belongs to Applause, Inc, who has made no
new
designs, but produce a limited number of pieces that bear the Josef
Original
name, including the Birthday Girl series. Muriel passed away in
1992,
but lives on through her many creations.
The most collectible
pieces are those that were made during the ownership of
Muriel.
Most are signed, have a high gloss finish, black eyes,
(Brown eyes from 1982 to 1985) they are usually
marked on the bottom with incising "Josef Originals" or black pallet
type
stamp. Also look for the "C" in a circle on underglazed
bottoms.
The earlier figurines have a black oval sticker - with gold or
silver
letters stating "Josef Originals, California. Later (1960 -
1980)
California was substituted with a "curly cue" and an additional small
black
sticker reading "Japan" in script. The earliest pieces bear the
name
"M.J. George." Most pieces are worth around $30.00 to $50.00,
with
a few worth $125 - $150.00. Because these pieces break easily,
and
glue together without much trace of the break, one should view the
piece
under a black light before buying or selling.
Applause produced many
pieces with red-brown eyes, matt finishes, marked with paper labels,
and
the animals have a flocked coat.
Most collectors do not
want the brown eyed pieces, the red-brown eyes, pieces that were
produced
in Taiwan, Korea and Mexico (1970 until an unknown time), or the
reproductions
from Japan.
