Royal Doulton | ‘Lydia’ | HN 1908 | Leslie Harradine | Bone China Figure | 1939–1995
A book in one hand and the garden all around her, she has stopped reading to look up.
‘Lydia’, HN 1908, was modelled by Leslie Harradine, one of Royal Doulton’s most prolific figure modellers. Introduced in 1939, the model remained in production until 1995, reflecting the enduring popularity of Harradine’s designs. The 1939 date on the base is the design copyright, not the year this figure was made.
She sits on a grassy bank against a modelled backdrop of foliage and yellow flowers. She wears a deep rose-pink gown with wide sleeves over white frilled undersleeves edged in pale blue, a white pleated bodice and a matching pink bonnet lined in pale green. In one hand she holds a small pale-green book; with the other she lifts her skirt to show the white petticoat beneath. Her fair hair is drawn back beneath the bonnet.
The base bears the Royal Doulton lion-and-crown backstamp ("Made in England", "Bone China"), "Lydia", "H.N. 1908", "Copr 1939" and "Doulton & Co Limited", with small painter's marks.
The figure is in excellent condition and is offered without a box.
Key Details
- Maker: Royal Doulton, England
- Model: ‘Lydia’, HN 1908
- Modeller: Leslie Harradine
- Marks: Royal Doulton lion-and-crown backstamp; "Made in England", "Bone China"; "Lydia", "H.N. 1908", "Copr 1939", "Doulton & Co Limited"; painter's marks
- Material: hand-decorated bone china
- Date: model produced 1939–1995; design copyright 1939
- Dimensions: height 12 cm
- Weight: 270 g
- Included: figure only; no box
- Condition: excellent
- Buyer profile: collectors of Royal Doulton lady figures and Leslie Harradine's work, and anyone looking for a small figure with a garden setting
Collector Appeal
Designed by Leslie Harradine, ‘Lydia’ combines a seated figure with a modelled backdrop of foliage and flowers. The folds of her rose-pink dress, the small book and the flowering bank give the composition a quiet sense of narrative, and at 12 cm high she is well suited to a display cabinet or a carefully arranged shelf.
A garden, a book and an afternoon. Some pleasures have hardly changed.
