Come to the Island

Come to the island!
Which island, you ask? 

I don't know–just pick one.

Just make sure it's tropical.

The other day I added this charming tropical 

couple to the Ozark collection: 

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Island Dancers, made by W. Goebel, the company best

known for its Hummel Figurines.

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The pair was introduced in 1968 – "Created For The Island"

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It even says so on the bottom of each figure.

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I tried to pin down exactly which island 

Goebel had in mind, but, couldn't find any 

definitive information.  My best guess? They 

weren't intended to represent one specific 

island at all.  

Beginning in the 1940s, Americans became 

fascinated with tropical destinations like 

Hawaii and the Caribbean. In response,

European and American designers created 

 figurines, artwork, and exotic home décor 

that blended influences from Polynesia, Hawaii, 

Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other island 

cultures into one romanticized vision of paradise. 

Goebel's Island Dancers fit that mold perfectly.

They're a cheerful tropical couple whose

clothing, guitar, conga drum, tropical plant and 

overall styling feel much more West Indian

than Hawaiian or Polynesian.

Ironically, I found them completely by 

accident.

I was actually searching for a entirely

 different figurine.

A while back, I bought two framed 

vintage reproduction travel posters

of the Caribbean:

"Fly to the Caribbean by Clipper"

by Pan American World Airways

and "Caribbean" by British West Indian 

Airways–The airline of the Caribbean.

I was especially intrigued by the girl 

doing the limbo on the B.W.I.A. poster.

As it turns out, she was BWIA's 

advertising mascot.

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Her name was Vicki Viscount,

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and she appeared in 

magazine advertisements,

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matchbooks,

travel brochures,

and other promotional items.

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Eventually I stumbled across a photo of an

adorable promotional Vicki Viscount figurine. 

Naturally, I thought "How hard could it be to 

find one?"

Not easy, as it turns out.

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A Google image search came up nearly empty.  

I found only a single photograph and 

no examples for sale.

However, Google suggested a few similar-looking

figurines– and that's when I discovered

my Caribbean couple. 

The price was $49, plus tax and shipping, 

bringing the total to $65.60. 

I have to admit, a couple of the other 

figures that appeared were tempting as 

well. One represented a Trinidad and Tobago 

couple, while another had no specific island 

identified. 

Unfortunately, both were just a little beyond my budget.

To display my Tropical finds,

 I picked up a wall shelf from Hobby Lobby.

It has a fun Caribbean feel–or at least

that's what I tell myself–

and quickly filled it with my growing collection 

of island treasures.

They may not be Vicki Viscount,

but they capture exactly the carefree

Caribbean atmosphere I was hoping to find.

Still... I might keep looking for Vicki.

Thanks for stopping by,

and happy hunting!