Pair of Will George California Pottery Pink Flamingo Figurines Preening Bending
Pair of Will George California Pottery Pink Flamingo Figurines Preening Bending. Mid Century Modern Pink Flamingo figurines made in the 1940's by Will George of Pasadena California. Large preening flamingo measures approximately 10" tall by 5.5" long at the base by 3 wide at the base. It has no chips, cracks or damage but has a flake of glaze off where his beak meets his back. Marked Will George Pasadena on the bottom. Smaller bending flamingo measures approximately 6.25" tall by 4" long at the base by 2.5 wide at the base. No chips, cracks or damage and minimal crazing if any. Not marked that we can see. Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas Original Flamingo VIP Porcelain Statue / Sculpture From the Opening Night - 12/26/1946!! This is an incredible piece of Las Vegas historical memorabilia, as this Flamingo sculpture was given out the very first night the hotel ever opened their doors to their 200 VIP's under mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel's ownership! The sculpture was meant as a thank-you gift for people attending the grand opening of the hotel! These pieces were commissioned by Siegel to a company called "Will-George" to hand paint & make them for opening night to give to big wig VIPs the night of! Siegel was an extravagant guy & he only wanted the best things associated with his new hotel. Original memorabilia & collectibles from the 1946 - early 1947 "Siegel Era" of the Flamingo are super rare to come by, as iconic mobster Bugsy Siegel ran the hotel/Casino for that very short amount of time before the mob called a hit on one of their own. Of the 200 that were distributed it is said many broke that night of and this was 1946 opening night, over 70 years have now passed and there cannot be many left from being broken or destroyed over the years!! If you want a serious piece of Vegas history, this is it!! Great story behind it with one of Vegas' most iconic hotels!! Please see our other listing for more flower frogs, pottery and art glass. Thank you for viewing our listing!