ANSWER: NOT LEA STEIN
Hoping we have a Lea Stein expert in the group. Some of her pins have a pinback marked France and some have a pin back marked Lea Stein France. This has no markings on the pinback, but has all the Lea Stein bells and whistles.
Paula K.
Hoping we have a Lea Stein expert in the group. Some of her pins have a pinback marked France and some have a pin back marked Lea Stein France. This has no markings on the pinback, but has all the Lea Stein bells and whistles.
Paula K.
"I'm not a Lea Stein expert but that pin looks like "Poulbot" a Montmartre kid famous in the caricatures of François Poulbot. I believe Stein did one, I will have to look for it though." --Nicole St-Pierre, 03/02/09
"It is a Lea Stein according to my book however I believe your pin back was changed. Occasionally the older designs had faulty pinbacks and were changed that is what happened to my tiger brooch." --Gail Harrison, 03/02/09
"Lea Stein made a chauffeur pin with the same face, cap and collar. As far as I know, her pin backs were always V shaped and were marked Lea Stein on one side, and Paris on the other. If the back was changed on this pin, there would be a melt mark in the plastic where the pin was melted into the back of the pin. Hope this helps." --Linda Baer, 03/02/09
"Last night I went cyber searching for anything I could find on Lea
Stein, as well as combing my "Plastics Jewelry of the Twentieth Century" by Lillian Baker. My search led me to Hanna Bernhard, of Paris. I emailed her and we corresponded until the wee hour of 3 AM. Hanna, who's real name is Nathalie Hanna Bernhard and her husband are the creators of Hanna Bernhard Paris one of a kind jewelry (which is fabulous), and Nathalie is a neighbor and long time friend of Lea Stein, Paris. Without further adieu, and with her permission, the following is the information she shared with me. She asked me to correct her English, but I think it just adds to her delightful personality, so I leave it verbatim: "This pin is a repro, I had never seen anything like that. I have always wondered why Asia -who copies everything- had never done the same with Lea's pieces. However her work is quite elaborated so it is surely more difficult to copy than Pavone, for example. One in a show here, there was an Italian manufacturer who had copied 17 of Lea's pieces. I have met her husband the day he founded it out, he had to call a government representant so he closed manufacturer booth (it was in a jewelry show). The fabric embedded in your pin has never been used by Lea; this 'chauffeur' (also called 'Gavroche') pin doesn't have a rhinestone eye and such an eyebrow. Of course pin back is not correct. May I ask where you have found it ? Nat."" --Paula K., 03/02/09
Other Sizes: Original Medium