Pendelfin Rabbits / Figurines and bunnies (2024)

Pendelfin rabbits are collectible figurines of small rabbits that were made by the Pendelfin Studios in Burnley, Lancashire, England. The company was founded in the 1950s by Jean Walmsley Heap and her husband, Jeoffrey, who began producing the figurines as a hobby. The popularity of the figurines grew over time, and they became highly sought after by collectors all over the world. Pendelfin was a company specializing in handcrafted and handpainted stoneware bunnies and figures based in Burnley, Lancashire, England. It had a very large fan-club (the PenDelfin Family Circle, closed in March 2013) which covered Europe, USA, Canada and Australia. Pendelfin was started in the Pendle Hill area of Burnley. This area of England is where Jean Walmsley Heap (1921-2008) and Jeanie Todd (??-1974) first met at an exhibition of the Burnley Artist's Society.

They were the founders of PenDelfin, the renowned rabbit family, born in the shadow of the legendary "Witches Hill" Pendle whose folk lore first inspired them. Jean and Jeanie became very close friends and in 1953 their combined talents resulted in the creation of the very first Pendelfin, a deep relief wall plaque. Their first rabbits were created as a hobby in Jeannie's garden hut, to produce gifts for their friends and family. Their enthusiasm had been fire and soon their hobby had grown into a full time vocation.

They each contributed a share in the "capital" (about five pounds) and would never then have believed that they had produced a line of Pendelfin collectible figurines that would be sought after worldwide. What once started as a hobby for making presents for family and friends, quickly gained worldwide fame. PenDelfin got the name from a famous hill near Burnley called Pendle Hill, which is famous for tales of witches and ghouls. As a result the first model produced by the company was named the 'Pendle Witch' and is created in a small wooden hut in the back garden of Jeannie Todd's house.

Their models are made in durable stone-based compound, an excellent medium for reproducing their superbly detailed modelling. They are hand painted in the finest quality artist's colours, changeless and fadeless in all normal temperatures.

Pendelfin bunnies

Each rabbit figure is produced entirely by hand and is the work of skilled craftsmen. The painting by special trained artists is only one of the many processes needed to produce the perfect model.

It is a gradual process of shading, tinting, and highlighting, colour painting and decorating, before a final coat of varnish can be added and they can be boxed in their familiar turquoise and black boxes and distributed all over the world.

All the bunnies (designed by Heap and Roberts) were developed with specially thought out history and characters in mind, including a mother, father, youngsters, aunts, uncles and many others, especially those who were particularly musically oriented. The figurines also inspired bookends, as well as a whole village as a backdrop for displaying them. A particularly popular character created by Heap was called 'Little Thrifty', who first emerged in the Children's Corner of the Burnley Building Society and became a center of many stories meant to inspire children to save their money.

List

Below is the first ten years of Pendelfin production, from 1953 to 1963. Most are worth a considerable amount of money, hence these are probably the most collectable of Pendelfin items today.

Pendelfin Studios was dissolved on 26 April 2011.

Links

For valuation I recommend buying one of the collectors guides on Pendelfin figurines on Amazon: Pendelfin books & guides.

Pendelfin Rabbits value and price guide

What's your Pendelfin rabbits worth in 2024? Here are some recently sold items with prices.

Item	Title	Date	Price
	Pendelfin Stoneware Rabbit Bookends Pink	03/2023	$639
	Pendelfin Studios Aunt Agatha Blue Dress	03/2023	$403
	Rare Pendelfin Rabbit Figurine Aunt	03/2023	$313
	PENDELFIN KITCHEN DISPLAY…	01/2023	$210
	Pendelfin Stoneware Rabbit Bookends	03/2023	$211
	See all solditems on eBay for more prices	04/2024	-.--

Rabbits & Figurines forum

Comments or thoughts? Share them here.