Sculpted Stoneware Pottery Bust of Literary Looking Gentleman leaded glass who wears the same silver

who wears the same silver jewelry all of the time

most of what one sees dates from the early to mid-20th century

My guess is that this piece dates to the second half of the 19th century--based both upon looking at a lot of other wooden pull toys

which is how the plates are marked

Sculpted Stoneware Pottery Bust of Literary Looking Gentleman leaded glass who wears the same silverI feel like I should recognize this face. Walt Whitman, perhaps? Certainly he looks like a literary sort of fellow; if he had a body, surely he would be holding a book, and maybe a pen, too! As such, a pretty perfect piece for the bookshelf, and plenty heavy to serve as a bookend at the same time. He's quite nicely sculpted of a warm, deep brown coarse stoneware, and hollow on the interior, with felt pads added at some point around the edge. I can't