Collector's Corner: Collectible Pink Flamingos By Michele Alice AuctionBytes.com
November 05, 2006
Pink Flamingo Joins Dodo! Pink Flamingo May Be Lawn Gone. Is the Pink Flamingo an Endangered Species?
Thus blazed headlines across the nation recently, so by now, just about everyone has heard of the demise of that epitome of plastic kitsch, the pink flamingo.
Manufactured by Union Products of Leominster, Massachusetts, up to 250,000 of the lawn ornaments have been churned out per year since 1957. Designed by Don Featherstone, who sculpted the original models based on images in National Geographic magazine, the plastic birds - one standing, the other feeding - were a surprise hit for the company. (All Union flamingos have Featherstone's signature incised under their tails to differentiate them from imitations.)
Union Products had planned on celebrating the 50th anniversary of the birds in 2007, and had already produced a limited-edition, gold-colored version, when they were forced to close due to the rising costs of resin and energy.
Factory priced at $15 for a set ($25 for the gold-toned), the birds have become hot collectibles, with pairs of the regular pink versions presently fetching up to $150 new-in-box at online auctions.
For more information on this collectible kitsch, try "The Original Pink Flamingos: Splendor on the Grass," by Don Featherstone and Tom Herzing
http://digbig.com/4nqmp
These two articles are interesting:
"Kitschy Pink Flamingo Faces Extinction," by Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, October 19, 2006 (http://digbig.com/4nqms)
Michele Alice is AuctionBytes-Update Contributing Editor. Michele is a freelance writer in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts. She collects books, science fiction memorabilia and more! Email her at makalice @ adelphia.net eBay ID: Malice9
