Absolutely Splendid Large Page Turner with finely Carved Bear's Head for its Handle

THE STORY - First of all I want to point out that there is an argument that the majority of items that are termed Page Turners are not, they are indeed Paper Knives, used in the Victorian era to separate the pages within a book so one could read them as they were often left uncut. I have to say I have some sympathy with this argument, but in my research, I found time and time again they are referred to as Page Turners even by established Auction Houses, so this is how I will refer to this object. And I love this page turner, its large size measuring approx 15&1/2" in length and 2" in width and of course that finely carved bear's head with glass eyes as its handle. The page turner would I imagine date to the end of the Victorian era circa 1880 and appears to be carved from one piece of wood, although the carving of the bear is a lot darker with a rich warm brown colour than the haft or blade. The bear has a sweetly turned up nose which has been darkened and a strong mouth and those darling little amber glass eyes above which his small ears are wonderfully pert. Although it does carry many of the characteristics of Black Forest work, for some reason I don't feel confident to term it as such, although I could be wrong.

AGE - Circa 1880

CONDITION - The page turner is in good condition and I believe its glass eyes to be the original ones. The haft does have some surface scratches to it and underneath the bears head there is what looks like a split, which does look to me like it has been there a very long time if not always. I also want to point out that I found this Page Turner quite difficult to photograph and for me the best representation of its colour is probably in the first photograph with the close ups of the bears head being either too dark or too orange, the sixth photo is probably the best representation.

DIMENSIONS (Approx) - Length (from the nose of the bear to the tip of the haft) 15&1/2" / 39.5cm, Width 2" / 5cm

There may be uncertainty about the correct term for this Page Turner, but what I am certain of is that it would have been much loved and every time a hand stretched out to reach it a smile would have appeared when looking at that darling Bear's Head. And I have to say whoever created this item managed to put an enormous amount of animation into the bear with his turned up nose and those wonderful amber glass eyes.