COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
VOL. 44, NO. 25 FRIDAY JUNE 21, 2013
Goin’ To The Chapel: Collectible Wedding Cake Toppers “Love and marriage, love and marriage— Go together like a horse and carriage. . .” Sammy Cahn, 1955 By Donald-Brian Johnson
T
he June sun shines merrily in a brilliant blue sky. The birds are chirping, the church bells ring. The radiant bride and her glowing groom have at last shouldered their way through the shower of well-wishers, making a grand entrance at the wedding reception. Maybe that reception is being held at an elegant country club, a crepe-paper festooned rental hall, or perhaps even a cozy church basement. Regardless of location, the newly-united pair are ready for their closeup. Right now, they’re posed cheek-tocheek behind another of the day’s star attractions: the wedding cake. Smiles are wide, as overlapping hands grasp a decorative knife, poised to cut that first festive slice at the cameraman’s command. Perhaps this wedding cake is a toweringly elegant confection, festooned with candied roses, ribbons, and miniature Grecian pillars supporting the many layers. Maybe it’s a much smaller cake, one festively decorated “for show,” surrounded by pans of sheet cake “for eating.” Or, it could a simple homemade affair, lovingly assembled and handfrosted by Grandma. But tall or tiny, chances are that at the cake’s very tiptop stands a platform with two miniature figures serenely surveying the happy (and hungry) crowd. A bride. A groom. Put them together, and you have what is known as a “cake topper.” Something Old: The First Cakes and Toppers Wedding cakes have been around for almost as long as weddings themselves. However, the flat wheat cakes of ancient Rome and the honey-and-sesame concoctions of classic Greece bear little resemblance to the sweet treats we’re familiar with today. Rather than serving as a focal point for the wedding feast, these biscuit-sized “wedding cakes” were intended as symbols of fer-
This pair of wax separates, circa Groom, 7” h. $350-375/pr.
chefs who followed also-edible gum Charles II from France to paste toppers, were England, one unsung pasproduced by baktry innovator stacked severy supply firms eral spiced fruitcakes, (one of the earliest spackling the resulting topper ads appears pileup with icing. His in an 1892 issue of “layer cake” was an “The British immediate hit, appreciated Baker”). for both its taste and Something New: imposing visual appeal. Cake Toppers of Tiered, frosted cakes All Types became a staple at upperSoon though, class British weddings, there were other their ornamentation (and options, as manuheight) keeping pace with facturers realized the rungs on the social ladthat cake toppers der. Sugar Cupids, bells, needn’t necessarily cherubs, doves, flowers, be made of cake domes, arches, and even (or candy). They coats-of-arms turned simcould be made of ple tiered cakes into archiwax, Plaster of tectural wonders (the 1858 Paris (aka “chalkwedding of Britain’s ware”), papierPrincess Royal featured a maché, crepe cake topping out at 7 “Here Comes The Bridal Pair,” celluloid “huggers,” paper, fabric, An 1895 hand-molded gum paste topper. Fabric feet!). With the mid-1800s complete with original box, dating from the 1920s. porcelain, ceramic, flowers adorn the base. Groom, 3-3/4” h. $350-375. advent of fine-ground Marked “Made in Japan.” Groom, 3-1/2” h. $225-250. metal, bisque, celluloid, plastic, wood, composition, saltware, glass, pipe cleaners, shells, and even peanuts (for starters). Many toppers were combos of different materials: a celluloid bride with a net veil or crepe paper gown and a plaster groom, his elegant tux a mix of fabric and paint. Although generally conjoined, some bridal couples were “separates,” with jointed limbs, allowing them to be posed as desired. For those in search of company, complete wedding party “separates” could be purchased. That way, everyone from the maid of honor right down to the ring bearer could participate in top-of-the-cake fun. Something Borrowed: Incorporating Varied Themes and Elements An elegant papier-maché couple, dating from 1895, and made by the Joseph F. Finch Co. for “Golden Wedding A demure bride in a traditionWhiskey” is on the left. Groom, 7-1/2” h. $15-20. In the center is a chalkware couple, circa 1940. Unlike most toppers, the bride is on the opposite side. Groom, 5-1/4” h. $75-100. On the right is a bisque couple dating from 1920s. al dazzling white gown. A slickThe bride carries silk tied fabric flowers. Groom, 6” h. $75-100. haired groom in a dapper tuxedo. Those wedding toppers were tility. Several were eaten by the flour, baking soda, and baking pow- the world’s everyday contingent of good enough for Mom and Dad bride and groom; then, in those der, a lighter, whiter cake better brides and grooms. Until then, but, as the twentieth century propre-rice-throwing days, the remain- geared to bridal fantasies came into vases of flowers customarily gressed, budding Bridezillas ing crumbs were tossed over the favor, relegating the fruitcake to crowned cakes in England and the wanted more. Unique elements bride’s head. United States. The first readily were incorporated into cake topholiday appearances. In the 1500s, the addition of Plenty of cake. Lots of frosting. available cake toppers, dating from per design, providing one-of-aspices and dried fruits heightened the late 1800s, were hand-painted kind touches for what was, (in theBut what about those the cakes’ palate appeal, but the and fashioned of marzipan, a ory at least), intended to be a oncetoppers? first sort of cake a modern bride moldable in-a-lifetime event. There were In ancient times, “totems”, sugar-and-egg-based and groom might actually find rec- small handmade representations of almond paste. Marzipan, and the (Continued on page 2) ognizable made its debut in the late the bride and groom, were offered 1600s. Among the clutch of French up during wedding ceremonies in hopes of prompting marital blessings. Early American wedding parties, particularly among those recently arrived in the country, often featured as table favors tiny bride-and-groom dolls dressed in ethnic costume. But the bestknown predecessor of the modern cake topper came courtesy of Queen Victoria. At her 1840 wedding to Prince Albert, pride of place at the top of Victoria’s wedding cake went to a figure of “Brittania,” symbol of Great Britain, blessing Roman-costume-attired figurines of the Queen and her Consort. (Victoria evidently enjoyed wedding grandeur: the Princess Royal, dwarfed by that 7 foot cake in 1858, was her daughter.) Although Victoria set the fash- A Rose O’Neill bisque “Kewpie Doll” couple, 1920s. The figures are 1900, are with their original molds. ion, it took several decades for fig- dressed in crepe paper and silk, and are standing in crepe paper nut cups. ural cake toppers to catch on with Groom, 4-1/2” h. $475-500/pr.