http://www.britishpathe.com/video/arthur......res-fun/

Arthur Prince and Sailor Jim in "Here's Fun"

British Pathe has remodeled their website in recent years.


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I downloaded a lot of old vent videos from there a long time ago, and you're right, it definitely looks a lot different than it did when I used to go there.

The bodies of some of the older vent figures were quite large. The head was disproportinately small.

I liked the caption that went along with this clip...." he smokes a cigar to mask his mouth movement, it doesn't work. "

So true! I think A. C. Astor's figure had an even smaller head.

I am glad that the art of figure-making has evolved considerably since then.

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Click here to view attached image.

Do you think the disproportionate heads/bodies were indicative of older British figures, or were American figures similar?

Good question!
There is quite a bit of variation, actually.
On some older figures, the heads are too big for their bodies
(photo attached: ERNEST K. SCHIELDGE).

But I think only a few British figures have bodies that are too big.
Others are fine!
Perhaps Astor and Prince converted a wooden box or barrel rather than making
a new body completely from scratch.
Another factor would be getting clothes that fit properly.
They did not have as many choices back then.

Of course, one could always ask, why didn't they just make the heads larger?

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Click here to view attached image.