Norcrest

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Hide Naito, the founder, was a Japanese immigrant who came to this country in the early part of the twentieth century. In 1921, he started H. Naito Gifts, a small shop in downtown Portland that sold merchandise imported from Japan. Hide gradually expanded the business to additional locations and began selling at wholesale as well as retail. In 1938, he opened his own warehouse in Portland. During World War II, Hide and his family moved to Salt Lake City, thus avoiding internment, but the business essentially collapsed. Hide and his son Sam reestablished the business in the years following the war. The wholesale business sold Asian giftware to thousands of gift shops and larger retailers around the country. Since Norcrest imported a lot from Japan, you often see mermaids with Japan stamped on the back and no label.  That is because they made for Norcrest in Japan, shipped over to the US, and then Norcrest put them in a box with the Norcrest label on the box... so without the box, it is hard to determine if some of these mermaids were made in Japan for Norcrest. The business was incorporated in 1958 as the Norcrest China Company. In 1963 the company opened Import Plaza, and in 1975 the company opened Made in Oregon. Hide died in 1996 and in 2004 the Norcrest China wholesale division closed.  Since Hide Naito had been importing from Japan for a long time, it is no wonder people tend to associate some items made in Japan with Norcrest China Company.  There is good reading on the internet about Hide, he was quite a guy and although we think of Norcrest as pretty collectibles, Hide majored in Economics and built his family quite an empire in real estate.  He also was involved in many civic organizations. 

This is the Norcrest Mom and Babies set.  Notice the tailfin goes to the left rather than to the right and notice there are only two babies and they are kind of chubby.  Norcrest was the ONLY manufacturer that made this mermaid in ceramic.  There was no variation in the color on the original set, they were ivory with tiny yellow transparent beads.  I have had both sets, the one without the beads and the one with the beads.  My guess is that they only made them with the beads and the those without beads were the result of their owner removing them..  There was one manufacturer (unknown but probably Japan) that made this mermaid mom in chalkware with her tailfin going to the right - the paint was sprayed on and sometimes the eyes/lips are off the mark - the tailfin was very flat - they look like carnival giveaways.  Other than those two manufacturers, the others you see with the tailfin going to the right have been made by individuals throughout the years and are still being made today.  

This is the beautiful Bubble Baby set by Norcrest.  The tailfin colors are Magenta, Purple and Green.  This is the ONLY Bubble Baby set made in ceramic by a manufacturer.  Their skintone is real light, almost a white, and there is so much fine detail on their face.  The bubbles are pearlescent. The Norcrest inkmark is on the back.

There was one manufacturer (unknown but probably Japan) that made this set in chalkware - they were sold in a set with with the mom mermaid with a long ponytail - the paint was sprayed on, and their tailfins were thick and did not stick out from the wall - they looked like carnival giveaways.

All the other ceramic ones you see out there were made by individuals either in ceramics class back in the 60's or today with molds they have purchased (both vintage and new molds).  The quality of the Nocrest "wannabe" ceramic babies is quite good but they are a lot smaller in size than the Norcrest ones.  The quality of the chalkware ones are about the same height but lack a lot of detail - the newer chalkwre ones are real thin and their faces melt into the bubbles.  .

Bubble Baby Case Study

Here are two Norcrest sets that are done in white with gold highlighting.  I purchased both of them in their original boxes.  They come with string holding them on the box and also are attached to the cardboard with glue.  The mermaid set is marked P-1 and the seahorse set is marked P-999 on the box.  The seller double boxed the sets to mail but neglected to put any packing IN the original box - so one mermaid broke loose and banged around and broke her tail - I was lucky only one broke! But a word from the wise... never assume good packing on your precious purchases and don't be afraid to  give suggestions on how to pack these vintage items.

This is a gorgeous mermaid sister set by Norcrest.  Each have a different color hair and they are holding white fish.  The fish have gold highlighting and I have seen the tailfins with no gold glitter, a little gold glitter, and a lot of gold glitter. The absence of glitter or less glitter is not a result of wear.  They were made that way. Although the tailfins on these are very thin, I have seen very few of these sets with broken tailfins, and even fewer with any paint wear.  I can only guess these were a prized set by the people that owned them and they took really good care of them! 

If you are aiming for a set of these pretty girls, my suggestion is to buy the entire set together.  The shades of blue vary greatly from batch to batch, and the amount of giltter varies too.  Some sellers will split up sets and sell individuallly, if you see that, ask the seller if the tailfins match and then you could get a matching set individually.  Here are some tips if you have to buy these individually.  Don't try to judge the color by the picture on the display.  Some sellers use enhancements for their pictures, and displays do not always show the same color on different displays. If you already have one and want the matching sisters, ask the seller to take a picture of the mermaid next to a coke can - if the coke can is darker in the picture than the coke can you are holding in your hand, the tailfin on the mermaid is going to be darker.  Maybe not the best way to do it but it has worked for me.  

This is a really nice set of mermaids holding small fish.  They are about 5" tall and the colors are a very vibrant pink and green.  Some people think this set was made in Japan for Norcrest because of the excellent quality.  However, I have never seen them in their original box nor with a Norcrest sticker on thesm so I don't know for sure.  The tailfins are very thin and delicate like the blue set above and even they eyes look to be done the same.  An amazing as it sounds, you don't find too many of this set, or the blue one, with broken tailfins.  Most likely they were held in esteem by their owners and taken good care of.  

This is a really pretty mermaid with JAPAN stamped on the back.  Some writings say she was made for Norcrest and some say she was made for Lefton.  She is very 3D and has a "doll like" appearance.  There were two to the set, the other one is horizontal.  You often just see one for sale but sometimes you can find the set of both.  Lovely dark green tailfins and bright gold star!

As you see, I mix my mermaids in with everything in my house!  The female of this set went great sitting on top of the frame because her tailfin sticks way out from the wall.  There were 5 pieces to this set: 1 female, 2 big brothers and 2 little brothers.  I have the little brothers shown in this display.  The little brothers are 3.75" and the big brothers are 5.5" tall.  The big brothers are the same style as the little brothers but different color tailfin and blonde hair.  This set just has "Japan" marked on the back.

Norcrest made a number of blue and pink tailed mermaids and merboys that were attached to some sort of nautical piece... a shell, starfish, seaweed, riding a fish, etc.  These are all highlighly collectible pieces and most have the Norcrest inkstamp with a P- followed by a number for each piece.  

Most of them demand a high price except for the mermaid on the fish.  The mermaid on a fish came with 3 pieces, all riding the fish and the fish was in a different position.  Perhaps one reason the mermaid on a fish is less expensive is because Lefton also made ones similar with pink tails, so the "mermaid riding a fish" idea was sold by two popular manufacturers.  Then Arnel also produced a mold for 3 mermaids on a fish.  Arnel is a mold manufacturer and they have the ARNEL stamp in the mold, so all pieces produced from their mermaid mold will have ARNEL incised on the back - they are all painted by individuals.   Mermaids Riding Fish Comparison

When you can find this set with all three fish, it is so much fun.  You can hang it on the wall or it can sit on a counter.  The two extra little fish just make this set. 

This is a really different mermaid made by Norcrest.  Not many mermaids were made with hair.  Norcrest made this mermaid as a lipstick holder and this mermaid was also made as a set of figurines.  All had the same red hair and tailfin with gold. 

On the right are 3 small Norcrest Mermaid sisters. 

Thiere are two mermaids to the set on the left.  A merboy with a blue tailfin and a mermaid with pink tailfin.  Both mermaids are sitting on swans.  I've never seen swans in an ocean, but heck, both the swan on mermaid like water so they go together. 

The mermaid on the right is a very unusual one made by Norcrest.  It is a wall plaque.

This is a really beautiful set that you don't see that often.  No markings on it at all.  The details are so fine and you never see paint drips or flaws on it.  It has the looks of a Norcrest set but I have never seen the set in the box.  The quality is excellent.  Norcrest imported a lot from Japan and most of those were not marked Norcrest but rather sent in a box with the Norcrest label on the box.  This looks to me like the quality Norcrest would demand.  It is one of my most treasured sets because of the soft look and gold hair.  

Here is another set I got in the original box.  The Norcrest Whale Set numbered P-954.  This is such a delightful set and intermixes wonderfully with mermaids.  The little whales can placed looking right at a mermaid and then the mom whale up top of them looking down.

 The finish on this set is just gorgeous.  It is a multicolored pearl that picks up just about evey color you can imagine in a bathroom. 

There are no markings on the back of the pieces, the number is marked on the box.  There was another set of whales made by CNC but they don't have the pearl finish like the Norcrest.  Also the babies are a lot smaller on the CNC set. 

 

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