Um, it would let me add a poll, but not a topic? Hmm

Hello, I'm new here, but I have a Verna Finly "grandpa" figure that I think I'm ready to sell. My parents bought it from the original owner who custom ordered it from Verna. I've had him for 12 years, 10 of which he hasn't left the house. His clothes have been changed, but the original pants (awesome blue plaid) are under the khakis he has on. He has a few missing teeth (very had to notice) and the arm rod is broken (fixable), but other than that he is in great shape!

I know how rare these are, and I think it's time for him to have a new home. This IS a true Verna, not a Mary Taylor.

PM with questions or offers.

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff................ I know how hard it is to part with this paticular puppet. It is indeed a collectable. I would like to Thank You for the Wonderful Pictures. The close ups have answered many questions that others have ask me in the past.
Thank you for letting us have a chance at purchasing this puppet. I'm sure it is way out of my price range but I hope you find it a good home. I hope you do stick around and share some of your puppet experiences.

Billy D.

You know, I didn't know just how rare he was until today.

This seems like such a great community, glad I found you all.

I was going to put him on eBay, but I'd rather find the "right" buyer here!

I will post more pictures if anyone has specific requests.

Welcome to P&S...
Wow what a beautiful puppet.  Being new to puppets I'm not yet familiar with Verna Finly but I'm already impressed.

Good luck on finding a buyer that will really appreciate what they've purchased.

I did some research on Verna Finley and found this article from 2007. It seems that Mrs. Finley being in her mid 80's is still at it. She may have retired from making puppets and does appearances at venthaven convention from time to time. This article talks about her musical

http://www.timescommunity.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=2553&dept_id=511694&newsid=18293041

She has appeared as a guest speaker at Venthaven, Puppeteer of America and different organizations.

I know this is a bit off topic............ Just thought it might help other realize how valuable her puppets are.

Billy D.

Verna,
      is one of the "MASTER" builder of soft puppets and has a career that spans decades. Many have learned from her personally and/or her videos and moved on to their style. Among ventriloquist, Mary Ann Taylor now ranks high now that Verna has retired for the most part.

Here's a pix of one of her puppets that I was able to acquire several years ago shortly after I began to learn ventriloquism.
He belonged to Judge Alan Farber (yes, a real KY. judge) Notice the custom hand made shoes.

Donald

Wow............ Thanks for the pictures Donald. I agree the puppet alone makes me speechless but the boots are remarkable. I would love to had the chance to take a class under her guidance. I unforunately had a late start in life at puppetry. This does intrigue me to watch the tapes again and at least try this technique. Thanks for sharing.

Billy D.

Billy,
I too, would have liked to have taken a class under Verna. At this stage I would be happy just to meet the lady. I guess we're both late bloomers as I didn't get started with ventriloquism until I was 49.

I started to build two figures (Brose kit and a soft figure) and never completed them. I was attempting to build a round headed puppet I wanted, and Dr. Puppet (Jay) had a auction on eBay to build a puppet at a great price so I figured why am I attempting to rebuild the wheel, when I can go to the master. He did a great job. With the collection of figures that I have, I'm not motivated to build. Maybe I should get rid of all of them and then I will be.

One day I'm going to complete the Brose kit and build a soft figure just so I can say I did it. In the meantime what I want to do is perform more. That's what I get my pleasure in, making people laugh and enjoy themselves.

Here's some pixs of part of my collection.

Donald Woodford

Ok...let me check if I can name the makers

Lovik
Axtell
Selberg
Finly
Payes
maybe a Layne

the rest escapes me...

Wanlu
http://www.wanlu.net

That is an amazing collection!! Do you use all of them and have different personalities for them all? Or are some of them simple collectibles? PLEASE tell me that you don't have different personalities for all of them - I know I will never get to that point!! I bow before you if you do indeed have parts for all of them!!