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Courtenay Miniatures (an extension of a Doran toy maker which dates back to 1892) Duran, England
1938 - 1963
Founder: Richard and Vida Courtenay
Very limited production of lead royalty figures including Knights of the Round Table. Frederick Ping with Courtenay made many of his own medieval figures. Courtenay chose Ping to take over his molds upon his death (1963). Ping was one of the most incredible makers of 54mm figures, working in the French style of building each figure from layers of lead, on a simple lead figure. Ping kept the molds from 1963, until Peter Greenhill purchased the Courtenay molds in 1978 and continues to market miniatures under Courtenay and Greenhill.
These are not, sadly, in my personal collection. These photographs have been taken from pictures posted on a private mailing list of collectors of miniature knights and belong to various collectors all over the world. Most are approximately 54mm in scale.
Don't be fooled by the stylized and non-realistic painting. These are some of the most sought after figures in the toy soldier collecting field, and the heraldry is exact.
A small quibble about my naming has been brought to my attention, and deserves to be reproduced in full here:
"Richard Courtenay was the original sculptor and creator of the figures we obsess over, and made them until his death. When he died, his molds were passed to Freddie Ping, who produced his own versions for a decade... painting in his own style and doing many conversions, but using the Courtenay molds. After Ping died, Peter Greenhill got the molds, and has continued to make the figures to this day. Therefore, I would suggest that figures made from the Courtenay molds should be more properly labelled "Courtenay-Ping" and "Courtenay-Greenhill," rather than just "Ping" or "Greenhill.""Of course, before inheriting the Courtenay molds, Ping made many figures that were entirely his own -- those on the black wooden bases, for instance. Those are the true "Pings." And similarly Greenhill has a few poses that are entirely his, inspired by Courtenay plainly but not from his molds."
Thanks go to Peter Greenhill for some corrections in this section!
Courtenay #14 Guy de Lasteyrie
& Greenhill Comte de Perigord
Alymer
Blind John, King of Bohemia
Courtenay #3
David Earl of Atholl
Courtenay Z 5
Bishop of Chalons
Courtenay
Edward III of England
Greenhill H 11
Sir Rodger de la Warre
Greenhill H 13
Johann, Graf von Saarbrucken
Ping #15
The Black Prince
