This is a Wallace Berrie owl manufactured in 1975 at Van Nuys California. After emailing Russ Berrie I was told they have no record of this particular manufacturing lot in their archives because they did not keep the Wallace Berrie records when they were folded into Russ. This owl was sold in plastic bins in Hallmark stores such as in malls. These bins contained other WB animals (all with tush tags) such as pink mice. Looks like Michael loved this animal, which could be carried around in a child’s hand for security. The owl pictured here has evolved its shape likely because of this. There is a velvet bottom which once contained sand and “agrashell” little purple pellets. The owl you see here has long since leaked the sand, so it can no longer stand on its own. Do not be turned off by the flat baseball-diamond beak. It is brownish because of years of oxidation of the particular glue used in the factory. Some beaks had less glue and some had more, which was clear and invisible at the time. The beak always had a very reassuring smile to it. When Michael’s owl eye got chipped it may have been traumatic, but judging from the white felt this happened years ago and has added character and individuality to the piece. I am sorry I don’t have one to sell. Please follow up with any info you have from Michael.
Post Code #9049