PRODUCT NUMBERING SYSTEM
Confirmed system (Carter’s Price Guide, corroborated independently by KittysVintageKitsch and multiple auction houses):
H = head
V = vase
L = lamp
FL = figural lamp (combination of F + L)
HL = head lamp
Letters are followed by a model/mould number, usually separated by a dash or slash, though not consistently. Marking/dating aid: blue paper stickers marked “Barsony” (sometimes “George Barsony Ceramics”) were used from the late 1950s to late 1960s; a red-and-gold sticker without the word “Barsony” was used from the late 1960s into the 1970s. This gives you a rough dating tool for unmarked or partially-marked pieces based on sticker style alone. Caution flagged in the original source: NOT ALL Barsony pieces are marked, and there are known contemporary imitators (Kalmar, Sydney, used a similar letter/number system, genuinely difficult to distinguish; also Moss Ceramics and Arta of Sydney made similar black
figural work under their own names — pieces are sometimes misattributed to Barsony by sellers who don’t know the difference).
KNOWN MODEL NUMBERS
F-19 “Beauty of the Beach” Carter’s Price Guide
FL-3 Island girl, figural lamp Carter’s / auction listing
FL-27 Hawaiian lady lamp Carter’s / independent auction blog (sold Nov 2008, AUD $257.52)
FL-31 “Black Boy Banjo Lamp” independent auction blog (sold Nov 2008, AUD $230.02)
FL-34 Black lady lamp, black/yellow/red colourway independent auction blog (sold Nov 2008, AUD $160.50); also separately listed at Invaluable
FL-36 Ballerina lamp, green skirt, jewelled hem auction house listing
FL-38 “Volcano Lady Lamp” Lawsons auction house (attributed directly to George Barsony by name)
FL-39 “Sitting Black Lady” per Carter’s; ALSO independently listed as a Hawaiian figural table lamp by Invaluable — these two descriptions conflict; flag as an open question rather than resolving it, could be two different releases sharing a number, or a listing error somewhere in the chain
FL-41 “Drumbeat of Trinidad” Carter’s Price Guide
FL-47 Flamenco/Spanish dancer, pink dress Carter’s; also independently confirmed at auction (sold Nov 2008, AUD $595.00 — notably the highest of the four 2008 sale prices found, suggesting this model commands a premium)
FL-49 Ballerina, yellow dress auction house listing
H-40 Lady bust, blue collar, lamp-fitted Carter’s Price Guide
Unnumbered but named/described lines worth including for completeness:
Aboriginal head wall plaques (1956 Olympics tourist line), Aboriginal
elder bookends (impressed “George” or “George Barsony” to base,
distinct from the numbered figural lamp line), mermaid ashtray/figure
combination pieces, Tahitian lady figurine, and the advertising
plaques for Tintara Wines / Casben Shorts / Stamina Quality Clothes
distributed via Plasto.
MATERIAL — CERAMIC, NOT CHALKWARE
Barsony Ceramics was, by process, a fired-ceramics operation, not a chalkware (unfired plaster of Paris) one. The DAAO biography specifically credits Barsony with skills in “kiln making and firing,” and independent auction listings describe pieces such as the Aboriginal elder bookends as “ceramic slip cast.” Slip casting uses a plaster MOULD but the final object is poured liquid clay (“slip”), dried, and kiln-fired — a genuinely different material and process from chalkware, where plaster of Paris IS the final material and there is no firing step.
However, several sellers and even at least one established auction house (Lawsons) label individual Barsony pieces “chalkware” in their own listings. This looks like loose colloquial use rather than a real material distinction within the Barsony range — a matte-black painted slip-cast ceramic bust and a matte-black painted plaster bust are visually near-identical to a non-specialist, so “chalkware” gets used as an informal catch-all for “mid-century painted figural decor” regardless of whether the object is fired clay or unfired gypsum. This is why Barsony gets grouped with genuinely plaster-based makers like Duron, Bacci and Paoli on general price-comparison and collector sites despite being a
materially different product.
Product/numbering and market reference sources:
Carter’s Price Guide to Antiques (Australia), Barsony ceramicscategory page: https://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/index/128-barsony-australia-ceramics/
Carter’s Price Guide to Antiques, Barsony lamps category page: https://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/index/900-barsony-australia-lamps/
Carter’s Price Guide to Antiques, Barsony bookends category page: https://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/index/11223-barsony-australia-bookends-book-ends/
KittysVintageKitsch blog, “Know Your Collectables – Barsony Part 2” (identification guide, sticker dating, imitators):
http://kittysvintagekitsch.blogspot.com/2011/03/know-your-collectables-barsony-part-2.html
HowRetro.com, “1950s Black Lady Lamps” (short biographical piece, consistent with DAAO on core facts): http://www.howretro.com/2011/07/1950s-black-lady-lamps.html
“Australia Barsony Ceramics” blog (2008 sale-price records for FL-27, FL-31, FL-34, FL-47): http://australiabarsonylamp.blogspot.com/2008/11/
Lawsons (Australian auction house), FL-38 “Volcano Lady Lamp” lot listing (attributes piece directly to George Barsony by name, 1917-2010): https://www.lawsons.com.au/auction-lot/george-barsony-australia-1917-2010-fl-38-volca_34A4EA5823
Invaluable.com auction listings: FL-39 lamp (https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/barsony-fl-39-figural-hawaiian-table-lamp-h40cm-1100-c-baa4acd841) and FL-34 lamp (https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/barsony-black-lady-table-lamp-fl-34-4-c-3204fc6b2d)
FindLotsOnline.com auction records: FL-49 ballerina lamp (https://www.findlotsonline.com/auction-lot-details/478266/) and FL-36 ballerina lamp (https://www.findlotsonline.com/auction-lot-details/290049/)
ThatRetroPiece.com, Barsony ballerina lamp listing (also cites Carter’s Guide directly as its own source):
https://thatretropiece.com/products/barsony-ceramics-australia-18-table-lamp-ballerina-in-pink