This jaunty frog is by the American company Hollycraft. It is made of metal and then enamelled. Joseph Chorbagian came to America in 1917 at the age of 17 to seek his fortune. Pooling his resources with his cousin Archie and friend Jack Hazard they established the Hollywood Jewelry Products company in 1938 in New York. For a few years prior to starting the company Joseph had worked for Coro as a designer. During WWII the company halted production, but resumed in the late 1940s, which is when this frog was made. Characteristically for the period, there was limited use of ‘sparkle’, it was seen as unpatriotic to have ostentatious jewellery. In 1953 the company changed its name to Hollycraft so as not to be confused with Joseff of Hollywood. During the 1950s Hollycraft was at the height of its popularity, designing colourful and sparkly pieces. One of the signature ranges was their Christmas Trees.
A selection of Christmas Tree Designs by Hollycraft
The company stopped making jewellery in the early 1970s, as fashion changed and was sold in the late 1970s. Joseph continued to design jewellery for other manufacturers including Weiss and Krammer. Joseph Chorbagian died in 1991 at the age of 91, he had come to America from Marash near the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. In 1973 the area was officially renames Kahramanmaraş, and on 6th February 2023, much of the city was destroyed in the Turkey–Syria earthquake.
Frogs appear in various cultures. In ancient China frogs were used as rain makers, they are found on bronze drums, which were beaten to recall thunder and summon the rain. In Japan frogs symbolise good fortune.
In Steve Roud’s ‘A Pocket Guide to Superstitions of the British Isles’ frogs are recommended for a diverse range of ailments. For those affecting the throat and whooping cough, you should hold a frog in front of the patient’s mouth and then release the frog, it will jump away taking the disease with it. The book does not say whether this remedy worked or not!
In Gustavus Hindman Miller’s book ‘Dictionary of Dreams’, there are a number of interpretations regarding dreaming of frogs. I rather like the idea of – “To see frogs in low marshy places, foretells trouble but you will overcome it by the kindness of others”