The inspiration behind many of Doulton’s earliest figures comes from contemporary paintings and such is the case with Harradine’s Helen introduced in 1932.

  
Helen HN 1508 with the Webster picture that inspired her.

It was not unusual for complicated figures to be re-modelled after problems arise in their manufacture or because they are too complicated to produced or simply because of market response (Consider Sweet Maid who became Millicent with a fuller skirt). 

  
Helen HN 1572 (1933) and June HN 1947 (1940).

Thus Helen became the popular figure June HN 1690 (1935) with an altered skirt and now holding a bouquet of flowers, which was again re-issued after WWII in slightly more muted tones and simplified flowers and detail to the modelling.

The original three: HN 1690, 1691 and 1947.

The withdrawal dates for the figure Helen say ‘by 1938’ but we can presume that the production was actually much shorter based on the fact that June was introduced in 1935 and I certainly haven’t seen any ‘Helens’ dated after 1934 – but perhaps you have? If so, why not share her with us on our facebook page ‘Doulton Collectors Club’!