Delee, Rio Hondo, Brad Keeler, Elaine - These are some of the California potteries that made huge quantities of relatively crude animal figurines during the immediate post-World War II period (late 1940s - mid-1950s).  While these figurines are sometimes found with paper tags identifying the maker, the vast majority of them had no tags or have lost their original tags. 

Characteristics:  These figurines have never been given a generic descriptive name but are most often referred to as "cute" and are easily recognizable.  They are small in size (under 6") and often painted with an off-white glaze.  Features are typically painted in muted rose and brown tones.  Here are a few representative examples:







Sales outlets:  The vast majority of these figurines were sold in dime stores like Woolworth and Kress.  Price points were typically $0.49 or less with many costing $0.10 - $0.15.  Because they were inexpensive and chipped easily, they were often thrown away or given away when decorating styles changed.  As a result, there are relatively few pristine examples today.

Subjects:  Animals most often represented were deer, rabbits, horses, donkeys, dogs, ducks, and cats.  A number of "generic" animals were produced as well - pieces whose exact identity was in the eye of the beholder like small animals that might be cats, skunks, or raccoons, for example.

These animals were definitely not great art and were sometimes scarcely recognizable.  Here's an example of an animal identifiable as a zebra only because of the way he is painted:



Collectibility:  These animals are still very affordable and make a nice beginning collection.  They have a retro look and can be collected in a number of different ways - by size, color, specific animal, etc.  Prices are usually less than $10 per animal.

Non-California makers of similar pieces:  Shawnee and a few other potteries made similar pieces, but the majority are from California potteries of the 1940s and 1950s.

Other California makers:  Other potteries made different kinds of (usually more elegant or "artistic") animal figurines during the same period.  These pieces usually cost substantially more and were often sold in department stores.  Most are either realistic rather than caricatures or are stylized and are much more finely executed.  Examples are Kay Finch, Florence, Hagen-Renaker, Howard Pierce, and Roselane.

Sources:  These animals can be found on ebay.  I frequently have a selection of them at reasonable prices.