I’m using the word ‘runaway’ to describe the in-all-directions editions and nomenclature of the star players in the Cybis studio’s late-1980s wedding series. Trust me: The plot of the 1999 Julia Roberts/Richard Gere movie was simpler than this one!
Cybis finally inaugurated a wedding-theme porcelain series in Spring 1987 with five open (non-limited) editions. Only one of them was a wedding-party figure and, oddly, it was not a bride!
The introductions and their assigned Collection categories were the Romance Heart Box (“Wedding/Anniversary Collection”), the Cupid Heart (“Gift/Wedding/Sweetheart Collection”), the Bridal Centerpiece (“Wedding Collection”), and the Bluebird of Happiness Vase (“Gift/Wedding Collection”). The Centerpiece was designed by Lynn Klockner Brown. A variation of the heart box, in different colors and with rings replacing the rose, was added to the series later.
The fifth item was titled Young Rose (Bridesmaid) and described as being in the “Lovely Lady/Wedding/Sweetheart” collections. This is the first and only time that a supposed ‘Lovely Lady Collection’ appears in any Cybis price list that I have, by the way. Okay, so we have a bridesmaid but not a bride? What’s up with that??
Ah, here comes the bride (sorry, couldn’t resist.) She was designed by Lynn Klockner Brown. This is the brochure for the Fall/Winter 1987 introductions. Here The Bride is captioned as
Wedding Collection
Limited Edition
12 ½” high x 7 ½” wide x 5 ½” deep
$1500
Notice that the caption does not give an edition size. In contrast, the Madonna with Lily, who is seen adjacent in the same brochure, says ‘Limited Edition of 1000’. It was standard procedure for Cybis to state the edition size of any limited edition in their advertising.
Unfortunately, I do not have the Cybis price list that would have accompanied the Fall/Winter1987 brochure, but I do have one issued by Brielle Galleries listing those Fall 1987 introductions. The Bride is shown here as Bride, 50th Anniversary Edition; under the Issue Limit column, she is shown simply as limited. The identification of her as 50th Anniversary edition is very strange because (a) she is not described that way in the studio’s introductory brochure, and (b) the studio’s 50th anniversary wouldn’t occur until at least 1989! Why would Cybis introduce a golden-anniversary item two years early??
And where was the groom? Has he left her at the altar with only her friend/bridesmaid Young Rose for company?
Look who decided to show up in Spring 1988. This snip is from the Cybis new-introductions brochure for that season; he, too, is a Lynn Brown design. The Bridegroom is captioned as
Mate to the 50th Anniversary Bride in Fall-Winter 1988 Collection.
Limited Edition $1650
Obviously, the description should have read Bride in Fall-Winter 1987 Collection rather than 1988…because she had already appeared several months ago.
Take a look at this Cybis price list that is dated February 1, 1988 (which correlates to the Spring 1988 brochure.) Here we find Design #5051 Bride, 50th Anniversary, Brunette with the edition size STILL not stated but only shown as Ltd.; at least now they have the introduction date correctly shown as 1987. A blonde option has a separate design code (5052) but the same edition status notation. The Groom (as he is titled here, rather than Bridegroom) is shown as 5058 Groom, 50th Anniversary and his edition size is merely stated as Ltd. We still have NO idea how many of either piece Cybis was intending to make! As far as I know, this was unprecedented.
I wish I had a Fall 1988 price list but, sadly, I don’t. My next available list is dated February 1, 1989; it shows
50th Anniversary, Brunette $1750 edition size = “Ltd.”
50th Anniversary, Blonde $1750 edition size = “Ltd.”
But where’s the Groom? Has he done a bunk already?? The cad…!! And we still don’t know, more than a year after the Bride made her appearance, what her edition size is.
I have no Spring 1990 price list but here is the ‘Special All Occasion Gifts’ section of the Fall 1990 one. FINALLY we learn that there will be up to 1000 of each hair-colorway of the 50th Anniversary Bride. The Groom is still MIA (must have been one heck of a bachelor party.) The March 1993 price list has the same information.
The next Cybis price list is dated November 1993, and it has a change! Now there is, once again, an ‘Anniversary/Wedding/Shower’ collection heading but look at how the bride is shown! Suddenly she is no longer a 50th-Anniversary item – keep in mind that the only two possible years for the studio’s golden anniversary were 1989 or 1990, and now we are three years past that point – but is to be known as Bride, Commemorative instead.
The other change is that the two hair-colorways are no longer separate design codes but are merged as #5052; instead of 1000 per hair color (i.e., 2 x 1000 = 2000 total), the declared edition size is now 1000 total, regardless of the hair color desired. This state of affairs continues in Cybis lists through 1997 and possibly even into or through 1998 (because I have no lists for that year.) In 1997 a third hair-color option was added: ‘Redhead’.
Look who decides to show up in the May 1999 price list! Perhaps it’s his twin brother. He is titled Groom, Commemorative and with an edition size of 1000 (but no design code, for some reason.)
What WERE These Editions, Exactly?
We actually have three questions to answer.
(1) Are the 50th Anniversary Bride and 50th Anniversary Groom the exact same pieces as the Bride, Commemorative and Groom, Commemorative?
I believe the answer to this question is Yes, meaning that it was only the advertised title that changed. The answer to why Cybis would bring out a 50th-anniversary item almost two years in advance of the event can never be known. As for what ‘Commemorative‘ means in this particular instance? IMHO it means that these are meant to commemorate a wedding (rather than commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Cybis studio.)
(2) If some of these were 50th-Anniversary editions, do those have the special 50th-Anniversary mark?
To date, none have been found with the Anniversary decal applied.
(3) Was the total intended edition size 1000 brides and 1000 grooms, regardless of how they were advertised?
As Shakespeare would say: Ay, there’s the rub. One possibility is that the studio didn’t want to commit to an edition size in the beginning, and later they decided that they were unlikely to get orders for more than 1000 brides or 1000 grooms, ever. In fact, even that estimate was grossly inflated; given the state of the market, even 500 of each would have been overly aspirational. My realistic estimate, if I had been there? No more than 250, max. But it should be possible to get an idea of how many were actually made, by looking at the sculpture numbers of examples that have come up for sale online. Right?
This is where it goes off the rails, because some are numbered and some are not!!
Bride and Groom Sales History
Here is a tally of all the Bride and Groom examples that I have been able to find online.
BRIDE:
Brunette Bride numbered #10 sold in a private transaction in August 2025.
Brunette Bride numbered #64 sold in November 2013 at Richard Hatch Auctions. She subsequently appeared on eBay in February 2024.
Brunette Bride numbered #65 sold in June 2016 on eBay.
Brunette Bride numbered #70 sold in February 2024 on eBay.
Brunette Bride numbered #131 sold in December 2013 as part of a five-piece lot with Groom and 3 other pieces, at Manor Auctions.
Blonde Bride numbered #151 sold in May 2019 on eBay.
Brunette Bride numbered #161 sold in August 2019 at Susanin’s Auctions as part of a four-piece assorted lot.
Brunette Bride, signature-area photo is not readable although it appears to have a number, sold in September 2019 on eBay.
Blonde Bride, signed but definitely not numbered, sold in August 2019 as part of the studio’s 2019 liquidation lots.
Brunette Bride, signed but definitely not numbered, appeared on eBay in March 2024 along with a not-numbered Groom.
Brunette Bride, no number shown or mentioned, sold in December 2013 on eBay.
GROOM:
Groom in white tuxedo, with plinth, not numbered, sold in a private transaction in August 2025.
Groom in white tuxedo, missing the plinth; sold in December 2013 as part of a five-piece lot with Bride #131 and three other Cybis, at Manor Auctions. Signature and number, if any, would be on the underside of the (missing) plinth.
Groom in white tuxedo, with plinth; not numbered, sold in November 2019 as part of the liquidation auctions.
Groom in a dark gray/black tuxedo, with plinth; not numbered, sold in August 2019 as part of the studio’s 2019 liquidation auctions. This is the only black-tuxedo example I have come across, and could have been a sample or an on-site-studio-sale piece.
Groom in a gold tuxedo, with plinth; not numbered, sold in November 2019 as part of the liquidation lots. This is probably the same situation as for the black-tuxedo groom.
Groom in white tuxedo, with plinth present but he is detached from it (broken off between his foot and the plinth base). Signed but not numbered. Appeared on eBay along with a not-numbered brunette Bride in March 2024.
It is POSSIBLE that there were two separate production ‘tranches’ of this wedding couple as regards sculpture numbers. The ones that were advertised as ‘50th Anniversary’ with an edition size shown only as ‘Ltd.’ and were sold in from 1987/88 until Fall 1993 may have been deliberately not numbered...although I can’t imagine why. If this theory is correct, then any not-numbered examples would have been made during those three pre-1990 years when the edition size was never stated.
Or the reverse could have happened! It may be that ONLY the 1987-1993 (“50th Anniversary” titling) pieces were numbered, and the ones after the name-change to “Commemorative” were not. Again…no logic or reason at play here, because all limited-edition production pieces by Cybis should have been numbered.
Is it possible that when the titling was changed from Bride, 50th Anniversary to Bride, Commemorative in Fall 1993, there was also an edition-status change (from limited to open) but nobody remembered to eliminate the 1000 from the price lists? At one time I would have said “no way”…but after seeing the number of errors and omissions on many of the 1990s price lists and on the studio’s own website, I cannot dismiss the possibility that the Bride and Groom suffered the same fate as Jumbles & Friend and Cinderella, Belle of the Ball. That ‘demotion’ scenario would neatly account for the existence of non-numbered examples.
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