Sometimes called the “poor man’s Staffordshire”, chalkware is a misnomer for decorative figures or plaques made of plaster or plaster of Paris. The ware was developed in the mid-19th century as a means of producing affordable replicas of the popular, and pricey, Staffordshire pottery figures of the mid- to late 1800s. Pieces were made in half molds and the two parts cemented together, leaving a hollow center. Some large pieces were cast in a single piece and weighted. The model, image or fruit, was brushed with olive oil, then covered with plaster two inches thick; when dry it was cut in two, the casts were oiled on the inside and bound together with string or tape, and into this two-piece mold the wet plaster to form the image was poured.

In the mid-20th century chalkware became all the rage as carnival give-aways in the likenesses of pop icons. That is how the phrase “Carnival Chalkware” came about.