I had two of these great birds. I just sold one on Ebay and paid $1,000 for the other one that I am keeping. I collect old California Pottery, and have read several books on the subject as well.

The company that made these flamingos was called "Will-George" and was located in Pasadena, California from 1934 to 1956. It was run by two brothers, Will and George Climes. They made absolutely GORGEOUS figurines that were all hand made and handpainted. Each one is very unique and never mass produced. They were always a relatively small company and did not widely distribute their wares and figurines must past the West Coast.

Even back then, their items were considered very expensive because of the attention to detail and the rich production process. They sold their items mostly in exclusive department stores in the Southern California region. They also went by the name "Claysmiths".

In late-1945, famous gangster Bugsy Seigel contracted with this pottery firm to make these 200 specially marked flamingo figurines for the grand opening night of his "Flamingo Hotel and Casino". Bugsy was a very extravagant sort of guy and only the best would do for him. (He also ordered tons of Waterford crystal for the bars and hotel rooms for that place).

The 200 special limited edition flamingos were made and handed out to mostly VIP's on the grand opening night of the Casino. The man that I bought my first flamingo from was actually there that night and first told me the story. This really sparked my interest and I hit the chat boards to find out more and verify this story. It took awhile, but three people confirmed that this is what happened.

The statue I sold was sold to me by a lady whose Aunt was there opening night back in 1946 and was given the flamingo. She in now in her 90's and re-told me this story as well. I find all of this absolutely fantastic and wonderful.

Over the years, I have bought over 30 other Will-George flamingos and have a huge collection of them. The regular ones are very rare and expensive in and of themselves. I have several that cost well over $300 to $500 dollars and they are all marked "Will George" on the bottom.

The guy I bought my first one from also told me that many of these figurines were broken and or discarded that very night back in 1946 when the Casino opened. He said that most people did not want to keep up with them all evening and simply sat them down on tables or the bar. Many got lost that evening and carelessly broken. He told me that he seriously doubts that there are 75 to 100 left in the entire World any longer. - Kurt Bublitz