Cast of fairing biscuit
Date made: 1923
Description: Plaster cast of a gingerbread fairing biscuit. One of set of figures. Figure of man wearing a hat. Both legs have been broken and repaired.
Plaster casts of the tin moulds used for ginger bread cakes/ biscuits in the beginning of the 20th century.
These plaster casts - taken from a set of tin moulds - were used to make ginger bread fairings or biscuits, for sale at Tynwald and Hollandtide fairs on the Isle of Man.
Such biscuits were commonly for sale at fairs on the Isle of Man in the early part of the 20th century, but they may be the vestiges of a much earlier tradition. The characters which they symbolise are possibly of Scandinavian origin, and may originally have been representations of Odin, Frigga, Thor, Sleipnir and Goldcomb, all figures from Norse mythology. If this is correct then this is a remarkable survival of a Viking custom into the modern age.
Measurements: overall: 18 x 7.3 x 1.2 cm
Materials: stone: plaster
Object name: biscuit; cast
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 1954-0255/1