Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (1797-1856), better known as Madame Vestris, was an English actress whose appearance and voice had brought her acclaim on the English stage by 1820. She is best known to Staffordshire figure collectors as "The Broom Girl" because in 1826 she popularized the song “Buy a Broom” and sang it on the London stage it attired as a Bavarian broom seller.

Two figures of Madame Vestris, c1830, attired as The Broom Seller. The figure on the left is in the Sherratt style and occurs on other bases attributed to "Sherratt." The figure on the right is unattributed.

The role of Broom Girl was humorously entertaining, as can be seen from this lithograph, c1826.

Madame Vestris was gorgeous, funny, and endowed with exquisite legs! One of various engravings of her in as the Broom Girls role inspired Staffordshire look alikes. In later years, Madame Vestris became an innovative producer and director.

Collectors, don't buy a broom; instead buy your own broom seller. It's a fun little figure and you can accumulate several versions of the model. Makes collecting interesting, at an affordable price. Happy hunting!

 


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