To judge from the listing descriptions on eBay, there are a lot of people around who have no idea what a genuine YZ bird, or any other YZ novelty item, looks like. And, to be fair, it sometimes is very difficult to tell the difference between YZ and non-YZ with absolute certainty - but only sometimes. Usually, that difference is pretty obvious.

It would all be so easy if all YZs had the mark on the base - but not all do. It isn't possible to know why some were marked and some not. Perhaps the workload became, at times, too heavy for the marking to keep pace. Possibly some of the unmarked pieces were made, or perhaps simply assembled and finished, at home by the company's craftsmen, employing their everyday working methods and using materials 'acquired' from the factory. In either case, the materials used and the craftsmanship employed were the same as for the marked products - so, essentially, they must surely all be considered genuine. The two birds below are of identical quality. The same materials were used in their manufacture. The one on the left is marked, the other not.

So, how can you tell?

In some cases, correct attribution needs experience. Experience of looking at, holding, working with, and living with, YZ products. More often than not, though, just knowing a few basic points to look for will enable anyone to recognise 'YZness' in a piece.

The Basic Checklist

  1. Quality of workmanship: Look closely at the piece. Run your fingers over it. Does it look and feel 'finished'? YZ products were made by superb craftsman - they ooze confidence and class.
    2.  
  2. Beaks and feet: Non-YZ products usually lack the YZ attention to 'beak and foot' detail shown in the images below. Note how YZ beaks flow seamlessly into the curve of the head - in many non-YZ items, the beak is simply stuck onto the head, almost as an afterthought.
     
     
  3. Eyes: YZ eyes are usually the give-away - I've never come across a similar product which uses them. The difference is that YZ eyes are moulded from three glass colours - one clear, for the lens, one black, for the pupil, and one coloured (usually yellow) for the eye's base colour - rather than the more usual lens (back painted, if clear, to give the eye its colour) and pupil. This can be very clearly seen if the eye falls out or has been deliberately removed (not recommended!) but it can be more difficult to spot for eyes in situ. The following images may give an idea of what to look for: (Click on an image to enlarge)
     
     
       
    Note: Not all YZ eyes were yellow. See other colours here.
    4.  
  4. The materials used: These are less reliable indicators but a useful consideration even so.

    5. i) The Plastic: The plastic material most commonly used in YZ pieces (mainly for beak and feet, though, occasionally, the body too) was phenolic resin. And that may have been coloured with a red or purplish dye (possibly the 'Lithol' mentioned in YZ advertising literature). In at least some cases though - maybe all - the purple colour is the result of a natural reaction of the phenolic resin. Over a long period of contact with the air, the surface of the resin becomes oxidised to produce the colour which we now see predominantly (though not exclusively) on pieces produced by Henry Howell. Such phenolic resin is now commonly referred to as Faturan. (See Ian Holdsworth's article on Faturan here)

     
     
     
     

    ii) The Wood (See Materials):

    iii) The Nuts (See Materials):

     
  5. The Foolproof Test:

    6. Has it got the YZ trademark? This is foolproof only inasmuch as it guarantees YZ authenticity. Just to muddy the water, there are (as mentioned earlier) plenty of pieces around which are clearly YZ yet lack a trademark. Then it's back to checking 1, 2, 3 and 4 - particularly 3, the eyes. They are almost always the giveaway for non-YZs.