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What do Winston Churchill, a South African murder victim from the 19th century, and London's Savoy Hotel
have in
common?
Co-Founder of Birmingham's Churchill society, Ed Hardin, with his newly presented Kaspar.
HINT: They're all a part of the amazing story
of Kaspar the lucky cat.
SHORTLY BEFORE the end of the 19th century, a wealthy South African named Woolf Joel hosted a private dinner
party at The Savoy in London.
When the group gathered, there were 13 guests ‐ long regarded in British society as a dangerously unlucky number,
especially for the first person to rise from the table.
Joel dismissed such superstition as horribly old fashioned and, to prove it, he insisted on being the first to leave. Just
days after he returned home, Woolf Joel was shot dead in Johannesburg.
For years thereafter, The Savoy seated a waiter at any table unfortunate enough to present itself with the unlucky number of
dinner guests. But this both deprived the restaurant of a waiter and stifled conversation among the guests.
Finally, in the 1920s, a solution was found. Architect Basil Lonides, commissioned to redecorate the private dining room,
created Kaspar ‐ a sculpted black cat who, with a white napkin around his sinuous neck, rounds out any needy party to
an infinitely safer number of 14 guests. To this day, Kaspar does his duty.
Soon after Winston Churchill and his friend, Lord Birkenhead, founded The Other Club, which met regularly at The Savoy,
Churchill took a liking to Kaspar, and insisted he sit in on all of the proceedings, regardless of the number of club members
in attendance.
NOW YOU CAN HAVE your very own Kaspar, hand-sculpted and imbued with the power to make your next
dinner party a safer and yet more festive affair. Not to mention his value as a conversation starter.
Each hand-made Kaspar goes through dozens of steps. The process begins with reference photos from The
Savoy.
To ensure your Kaspar has all of the aesthetic and magical qualities of the original, we begin our process with reference
photos of the original Kaspar provided to us by The Savoy.
These high-resolution images, printed at Kaspar's actual size (24 inches by 14 inches) provide the guide we need to
ensure every fine detail is faithful to Basil Lonides' creation.
Sculptor Vicki Cox crafts every Kaspar by hand, beginning with the armature for Kaspar's body. After the mortar dries,
she adds limbs, haunches, and the distinctive curly tail.
When Kaspar is nearly complete, he is suspended by ropes and a level base is attached. Then, pigment and a special recipe of
encaustic medium is applied, including a resin and natural beeswax. Only when every detail is perfect is Kaspar shipped to
you.
MAKE KASPAR THE GUEST OF HONOR at your next dinner party. Or just place Kaspar in your home as a
conversation piece.
Whether Kaspar is keeping bad luck at bay by avoiding having 13 for dinner, or if he is purely ornamental, your guests will
be fascinated by the story that brings together Winston Churchill, a South African murder victim, and London's legendary
Savoy.
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About the Artist
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Vicki Schenck Cox is an accomplished Graphic Designer and Art Director who is also an encaustic
painter and sculptor. When asked by Ed Hardin, co-founder of Birmingham, Alabama's chapter of the Churchill Society,
to create a version of Kaspar for their January 2018 dinner, she leapt at the chance.
Vicki learned all there was to know about this famous cat, contacting the Savoy Hotel for the final word. The Savoy
was generous enough to send photos and dimensions that helped her get started.
The granddaughter of a highly sought after ornamental plasterer known for his work on Atlanta's Fox Theatre, and
Nashville's Parthenon, Vicki began by sculpting small objects, using remnants of mortar from her own tiling
projects.
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Reserve My Kaspar
Every Kaspar is a Unique, Handmade Work of Art. Each and every Kaspar is made by hand, piece by piece, in a
process that includes 14 meticulous, time-consuming steps.
The gestation period for members of the cat family (Felidae) ranges from 63 to 112 days. From conception to birth, Kaspar is
somewhere in the middle of that range, so allow about 12 weeks for creation and delivery.
A deposit of $1,250, equal to one-half the total price of $2,500 (+ S&H), gets the process started. We accept PayPal and most
credit cards.
Click the Contact link below to reserve your commissioned Kaspar.
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