This 8-inch bride and groom were probably not cake toppers but may have been party favors or decoration for the wedding or for a shower. They are all cloth with wire armature limbs and painted features. They were produced by Mario probably in the 1940s or 1950s. The groom shows his wonderful comical features. Detail of the bride shows her character features. The groom's gold foil tag says "The Reluctant Groom" on one side and "COMPLETELY HAND CRAFTED PRODUCT ORIGINAL DESIGN BY MARIO" on the other. 24 SPRING 2020 Dolls were used to decorate the cakes to honor the couple. Most of the early cake toppers were made in Germany. These decorations were edible but began to be replaced with bisque dolls. In the 1920s cake toppers in bisque, china, paper and even metal were offered from Japan. These decorations were available for purchase through bakeries. With the development of plastic in the United States in the 1940s cake toppers began to be made of that material as well. Personal creativity was often used. Some wedding cakes were made at home and topped with little bisque or celluloid dolls from the dime store that were dressed to represent the bride and groom.