Pearl - #0009

DuckDex Entry #0009: Pearl

DuckDex Number: #0009

Museum Name: Pearl

Original Product Name: Not yet documented

Brand: Bath & Body Works

Object Type: Rubber duck

Colors: Soft pearlescent pink with orange beak

Date: Undetermined

Acquisition: Purchased by Nichole

Museum Collection: Bath & Body Works Collection 

🤍 Captain Quackers' Curator Notes

"Pearl shows how dramatically a different surface treatment can change a familiar rubber duck. Her soft pink finish has a pearlescent quality that catches the light, giving her a very different appearance from the solid-color and patterned ducks elsewhere in the Bath & Body Works collection. We don't yet know what Bath & Body Works originally called her, when she was sold, or the circumstances of her release. For now, Pearl survives as another piece of evidence in the museum's effort to reconstruct the history and remarkable variety of this retail duck tradition." 

🧳 Adventure Log

📍 Current Home: The American Rubber Duck Museum Collection

🛍️ Collection: Bath & Body Works

✨ Known For: Soft pearlescent pink finish

💎 Special Talent: Catching the light with a subtle shimmer

🦆 Mission: Help document the range of colors and surface finishes represented among surviving Bath & Body Works ducks

📅 Adventure Status: Preserved for future museum display

🏛️ Museum Label

Pearl
Bath & Body Works Collection
DuckDex Entry #0009

This soft pink duck is a surviving example of Bath & Body Works' rubber duck merchandise. Molded Bath & Body Works markings establish its brand attribution, while its original product name, release date, manufacturer, and retail context remain under investigation. Pearl's pearlescent surface provides useful evidence of the variety of finishes found among surviving Bath & Body Works ducks and offers a point of comparison with solid-color, patterned, and other decorated examples in the museum's growing collection.

💝 Provenance

Brand/Marking: Bath & Body Works

Manufacturer: Not yet identified

Country of Manufacture: China (object marked “Made in China”) 

Acquisition Source: Purchased by Nichole

Acquisition Date: [if known]

Story Connection: Nichole added Pearl to the museum as part of her effort to document the variety of surviving Bath & Body Works rubber ducks. Her soft, pearlescent pink finish distinguishes her from the solid-color and more elaborately decorated examples in the collection, making her useful for documenting the range of surface treatments in the line.

🌞 Conservation Notes

Pearl retains a soft pink pearlescent surface finish with an orange beak. The finish produces a subtle reflective sheen across the body. The molded underside markings remain legible. Condition documented at the time of cataloging.

🔎 Research Notes

🟩 Confirmed: Bath & Body Works attribution is established by molded markings on the surviving object.

🟩 Confirmed: The surviving object has a soft pink finish with a visibly pearlescent or reflective quality.

🟨 Not yet established: Original product name, release date, manufacturer/vendor, original retail price, and specific promotional or seasonal context.

🟨 Production era: Not yet established.

🤍 Why Captain Quackers Loves This Duck

Every duck has a story...

"Pearl reminds me that sometimes the smallest detail changes the way we see an object. Her familiar duck shape may resemble others in the collection, but that soft shimmer gives her a character all her own. And until we discover when she appeared and what Bath & Body Works originally called her, even that shimmer becomes part of the evidence we're preserving." 

🤍Captain Quackers

Chief Curator & Adventure Officer 

🦆 Every Duck Has A Story...

"...and Pearl reminds us that sometimes a subtle shimmer is enough to make a familiar duck shine in an entirely new way."