Early 20th-Century Snow Babies Collection
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GUEST:
They were my grandmother's, and I remember my mother telling me that these were used at Christmastime. She'd bring them out and decorate around the tree when they were little girls. I assume that was back in the 1930s. About 1960 or so, they were wrapped up and put in boxes and they haven't been out of a box since. My mother always treated them with great respect and wrapped them very carefully and treasured them.
APPRAISER:
Well, these were made in Germany. There's two theories on how they came about: one goes to the Hertwig and Company. And the Hertwig and Company copied the old candy containers that were used during the Victorian Christmas. And the candy containers had fluff on them, snow and so on. And so he started making things that were hooded figures, and they would go on the tree and they would be cake ornaments. But then about 1909, Admiral Peary, the U.S. explorer, went to the North Pole and he had a daughter, and the daughter wore these fuzzy clothes. And so the papers picked this up and the Snow Babies are also... That's the other theory where they evolved. The value on them... The little, bitty one is worth about $50. The three-inch ones are worth in the $200 to $300 range.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER:
This little one is very unusual. Look how tiny he is. He's worth about $300. These are very, very special-- you don't see them-- and for the collectors of Snow Babies, we're talking about $1,200 to $1,500 apiece.
GUEST:
Oh, my God.
APPRAISER:
So altogether, we're talking somewhere around $4,000, little bit more in value, but a collector of Snow Babies would give anything for these.
GUEST:
(laughing)
Appraisal Details
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