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Christmas Spirit 
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The figure of a nutcracker has become associated with Christmas as a result of the music of Peter Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker has become an annual December presentation by ballet companies throughout the world and as a result, nutcrackers are often seen as a part of Christmas decorations, especially in Germany where so many are created. Nuts have been a significant part of the food supply since the beginning of time, and over the years, man has created ingenious ways to open the shells. Early civilisations opened their nuts with rocks. At first nutcrackers were purely utilitarian, but beautiful ornate brass and carved wood nutcrackers are known to date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 18th century the first wooden nutcrackers started to emerge from the Erzgebirge region in Germany. They were standing figures such as kings and soldiers. Wilhelm Fuchtner, known as the father of the nutcracker, from Seiffen was the first craftsman who started commercially producing nutkrackers in 1872. Today the 6th generation of the Fuchtner family is in the trade. Today one can buy nutcrackers made from any material and in any shape. Collectors of hand carved wooden nutcrackers look for the following big names: Christian Steinbach and Christian Ulbricht. Collectors also look for the names of Lothar Junghanel, Klaus Mertens, Franz Karl, Olaf Kolbe, Helgard Petersen, and Gunther Ulbricht. As a collector keep each nutcracker's box and hang tag, especially if you intend to sell your collection at a later date. As some nutcracker companies, including Steinbachs, produce unique boxes for individual nutcrackers, a mint condition box can greatly increase the future value of a fine nutcracker. Hang tags are crucial if the nutcracker has no stickers, stamp, or identifying logo. [ Back to index ] |
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Nutcracker
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