Hummel figurines are a series of porcelain

Porcelain

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...

 figurines

Figurine

A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...

 based on the drawings of Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel

Maria Innocentia Hummel

Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel, O.S.F., was a famous German Franciscan Sister and artist . She is noted for the artwork which became the very popular Hummel figurines.-Early life:...

, O.S.F.

History

The sketch art of Sister Maria Innocentia began to appear on in the 1930s in Germany and Switzerland, mostly pastoral drawings of children. The Swiss art publisher Ars Sacra was involved in the early popularization of the art on postcards. Hummel's "art cards" became popular throughout Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, catching the eye of Franz Goebel, porcelain maker and head of W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik. Goebel acquired rights to turn Hummel's drawing into figurines, producing the first line in 1935. Goebel was one of many mid-size porcelain firms competing in the US market and Franz Goebel´s knack for novelty marketing caused the figurines to become popular in the US during the 1930s. The base for the popularity was among German immigrants on the East Coast.

After the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the popularity of Hummel figurines grew as American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 soldiers stationed in West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 began sending the figurines home as gifts. Nostalgia

Nostalgia

The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...

 associated with the figurines and the U.S. soldiers buying them led to Hummel figurines becoming a popular collector's item. Popularity increased even more when the figurines were sold by the Army PX system

Base exchange

A Base Exchange is a type of retail store operating on United States military installations worldwide...

. A vibrant speculator market in Hummel figurines developed and in the 1970s, Hummel figurines skyrocketed in price, though today most sell for less than $50. M.I. Hummel collector plates made by Goebel and sold by the Goebel Collectors Club, were a prominent item in the Bradford Exchange

Bradford Exchange

The Bradford Exchange is a producer and marketer of collectible goods. Now part of the Bradford Group, it was founded in 1973 as The Bradford Gallery of Collector's Plates by J. Roderick MacArthur. The company created its first live price quotation market in 1983, but increasingly turned to...

, the leading supplier of collectible plates. Today, Hummel figurines are produced by Manufaktur Rödental and their popularity as collector's items remain.

Precious Moments figurines are another popular line of figurines, started in 1989, and are considered to be heavily inspired by Hummel figurines.

Books About Hummel Figurines

Many books and price guides have been published about Hummel figurines. Some of these works supported the secondary market interest of collector speculators; The No. 1 Price Guide to M.I. Hummel, written by Robert L. Miller, is generally regarded as the definitive price guide.

Museums

Donald Stephens

Donald Stephens

Donald E. Stephens was the first mayor of Rosemont, Illinois, USA, and a leading Illinois Republican politician....

, longtime mayor of Rosemont, Illinois

Rosemont, Illinois

Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States located immediately northwest of Chicago. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that...

, was a prolific collector of Hummel figurines. In 1984, Stephens donated his collection to the Village of Rosemont to be displayed in a museum. The Donald E. Stephens Museum of Hummels opened in its current location in Rosemont on March 13, 2011. The museum purports to be the largest collection of Hummel figurines in the world.

Another Hummel museum was built in New Braunfels, Texas

New Braunfels, Texas

New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas that is a principal city of the metropolitan area. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000...

 by Sieglinde Schoen, who, as a child, had served as a model for many of Hummel's images. It is connected to Robert L. Miller, author and prominent collector of Hummel figurines.. As of 2011, however, it is unclear whether it remains open.

Popular Culture

Hummel figurines have been referenced multiple times in popular culture. On the television series Seinfeld

Seinfeld

Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...

in the episode "The Pony Remark", there is a reference to Jerry's auntie's Hummel collection and in Glee

Glee (TV series)

Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...

, the character "Kurt Hummel

Kurt Hummel

Kurt Hummel is a fictional character and one of the male leads in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school...

" is named for the Hummel figurines. On the television series Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls

Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...

, a Hummel collection of Kyle's mother is broken during the fight between Dean and Jess (season 3, episode 20). In the web series Ask That Guy With The Glasses, Hummel figures are implied to be satanic. In the 2004 comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 Team America: World Police

Team America: World Police

Team America: World Police, often referred to as simply Team America, is a 2004 action comedy film written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed by Parker, all of whom are also known for the popular animated television series South Park...

, Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...

 can be seen walking past his collection of Hummel figurines when he sings "I'm So Ronery." In a 2011 episode of "The Mentalist

The Mentalist

The Mentalist is an American police procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also the show's executive producer...

," human behavioral expert (and the titular "mentalist") Patrick Jane

Patrick Jane

Patrick Jane is the protagonist on the CBS crime drama The Mentalist, portrayed by Simon Baker. Jane is a consultant for a fictionalized version of the California Bureau of Investigation and helps by giving advice and insight from his many years as a fake psychic medium...

is surprised to learn "supercop" J.J. Laroche, a CBI chief, collects Hummel figurines when he visits the latter's home for the first time. The Simpsons in season 14 had an episode in which Ned Flanders is shown collecting "Humble" figurines which are a pun on "hummel".

External links

• Manufaktur Rödental. Home Page. retrieved April 14, 2011
• W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik GmbH & Co. KG. Goebel. "About M.I. Hummel" retrieved Jan. 12, 2007
• W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik GmbH & Co. KG. M.I. Hummel. "Craftsmanship". retrieved Jan. 12, 2007