Nutcrackers for Collectors 

 
 


Other Websites
www.nutcrackermuseum.com This is the home site of The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, founded by Arlene and George Wagner, in Leavenworth, Washington, USA (see below).

www.nussknackermuseum-neuhausen.de  A German language website.

Further Reading
There is little published material dedicated purely to nutcrackers, these books are all currently out of print :

De Sanctis, Paolo & Fantoni, Maurizio , Nutcrackers / Schiaccianoci , 1990, BE-MA Editrice, Milan, ISBN 88-7143-097-2
Rittenhouse, Judith A , Ornamental & Figural Nutcrackers , 1993, Collector Books, Kentucky, ISBN 0-89145-518-3 . An excellent book if you can find a copy.

Rollband, James , American Nutcrackers, A Patent History and Value Guide , 1996, Off Beat Books, California, ISBN 0-9641243-2-7

I sometimes have spare copies of these books if you're unable to locate a copy. Apart from mine, the only books that are currently in print are :

Wagner Arlene, The Art and Character of Nutcrackers, 2005, Collectors Press, ISBN 1-933112-08-5. A great book, with many excellent photographs of both very rare and some more common nutcrackers.

Heidenreich A, Nutcrackers Shape and History, 2003, Kathe Wolfahrt GmbH, ISBN 3-9809251-0-2. A large-scale hardback book with rather opaque text but many pictures of great nutcrackers.

Some books on more general subjects contain good information  and images of nutcrackers :

Evan-Thomas O, Domestic Utensils of Wood, 1973 (reprinted), Stobart Davies, ISBN 0-85442-052-5

Levi J, Treen for the Table, 1998, Antique Collectors Club, ISBN 1-85149-284-4

Organisations

The only active organisation I'm aware of is the Nutcracker Collectors Club, run by Susan Otto out of Chesterland, Ohio, USA. It is an excellent club with regular newsletters and an annual convention. Email Susan on nutsue@roadrunner.com

Public Collections

The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum in Leavenworth, Washington, USA is the best collection of nutcrackers available to the general public. Visit if you can.

         The Leavenworth Museum

              Some of the Leavenworth Nutcrackers

There is an excellent collection of treen nutcrackers held as part of the Pinto Collection in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Most of the collection is held in reserve but there are usually some interesting pieces on display.

The Secq des Tournelles Museum in Rouen, France has a good collection of ancient iron nutcrackers.

   Part of the Secq des Tournelles display

The Blaise Castle Museum in Bristol has a small but good collection of English and European metal and treen nutcrackers. The last time I visited, the collection was not on display so please contact the museum before visiting.

Many other museums have one or two interesting nutcrackers in their reserve collections (for example the British Museum and the Museum of London) but I'm not aware of any other sizeable collections.

     

 


 

My book, Nutcrackers, is available from Shire Books (www.shirebooks.co.uk ) - look under Antiques and Collecting. Also from most UK museums and antique centres and you can often find a copy on Ebay. It is priced around £4.50/$10.

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