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Thursday, December 24, 2015

Erzgebirge Wooden Postman 'Smoker'

Blogger's everywhere who celebrate Christmas are probably sharing their favorite Christmas tchotchke's and knickknacks just as we've been doing since starting our blog. This little guy however is one of those decorations that can be used all year 'round. It's an incense burner we would dig out only for Christmas but for the past couple of years it's been on the shelves with the other decorations. We got this in Germany back in the '80s from the main Käthe Wohlfahrt store in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  Käthe Wohlfahrt, is an importer and distributor of some of the finest holiday decorations you'll find anywhere. Many of their items are wooden folkart gems which came from the Erzgebirge (Iron Mountains) region of what used to be Communist East Germany in a toy making tradition that goes back many generations. [okay, with all the Christmas specials on TV what immediately comes to mind is 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' the stop-motion animation special narrated by Fred Astaire and starring Mickey Rooney and Keenen Wynn. Remember the Burgermeister Meisterburger? ]

If one were to compare these figures with just about any 'copy' made in China you'll notice a 100% difference in quality. The originals are heavier and the paint jobs are neat and durable. The workmanship is of the finest quality. Figures include incense burners (or 'smokers'), nut crackers, and a variety of figurines. Our little guy represents an old fashioned Postman (mailman) smoking a long-stemmed pipe and measures 9" (22.86cm) H. He splits in half in the middle to provide a platform on which the incense cone is placed. Enjoy and have yourself A Frohe Weihnachten & a very merry Christmas!! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina















The top half is hollowed out into a funnel shape.





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