Sheeper by the Dozen; Holiday Thankfulness

Sheeper by the Dozen

Stick leg or German wooly sheep are popular antiques to collect. These sheep have their origins in the decorative Christmas villages that were a long-standing tradition of the Moravian church, a Protestant denomination. In America, early Moravian settlements could be found along the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania, especially Bethlehem and in Salem, North Carolina. From the early colonial times, these Moravian families would construct a nativity scene, or putz, in a corner of their house. As Christmas trees became popular, they would decorate under the tree. By the early 19th century, more elaborate scenes were being constructed and found on the fireplace mantels and other prominent places in the Moravian home.

Sheep in wooden cart with tin wheels and
Christmas feather tree decoration.

Sheep Pull Toy

• Sheep greater than four inches
• Ones with fabric ears
• Black sheep are rare
• Sheep, black or white, with rams horns are rare
• White sheep with black spots and rams horns are very rare

• Sheep made with sheared coats

• Sheep greater than four inches

• Ones with fabric ears
• Black sheep are rare
• Sheep, black or white, with rams horns are rare
• White sheep with black spots and rams horns are very rare
• Sheep made with sheared coats

In addition to sheep that would have been found in the nativity scenes, you can also find Putz sheep pull toys on wooden platforms. Those with iron or tin wheels are much more valuable – and the bigger the better they are! Wooly sheep on iron wheels are commonly Steiff made and are very valuable; especially if they still have the pewter "Steiff" button in one ear.

Search for sheep on Dig Antiques.

References:

• Putz figurines…did you know?, Sheepy Hollow Farm Life, December 4, 2011.
• Christmas Putz, An Old Custom in America, Victoriana Magazine..
• Christmas Village, Wikipedia.

• Putz History, Toy Trains.

• Putz figurines…did you know?, Sheepy Hollow Farm Life, December 4, 2011.

• Christmas Putz, An Old Custom in America, Victoriana Magazine..
• Christmas Village, Wikipedia.
• Putz History, Toy Trains.

Holiday Thankfulness

There is something that is irresistible about collecting sheep. For one thing, you can collect a lot without needing anything more then a shelf or two. Many are inexpensive which allows for a bit more collecting. And, let's face it, half the fun of collecting is the hunt to find one you don't already have. We have collected many over the years and have sold a few as well.

As we fly from California back to the east coast, we are eagerly looking forward to our time with family and friends. We'll be starting with Thanksgiving in NJ and celebrating Christmas in the Adirondacks. We could do without the cold temperatures, but then again Christmas always seems more traditional with snow so we'll have to agree to the cold to get the snow.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we will be exhibiting at the Heartland East/Howard County Antiques Show on Saturday, December 14 in West Friendship, MD at the Howard County Fairgrounds. We would like to encourage you to attend and stop and see us in the Baker & Co. Antiques booth. We'll have Dig Antiques re-useable bags which we will be happy to give you for free as a thanks for your support.

Please welcome our newest shop on Dig Antiques, The Rathbun Gallery. They have some lovely antiques for sale so be sure to check them out. An antique makes a great present and Dig Antiques is an easy way to search for the perfect antique!

We are thankful for our family, friends and our extended "antiques" family. Thank you for your support. We wish you a happy and safe Thanksgiving wherever you may be.

Sincerely,
Tom & Sheila Baker
diginfo@digantiques.com

We Dig It...do you? Dig Antiques - Real stuff without the fluff.