Ill-fitting clothing and oversize shoes were facts of life for many people in 1930s-‘40s Germany. Sr. Hummel painted what she saw, and also how love and family can get folks through the worst of times. This figure is called "Homeward Bound" (about $250)

Many Hummels have a Christmas theme – ornaments, angels, and nativity sets, for example. This heart-tugging figurine is called "Letter to Santa" (about $200).

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At the end of the Second World War, American soldiers in occupied Germany discovered Hummels, adorable, hand painted ceramic figurines of children.

The innocent sweetness of these adorable figures was the perfect antidote to the evil horrors of that war. And the children they depicted seemed to inspire hope for the future.

The story of their creation added to the appeal. The figurines were based on the artwork of Berta Hummel, a young nun, called Sr. Maria Innocentia, of the Franciscan convent in Siessen, Bavaria.

The Goebel ceramic company started producing Hummel figurines in 1935. In 1937, the figures were lambasted in the Nazi press as unfitting examples of what German youth should aspire to.

By 1940, the Nazis had taken over the convent as a repatriation center, and relegated the nuns to a far corner of the compound, where their living conditions left a great deal to be desired. These conditions contributed to illness among the nuns, and Sr. M.I. Hummel died in 1946; she was 45-years-old.

As Hummels began to arrive in the United States during the late-1940s, they became more and more popular, and by the early 1950s, something of a mania for them developed that would last for the next 20 years.

An enormous number of Hummels were produced to feed this frenzy, and now they are beginning to flood today’s market, where there isn’t the huge buyer pool there once was for them. In other words, there is more of a supply Hummels than there is demand for them.

That is not to say that Hummels don’t have their fans. Hummels are much to charming and irresistible to be ignored, and collectors are having a field day gathering them up at bargain prices.

Each Hummel figure has a number impressed underneath as well as a stamped trademark. The rare first trademark was an interlaced “WG” under a crown. After that, trademarks usually included a bee (hummel is German for bumble bee).

These trademarks are important in evaluating Hummels, because the older trademarked pieces will be more valuable.
When trying to determine the value of your Hummels, and what to do with them, there are lots of Web sites on-line.

But your first stop should be the Hummel Collectors club, which is run my Dorothy Dous out of Yardley, Pa. (1-800-311-6464). The Web site is www.mihummel.com. To directly access the price guide, use: www. mihummel.com/collection_priceList.asp.

Arthur Schwerdt, a certified appraiser, is the author of “The Antique Story Book: Finding the Real Value of Old Things,” and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton. Send your comments, questions and appraisal requests to aschwerdt@cmcherald.com.