The Art & Character of Nutcrackers

Picture one of your favorite art books, one that might devoted to a famous artist or an era of art history. A book with lavish photographs, great descriptions and laid out with an amazing eye. Now picture that same lavish, large coffee-table size book, but this time devoted to nutcrackers. The Art & Character of Nutcrackers ranks, hands down, as one of the more gorgeous books in my collection.

It's a work of art and one can see how much care and concern was put into making the finished product amazing.

Authored by Arlene Wagner, known as the nutcracker lady and who founded the Nutcracker Museum in 1995. This book was published ten years later in 2005 and is still available to be purchased.

The chapters in the book are devoted to different types of nutcrackers explaining the history, years they came into use, along with pictured examples. The images show the age, size and origin of the nutcrackers, as well as the way the nut was cracked (if it's not evident).

The various styles are highlighted in their own chapters and include:

• Wooden Levers
  dating back to 1669
• Wooden Screw Nutcrackers
  Introduced during the 17th century
• Wooden Percussion Nutcrackers
  Wood is better than metal for cracking.
• Metal Lever Nutcrackers
  Don't we all have one of these in the kitchen drawer? But the variety is amazing!
• Metal Screw Nutcrackers
  These were often made to be carried in the pocket.
• Metal Percussion Nutcrackers
  "The hammer has been the most common of all percussion tools used in civilized time to crack open the hard shell of a nut. Special hammers were designed just for this purpose. To complement the nut hammer, the 'knee warmer' was invented around 1850.
• Metal Mechanical Nutcrackers
  Complicated looking contraptions, that surely can get the job done.
• Betel Cutters
  Not a true nutcracker, but often included in collections
• Ivory and Porcelain Nutcrackers
  Not many all ivory nutcrackers exist today.
• Turned Wooden Toy Soldier Nutcrackers
  The classic pieces that are most often thought of when describing a nutcracker collection.

The book also show accessories and nutcrackers that don't quite fit into any of the above categories.

From Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, July 2012 Newsletter:
Mike McIvor, the artistic director of the first book will be doing the layouts of the fantastic photography of Rodrigo Demedeiros. We expect publishing to be finished in October. Copies of the first book are still available at the museum if you have not gotten a copy. It is a large coffee table book showing about 1,000 of the nutcrackers from the museum. Price is now only $45.00.

You don't have to be a collector of nutcrackers to appreciate this book, the history and artwork of the pieces is fascinating to see and read. This would also be a terrific gift for a collector of holiday and Christmas antiques, even if they don't have nutcrackers in their current collection.

Sometimes coffee-table is a poor choice of words to call a book, but The Art & Character of Nutcrackers was promptly put on the coffee table for guests to enjoy and for easy access when I want to go back into another time and place. A world where skilled craftsmen took special pride in their work, creating something beautiful out of ordinary objects.

Although the book is no longer being published, copies are still available through the museum for $45., and can also be found on Amazon.

From the Nutcracker Museum July Newsletter:
To order any of these books please email: curator@nutcrackermuseum and let us know which books you want, your name and address, and when we can call you for a credit card number.

• Size: 12.5" x 10.25"
• ISBN: 1-933112-08-5
• Pages: 188