By Arlene Wagner
188 Pages
Hardcover
2005, Collector's Press
$60.00
ISBN: 1-933112-08-5
Review by Cheri Sicard
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If you thought all there was to nutcrackers was the boring utilitarian version in your kitchen drawer, or the brightly painted toy soldier version that we see each Christmas, you in for a big surprise. The nutcrackers in this book represent stunning, intricate works of art and folk art. They take nearly all forms from serious to whimsical, ecclesiastical to risqué, menacing to cute and cuddly. The practical kitchen tools come in all shapes and sizes, like people, animals and other objects. Some, while resembling instruments of torture, make quick work of breaking through the hardest of nut shells. The nutcrackers are fashioned from a large variety of materials, including wood, metal, ivory and even porcelain. Some are plain, some are painted.

The book serves, more or less, as a catalog of the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, located in Leavenworth, Washington. Author Arlene Wagner and her husband began collecting nutcrackers as a hobby, but quickly became obsessed. Their collection grew so large, the started the museum to house the ever growing collection. Today the museum, a National Heritage Foundation, boasts a collection of over 5000 nutcrackers. This book lovingly photographs the museum's finest specimens in glorious full color.

This is a beautifully produced coffee table book that everyone will love paging through. The variety of nutcrackers are astounding, and the objects in these pages are bound to inspire many a person to take up collecting nutcrackers. But even those who only think about nutcrackers at Christmastime will delight in exploring these pages and their priceless works of folk and functional art.

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The Art and Character of Nutcrackers. Order now and save 37%. Regular price $60.00, Amazon.com price $37.80. You save $22.20!