Greetings!
First a little background information...
In the year 1879, Franz Detleff Goebel and his son William began
producing unique porcelain products.
Their newly built factory in the ancient town of Oeslau, Germany,
would produce many of the world's most treasured collectibles known
today. In the early days they were mostly manufacturing dinnerware
and figurines. As the years rolled by, the product line expanded.
They also realized how important the American market was to the
success of the company.
The company name was eventually changed to W.Goebel Porzellanfabrik,
and William's son Max Louis was sent to America to proceed with the
addition of a U.S. product line. After working very hard to gain the
business knowledge he felt he needed in order to accomplish the
expansion, Max Louis Goebel returned to Oeslau and enlisted the help
of many of Europe's finest artists and sculptors. Max, like his
father before him, had special ability to recognize trends and he used
popular artwork as inspiration for his unique figurines.
Franz was also in search of something new and inspirational, and he
felt that his customers would respond to something sweet and of a
gentle nature. Something depicting the innocence of children.
Fortunately, his wishes all came true when he the artwork of a
Franciscan Sister, Maria Innocentia Hummel, came to his attention. A
new product line was born and now Hummel figurines are some of the
most prized product of the famous Goebel porcelain company.
Whether it's Hummel or Non Hummel, Goebel porcelains are extremely
popular collectibles, and I spent quite some time trying to track down
information concerning your figurine. Let me point out that there is
not an established market for Goebel items, and so there are not any
"market values". A few items are exceptions to this rule, such as the
"Charlot BYJ Redheads collection", but to get a value determination on
your figurine, you will need to contact an actual buyer. You will
then be able to find out the value of your figurine, based on what the
piece is worth to the buyer.
I knew it would be virtually impossible to obtain a specific value for
your piece, however I am listing some information that will give you
an idea of the ranges in price concerning Goebel non-Hummel figurines.
There are many determining factors when it comes to an actual
appraisal, such as cracks, chips, worn paint, etc. All of these types
of blemishes can affect the value and will be taken into consideration
by the buyer should you choose to explore the possibility of selling
your item.
After an extensive search online, I was not able to find anything
about your figurine. So I went straight to the source and contacted
the W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik GmbH & Co KG by email, to see if they
could give me some specific information about your item.
I received an email answer from Mrs. Elke Wittmann of the Member and
Information Service department. Mrs. Wittman was able to shed some
historical light on your piece, and it is very interesting indeed.
According to Mrs. Wittman's email, based on the era of production, you
may be in possesion of a piece that has a higher collectors’ value.
Mrs. Wittman is only speculating however, she also states that it will
depend on the supply and demand of the secondary market. Here is her
email in it's entirety:
"Thank you very much for your e-mail and your interest in our company
and its products.
The figurine GF 110, from our non-hummel-program was first modelled in
1954 by our then master sculptor Mr. Moeller. This figurine was
withdrawn from production in 1962 and may be found on the secondary
market only. We do not know the issue price, because we do not have
price lists left before 1979.
In general - much to our regret - it is not possible for us to provide
you with any specific information about the today’s value of your
figurines, as we are not involved in evaluating for the secondary
market or for insurance purposes. The age of a Goebel item my be
determined by the trademark shown on the bottom of the base, i.e. all
articles which do not carry our current trademark but one of a former
era of production might be considered - as antiques so to speak - to
have a higher collectors’ value than those produced only recently.
And, of course the value of a figurine also depends on supply and
demand on the secondary market.
We hope this information is helpful. Should you have further
questions, please contact our distributor in the United States at.
memsrv@mihummel.com or visit their websites at: www.mihummel.com
With best regards,
W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik GmbH & Co KG
Mrs. Elke Wittmann
Member and Information Service
Coburger Str. 7
96472 Roedental
Germany"
Sounds like good news from a seller's point of view to me!
I am also listing some links to a site called Onlinecollectibles.com.
and it lists some information concerning secondary market value for
some Goebel figurines. Although your particular piece is not listed,
you will still be able to get an idea of the price ranges concerning
Goebel figurines, as they do list evaluations as part of their
"General Questions About Limited-Edition Collectibles" department.
This site also features online appraisals for a small fee of $9.95,
and the email address of their "expert", who is supposed to be the
largest collector and buyer of non-Hummel Goebel figurines. He claims
to have over 4,500 in his collection.
Out of curiosity, I emailed this expert and asked him if he had any
information concerning your figurine. When I received his email
answer, it was quite sparse on information, but he was definitely
interested in the possibility of purchasing the figurine. Seems that
he does not have this particular piece and is quite eager to obtain
it.
I must abide by the rules, and let you know that I cannot be the
middleman in any type of transaction. I cannot provide direct contact
information for this buyer, but I will alert you to the fact that the
information is easy enough to find on the Onlinecollectibles.com
website.
Sometimes it is just impossible to put a price tag on family heirlooms
because the memories and feelings, surrounding a piece near and dear
to the heart, are priceless. However, as far as your porcelain
figurine is concerned, it seems that you have a piece that will
increase in market value as time goes by.
If you should make the decision to part with your little guy, just
remember what wise Mrs. Wittman said about supply and demand, and you
should be able to name your own price with any potential buyer. If
the buyer is willing to pay, then and only then will you know the
secondary market value of your piece.
It was a pleasure to assist you with this information.
Thanks!
madsky101
Helpful links:
General Questions about Limited-Edition Collectibles
price ranges for secondary market values of non-Hummel figurines
onlinecollectibles.com
http://www.onlinecollectibles.com/faq/faqgoebel.htm
W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik GmbH & Co KG
http://www.goebel.de/englisch/index-deutsch.htm
Historical facts about Goebel
http://www.mihummel.com/heritage/heritage_goebel.html
Search criteria:
Online search including:
Goebel+"boy praying"
Goebel+figurine+praying
Goebel+figurine+1957
Goebel+"Bed Time Prayer Boy"
Goebel+bed time
"goebel figurine"+images
"goebel figurine"+"the way to pray"+image
goebel+"secondary market"
goebel history
Email queries were sent to the following:
W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik GmbH & Co KG
Onlinecollectibles.com |
