The two gingerbread men were adorable lying there atop their boxes. And they were not alone, for there were two short rows of these Christmas ornaments. I knew they were Lenox before even checking them.
If you know Lenox, you know you can spot its ivory porcelain a mile away. There’s a cutesiness about them that make them feel like vanilla ice cream and licorice (at least for me ‘cause I don’t like licorice) at the same time. It’s a feeling that causes me to flee in the other direction whenever I come near them.
But there was something about these dainty figures – maybe it was the thought of gingerbread – that caused me to stop. Or maybe it was the Christmas theme. Whatever, I decided to dawdle at the glass case that held them during my walk-through at the auction house this past weekend. There were about 25 of them, most were the usual Christmas ornaments with sleighs, Santas and reindeers. The nicest were the gingerbread men, the snowman and the teddy bear.
I could imagine a Christmas tree decorated solely with all of them, simply done so the ornaments could stand out.
Lenox has been making these annual ornaments since 1982, they are very collectible, and they are not very pricey. Every one of those at the auction were snatched up by one of the regulars who owns a shop with her husband. I assume she knows her clientele well because – as my auction buddy Janet pointed out – the prices she paid were retail.
The auctioneer sold them two, three and four at a time, and she alternately paid $10 to 22.50 each for them, engaging in back-and-forth bidding with other auction-goers. She wore them down, however.
She was forced to pay the price that you can get them for on the Lenox and other retail sites. You can even buy the company’s first ornament for $10 to $20 on eBay or $100 on replacements.com. It was an ivory ball with an embossed snowflake (or fleur-de-lis, as described on the company’s website) motif with gold-plated finials.
The company started its collections branch in 1981 after about 100 years of making its well-know ivory china and other pieces. Walter Scott Lenox founded it in 1889 in Trenton, NJ., and its earliest employees painted vases, pitchers and tea sets. When Americans took to dining in separate rooms, the company provided matched dinnerware to go with this change, and along the way crafted dinnerware for several presidents. That got started in 1918 with Woodrow Wilson and continued with four other presidents, according to the Lenox website.
The Lenox ornaments at auction were all new, still with their original boxes, likely with their certificates. Some had the year on them – 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004.
On the Lenox website, I found various snowmen going for about $30 each. Replacements.com was selling ornaments from 1998 to 2008 from $46 to $120. The 2004 snowman at auction sold for $18 to $22 on eBay. It was not listed on replacements.
Replacements.com had gingerbreads from 2001 to 2010 going for $15 to $450 (a 2005 one with a lollipop). A 2000 one with a candy cane – like the one sold at auction – was selling for $100. It sold on eBay for $22 to $40 (with multiple bids, indicating that it is popular).
The 1999 teddy bear with drum got few bids on eBay. Only one sold for $15.
Did I say that Lenox ornaments are also ubiquitous? I found page after page of them for sale on the web (and I see equally as many in retail stores). So, if you’re looking to collect, you have a lot of choices.
