WHY IS THERE A BACKSTAMP?
As the official, legal mark which
Goebel places on M.I. Hummel products, the backstamp is your assurance
that the item you own is authentic. While there have been many
attempts to fake similar-looking figurines, only those with one of the
backstamps shown in this issue were created by Goebel.
WHAT DO THE CROWN AND WG MEAN?
WG is the monogram of William
Goebel who with his father, Franz Detleff, was a founder of the company. In
its earliest form which first appeared
in 1900 the crown demonstrated his
loyalty to the imperial family. Later, the
crown design was simplified to represent a baronet's hat which was a part
of the Goebel family's heraldic emblem. (This symbol is frequently
referred to as the Wide Ducal Crown.)
The crown mark in slightly different form was still in use
as a mark for all Goebel products when the first M.I.
Hummel products were made in 1935.
WHY DO BACKSTAMPS CHANGE?
There are many reasons ranging from
sentimental to political. As in the case
of the 1991 backstamp, historic
events influenced the design and
content. The prime example until now
was the use of the "U.S. Zone" backstamps used from 1946 to 1948.
The use of the bee which began
in 1950 had quite different origins. In
Germany Hummel means "bumble-bee." Instituted four years after the
death of Sister Maria Innocentia, this
backstamp was a tribute to the beloved artist.
DOES A BACKSTAMP TELL ME A FIGURINE'S AGE?
Only in a limited way. Because the
marks have changed on an irregular
schedule and sometimes with a decade or more between changes, the
backstamp can only offer general information about exact age.
There are, of course, a very few
exceptions. In the late 1950s, there
were a few annual but very minor
modifications; the differences are not
immediately distinguishable without
careful study. (See the Primer on
pages 8 and 9.) Since 1979, the painters initials which appear on the base
of the figurine have been accompanied by the handwritten year in which
it was decorated. In the future, the
special First Issue backstamp which
will appear on newly released figurines in the first year of production
and the Final Issue backstamp used
in the last production year of a retiring
figurine, will also be reliable dating
devices.
DOES A BACKSTAMP AFFECT THE VALUE?
As you d expect some older figurines
tend to have more value. In some
cases this is because few were produced or because of variations in the
motifs design. Secondary-market authority Robert L. Miller, for example,
suggests a rule of thumb in The No.1
Price Guide to M.I. Hummel...a
figurine with the original crown mark
has a value of three to five times the
current list price, if the figurine is still in
production. But it is more the relative
rarity or age, rather than the backstamp itself, which governs secondary
market values.
WHAT ARE THE OTHER MARKINGS ON THE BOTTOM OF A FIGURINE?
Markings vary slightly depending on
the age and perhaps more importantly the size of the base of the piece.
Typically, on pieces currently in
production you'll find the Hum number incised. The year incised into the
base is the copyright year, not the
year of production. (Prior to 1970 the
copyright year did not appear on all
pieces.) The small handwritten initials
are those of one of the painters who
decorated the figurine. In addition to a
Goebel backstamp, certain pieces
may also feature an additional backstamp identifying them as objects
with special distinctions. You may be
most familiar with the special backstamps which appear on Club Special
Edition pieces and figurines from
the Century Collection. Among other
backstamps are those which identify
a figurine as a first or final edition.
HOW ARE BACKSTAMPS APPLIED TO FIGURINES?
The original crown mark was sometimes incised and sometimes
stamped in black ink. Since the late
1970s, the backstamp has been applied just prior to the glaze firing.
Until that time, it was generally applied after the bisque firing, but
before the glazing process.