Avon collectibles

Although some collectors may scoff at collecting items produced by Avon, I have found a number of Avon's collectibles nicely detailed and well made. As a collector of Victorian figurines, I appreciate the Mrs. Albee figurines that have been awarded over the years for outstanding sales. I admired two of the figurines displayed at a local restaurant for several years before I found out what they were. I then happened upon an entire selection of them offered for sale in a Minnesota antique shop and learned about their origin. Although I couldn't bring myself to pay the $135 - $165 price for each one at the antique store, I found the one at left in a second-hand store in Cheyenne, Wyoming for $49 then managed to get the one at right on Ebay for less than $60. Then I was contacted by a collector who sold me an entire lot of them for only $30 each.

I have also collected the "American Women", "Storybook", and "Women of the World" series of small porcelain dolls. I am told the"Women of the World" doll representing India is very beautiful but I have never seen it. In Cheyenne, Wyoming I found the "American Women" doll representing the American Indian (left) and found her quite endearing, with a carefully detailed leather-looking dress and carrying a basket of maize. Last year I found a wonderfully detailed selection of miniature ducks and geese representing six different wild species produced in the early 80s as well.