Centuries Miniatures

With my passion for history, I have been drawn to historical portraiture in all of its forms. I found historical miniatures particularly interesting and accomodating to my limited display space. One of the first group of miniatures I purchased for my own collection were Centuries Miniatures produced by the Franklin Mint in 1982. Each miniature portrays a woman in a typical fashion of a particular year in history. Each miniature stands apx. 54 mm tall but is much "thinner" than typical 54mm miniatures. For example, their heads are about 30% smaller than average miniatures of this size. Since they are porcelain, it is also difficult to find them undamaged as well. They were originally sold by monthly subscription for $15 each and the collection included a bell jar for display. I was fortunate enough to purchase ten of these miniatures as a group for only$5 each. Lady Eleanor c. 1415 (at left) in the green dress was purchased separately for $7.95.