Civil War figurines and miniatures

An unpainted crushed pecan shell figurine.

In 1993, my husband and I helped my daughter move to Charleston, South Carolina. After we got her settled in we had a chance to do some site seeing. We toured Boone Hall Plantation where the miniseries "North and South" was filmed and took a launch out to Fort Sumpter. On the weekends, the old slave market in downtown Charleston is converted into a thriving flea market and street fair. There I found some figurines of Civil War soldiers made out of a resin created with pecan shells.

I bought five of them and wish ever since I had bought all the seller had as I have not been able to find any more since then. The pecan resin takes paint very well and I was quite pleased with my first effort. I even added gray streaks to the beard and mud smudges to the boots.

1990 Melanie Wilkes miniature by the
Franklin Mint

I also discovered that the Franklin mint produced some beautifully detailed resin "Gone With The Wind" miniatures. I was able to win the bid on several of them up on Ebay. Some of them come glued inside a small ornate bell jar but I actually prefer the stand-alone versions.

1990 Scarlett O'Hara miniature by the
Franklin Mint

Victorian figurines and miniatures

I have always admired the graceful feminine fashions of the Victorian era so I have been naturally drawn to any figurines I encountered dressed like the men and women of that period. I began by collecting Victorian figurines by Home Design. The Home Design figurines are really nicely detailed and I have found them for $20 or less.

On Ebay, I also found some exquisite Victorian lady Christmas ornaments from Louis Nicole in the $20 range, too. At my local flea market, I happened upon a wonderful set of snow white Victorian children figurines. They were priced at only $25 but I walked on by then returned the next day and they were marked down half price. Even though my display space was at a premium, I couldn't pass them up. I later saw them at a Department 56 store for a lot more than the $12.50 I paid for them! I had similar luck with a beautiful Lenox china figurine. I had previously admired several at an antique store on the coast with price tags of $125 each. Then I saw one in mint condition at the flea market for $50 and talked the vendor down to $35!

The Franklin Mint has produced some wonderful Victorian miniatures. These beautifully detailed miniatures were produced by the mint in 1984.

Each vignette stands about 2 3/4" high and depicts a scene from the upperclass social life from 1898 to 1908 - garden parties, ice skating, attending the opera, the theater, the races, etc. The figurine at the left is entitled "At the Cafe-Concert 1906". I had to bid on them individually on Ebay but managed to acquire them for between $7.95 and $10.95 each.