A History of Department 56 Villages

Have you ever read the background history of Department 56 Villages, and how they initially came to be?  We hope that you find this history as interesting as we did. Incidentally, this information was compiled from various sources found on the Internet. 

Way back in 1971, an elderly St. Louis potter, who created and sold ceramic items that he had made in his garage.  As a demo piece, he brought in a cookie jar shaped like a Victorian house to Bachmann's Florist located in Minneapolis.  Ed Bazinet, a giftware buyer for Bachmann's Florist, asked the potter to modify the cookie jar by cutting out the windows and inserting a light so that it could function as a nightlight and additionally glow like a real house.  Bazinet was pleased with the potter's outcome and many lighted houses were soon to follow. 

Now known as the 'Original Snow Village', which was comprised of 6 different houses,  these pieces initially sold for between $150 and $200 and became an instant hit.  (Not known to many, Snow Village were originally made of ceramic, not porcelain, and continue to be made of ceramic to this day, just as in the originals.)  Production became overwhelming for the St. Louis potter, so Bazinet moved production to Taiwan.  This is when the line was aptly named Department 56, the number assigned to this division at Bachmann's Florist. 

In 1984, Dicken's Village, and English Villages based on the classic "Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, was introduced.  These accessories and houses are made of fine porcelain which lends itself to depicting finer details.  Other Village Collections were soon to follow to include: 

New England Village

Alpine Village

Christmas in the City

Snow Village Halloween

North Pole Village

Disney Parks Village

Snow Frost Village

Downton Abbey (a 2014 debut)

Although Department 56 has produced several thousand different Villages and accessories, they have always enforced high-quality standards.  Each and every collectible figurine comes in a protective fitted styrofoam container and a printed cardboard sleeve. On the bottom of each house, Department 56 is sure to include the name of the piece and the year that it was copyrighted.  It is interesting to note that these dates are usually the year before their actual introduction.  Dept 56 Village pieces are constantly retired at the end of each year which causes even more of a demand by D56 collectors. We have been told from several Dept 56 collectors that the retirement stage oftentimes causes a frenzy amongst collectors trying to obtain that much desired village or accesory before it has been retired. 

Beacon's Glow Collectibles will be initially carrying the following Department 56 Villages but we plan on expanding our offerings in moving forward.  This is just a beginning to determine what both old and new Department 56 Village collectors truly want.

1.  Dicken's Village "A Christmas Carol"

2.  Downton Abbey

3.  Jim Shore Heartwood Creek Village

4.  Original Snow Village (to include Christmas Lane and Christmas Vacation)

5.  Original Snow Village Halloween

6.  Winter's Frost 

We will also be carrying Department 56 replacement parts.  If you are having difficulty finding a replacement part for anything Department 56-related, please email us at info@beaconsglow.com or give us a call at 512-990-9881 and we will do our best to track it down for you.

 

Many Dept 56 houses and accessories are already in stock and available to order, but  we are expecting the bulk of the 2014 introductions to arrive in June.

 

Quote of the Day - "Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present." - Jim Rohn