Christmas in July?

Nutcrackers, thanks to the popularity of the seasonal performance of the The Nutcracker, the 1892 ballet set to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, have become a symbol of the Christmas season.  However, this nutcracker is not your typical solider or Santa, but instead represents Uncle Sam resplendent in red, white, and blue.  So instead of Christmas in July, he will put a little Fourth of July in your Christmas.

Instead of a Christmas carol, Uncle Sam will serenade you with "America the Beautiful" from the music box concealed in his kettle drum.  

Turned from wood and hand painted, Uncle Sam is by the German company of Steinbach. In Germany, there is a long history of wood carving and for centuries wooden nutcrackers in the shape of soldiers have been standing sentry in German households. The stern-looking carvings are thought to bring good luck and are prominent offerings in German Christmas markets. After WWII, American soldiers stationed in Germany often brought these brightly painted nutcrackers home as gifts. Then, in 1944, the San Francisco Ballet company performed the first complete version of The Nutcracker in the United States. Soon ballet companies throughout the country began producing their own holiday versions of the ballet and nutcrackers became synonymous with the Christmas season. Steinbach, which has been producing fine wood products since 1832, innovated and renovated the nutcracker tradition by producing nutcrackers in novel forms, including figures from fairy tales or history or representing occupations or sports endeavors. The hand-crafted nutcrackers were often in limited editions and and soon collectors all over the world were clamoring for them. Although Uncle Sam's jaw opens and closes with a lever in his back like a traditional nutcracker, he is ornamental, not utilitarian. He premiered in 2001and was a limited edition of 5,000 worldwide.

All posted items are for sale at Next-to-New, but things can sell quickly!

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