Welcome to the ANRI
Collectors' Gallery
The vintage items featured here belong to ANRI
collectors
from all
over the U.S., and were contributed to the
Gallery
for your enjoyment.
(Click the photos for full
sized images)
J. W., and Bonnie Byrd have collected a variety of
excellent
ANRI religious carvings.
Bonnie was first introduced to ANRI
religious
carvings years ago when her mother gave her the Ferrandiz "Flight Into
Egypt"
carving. She now has a very nice collection of Saints, Madonnas and
other
religious carvings. She also has the Kuolt lighted, musical Creche that
has
the holy family and revolving angels as well as the 6" Ferrandiz
Nativity with the stable. These three pictures will reflect a large
portion of her collection.
The first photo shows a display of saints, the middle
photo
is a miscellaneous group including angels, and the final photo features
some
of their many Madonna carvings.
Mr. Byrd is also an expert on ANRI Limited Edition carvings from Sarah
Kay, Ferrandiz, and others from the 70s to present.
If you
need pricing information, or help identifying 'newer' carvings, please
contact
him. I recommend him highly. Click to Contact Mr. Byrd:
This kitchen diorama was contributed by John Holle who said:
I was recently presented with this gift from my 83 year
old
parents, Walter and Josephine. In the fall of 1952 my parents
took
a tour of Italy. It was somewhat nostalgic for my father who had
served
with the U.S. Fifth Army in North Africa and the eastern and
northern
parts of Italy. He was part of the Anzio invasion. In 1952
they
used their savings to visit Italy. According to the story they
tell,
besides gifts for a few family members including my brother (4 years
old)
and myself (2 years old), they had only enough money to buy one
souvenir.
They purchased the ANRI diorama in Balzano.
For the past 50 years the diorama has always been
prominently displayed in their homes in Indiana, and more recently in
Florida. It
now commands a special place in our dining room. The diorama has
a
light in the fire under the pot and a light above the table. The
lights
are controlled with a switch in the butter churn located in the middle
of
the floor. The switch has not been operable for years but the
lights
still operate.
Joe Iozzia has been collecting for several years, and owns Chameleon
Collectibles. He said:
In the photo of the musicians, the two on the ends are
brush
holders. They have a slot for two bristle brushes in back. The fellow
in
the middle is a seated figure with a jointed head. The *shopkeeper
with keys, or beermeister (photo 2) is 21" tall, the largest
example of ANRI I have found. That one always gets comments when guests
visit.
From Philly: *That figure is called
The Inn
Keeper, and was made in several sizes, but 21" is the largest.
These fabulous finds are from the collection of Kent Hill.
Kent was so excited about the prospect of being able to
share
his collection that he bought a brand new digital camera. The
first
photo has a wonderful example of the "Old Soak" bar scene, and a nice
group
of Dickens character stoppers. His sailor collection is photo 2,
musicians
in photo 3, and in photo 4, along with some special Negro characters
from
the Cotton Club bar scene, you can see Kent's original stopper
holders.
As you can see, he incorporates images of vintage ANRI labels on the
front.
Kent is a great friend who was kind enough to send me one of his
wonderful
stands. Thanks again, Kent!
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