Collecting Christmas: Nuts for nutcrackers and more – The Spokesman

From Santas to snowmen, from penguins to polar bears, the holidays offer an opportunity for avid collectors to add to their stash.

Here we feature a few special collections ranging in size from small to record-breaking.

Nutty for nutcrackers

You probably wouldn’t guess that two of the largest nutcracker collections in the world are in the Northwest.

C.J. Davis, of Hayden, said the largest collection (about 7,000) is housed at the Nutcracker Museum in Leavenworth, Washington. She’s on the board of the museum. She’s also the owner of another of the largest collections in the world.

“I have 3,800,” she said.

Her father started the ball rolling in 1954 when he purchased a Tyrolean dwarf nutcracker at an antique store.

“My mom was not enthused,” Davis recalled.

Perhaps her mother had a premonition, because that small purchase quickly spawned more.

“First one shelf, then two, then a bookcase, then a room,” said Davis.

At the time of her father’s death in 1989, his collection had taken over his garage, as well.

“Dad asked me to keep the collection going,” she said.

And she has. The nutcrackers take up the second floor of her home and are on display throughout the year.

Three of them tower above her. The 6-foot clown and soldier were custom made for her father by Karl Rappl of Oberammergau, Germany. Davis commissioned a Bavarian nutcracker from him when she inherited the others.

Like all of her nutcrackers, the oversize ones really work; however, she doesn’t actually use them.

Her favorite nutcracker is Rupert. Clad in a brown

Article source: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/dec/24/collecting-christmas-nuts-for-nutcrackers-and-more/