Need to know more....size....what are they....dogs? Ladies in fancy dress....elves?... How big? Porcelain? colors? What color is the stamp on the bottom? Can you post pictures? Linda C

LOL, Linda....and thank you, Rosalynd....I realized after posting this pic that it's kind of hard to distinguish against the white Haviland. Here's a little better pic of it. The box itself is glazed but the figure is not, and it looks like bisque to me. I believe the box is porcelain because you can see though it when you hold it up to light. You're right about it being a matchbox....inside the lid, which is also unglazed, there are ridges all along the underside. There are no markings at all. When I say it's been in the family "forever" it means that it came from my father's side of the family, and they go back almost that long....lol. I'm almost 50, and my mom was born in 1911, my dad in 1917.....my dad's parents married later than was the norm back then, too. This family hardly ever got rid of anything, so I've ended up with a lot of stuff, not that that's a bad thing. I have many things that were my greatgrandparents', too, but I was curious about this little box. When you have a few minutes, take a stroll though the house, you'll see what I mean.... Here is a link that might be useful: Lori's pix

If you believe the figurines to be the same man, it suggests that it would be a man whose image has been replicated often and who would have piqued your great grandmother's imagination. It would help if we knew your general geographic location, or that of your great grandmother. It may be a figure who is well known in one area, more than another. What this figure reminded me of are some images I've seen of Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman). He is often depicted as a long-haired fellow in raggedy clothes and a sack from which he pulls out apple seeds and scatters them on the ground as he walks along. In reality he owned a massive amount of land just a county over from where I live and he started up apple orchards in numverous places and then moved on.....and he would distribute his wares to pioneers as he journeyed around evangelizing to them of the Swedenborgian faith. I had an Ancestor who was Swedenborgian and that led me into reading up on him. Have no idea of who this is, but suspect it's some character or other with a story like that, or perhaps you had a great grandfather who liked to whittle, lol. Yes, better pictures might help if you can get them. Good luck.

I have spent a great deal of time Googling and reading through Hummels books. In fact, that's where I read about Berta Hummels early sketches that indeed were NOT of children, but of older men and women. There is a Hummel #181 named Old Man Reading Newspaper. This piece was made as a sample only and was not approved by the Siessen Convent for production since it was not considered typical of her work. It is an exact reproduction of one on Sister M.I. Hummel's early sketches. It was listed as a closed number on Feb 18 1948. This is in the Robert L. Miller collection. Some of the other Hummels like this are Hummel #189 Old Woman Knitting, Hummel #190 Old Woman Walking To Market and Hummel #191 Old Man Walking To Market. Again these pieces were made as Samples only and were not approved by the Siessen Convent for production since it was not considered typical of her work. They are exact reproductions of some of Sister M.I. Hummel's early sketches. There is also another Hummel made and considered for production, but never approved. It is of a girl standing with a dog in her arms. It was sculpted by Arthur Moeller in 1943. This sample also does not have the M.I. Hummel siganture. This is Hummel #158(CN) Listed as closed Number on Sept 17 1943. This information was taken out of Price Guide to M.I. Hummel Figurines, Plates and More by Robert L. Miller. I found a link to this very book online below. Unfortunately no picture so you can see for yourself these figurines were not of children. So that information is to the contrary of what texasredhead has found. Maybe she should have done more Googling. Again I wasn't saying this piece was a Hummel. Only that is was from someone that collected Hummels, having 97 figurines and several plates and bells, and giving reference of the history of the piece the best we know. I was only trying to find out if anyone recognized this type of figurine or knew who it was made by. Thank you Lindac for the links. They give me at least something else to help identify this figurine. Janet Here is a link that might be useful: Hummel 181