Department 56 Collectible Villages

by Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher

 

“One Christmas evening, a group of friends set off to enjoy a dinner of celebration at a small country inn nestled in a quiet river town. As they rounded a bend in the road, they saw the small, old-fashioned village decorated for the holidays. The lights, like fairies, glowed and sparkled amid the freshly fallen snow. All evening, the conversation was full of Christmas memories and the visions the tiny town had evoked. Amidst the jovial banter and magical memories, the idea for a lighted Christmas village was born. That spark of an idea became a reality when, in 1976, Department 56 introduced a series of six hand-painted, ceramic buildings. The rest is history.”

— the Department 56 website

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Decorating for the Holidays

In households across the country, Thanksgiving weekend marks the start of the winter holiday season. It is a time when holiday ornaments and decorations come out from their hiding places to be carefully unpacked and set up.

So much of what we put on display during the holidays is nostalgia; items handed down through the generations, gifts from friends and loved ones, and the new traditions we started more recently and add to over the years. Department 56, with its hundreds of new releases and retired villages, buildings, and accessories, is one such tradition that has been building old-fashioned decked-for-the-holidays townscapes in homes across the country for almost 50 years!

Collectors say part of the lure of collecting Department 56 is finding the space and generating the creativity to showcase their recreated Christmas villages in all their glory.

A Business in Bloom

Department 56, a U.S. manufacturer of holiday collectibles, ornaments, and giftware, was founded in 1976 as part of Bachman’s, a retail florist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bachman’s has been in business since 1885, when founder Henry Bachman, Sr., planted potatoes, lettuce, onions, and squash on a plot of land in south Minneapolis that today houses the firm’s headquarters. From 1885 to 1914, Bachman’s raised vegetables, until Albert Bachman, one of Henry’s five sons, made the now far-reaching decision to grow flowers rather than vegetables in one of the greenhouses.

As Bachman’s flower business flourished, it continued to grow in other, new directions, as well.

The story has it that in 1976, one of Bachman’s employees, Edward Rudy “Ed” Bazinet, convinced the Bachman family to invest $50,000 in starting a new giftware division. In keeping with Bachman’s numbering system used to identify each of its departments, this new wholesale gift imports division was assigned the number 56.

Under Bazinet’s supervision, Department 56 villages grew in size, type, and popularity. When Department 56 was spun off as a $15 million subsidiary in 1984, Bazinet was appointed its first president and remained in company leadership positions until his retirement in 1997.

Bazinet died on November 20, 2017, leaving a $54 million estate.

Nearly 50 years after its founding, Department 56, now owned by Enesco, LLC and based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, continues to nurture and grow four core Christmas village collections along with a handful of Halloween villages and a dozen or so licensed product lines. Bachman’s is still a family-owned business focused on floral, home & garden products and services.

Building a Collectible Village

According to The Village Chronicler, a collector-managed website that chronicles the company’s history with a vast archival library regarding the Villages, giftware, and countless other items released by the company over its almost 50-year history, Department 56 launched its first village product line, The Original Snow Village®, in 1976 with six charming, lighted, ceramic buildings: Mountain Lodge, Gabled Cottage, the Inn, Country Church, Steepled Church, and Small Chalet. Although popular, it did not become a collectible until 1979, when Department 56 retired this first group of buildings, offered between 1976-77, to make room for 12 new additions in the line, unintentionally turning these retired items and subsequent releases into collectibles.

Through the years, the buildings in The Original Snow Village became more detailed, refined, and collectible. New attachments, accessories, and people became commonplace add-ons, and companies such as McDonald’s, Hershey’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and the Campbell Soup Company sought licenses to have their businesses incorporated into the Village.

The overwhelming success of The Original Snow Village Collection led to the development and introduction of The Heritage Village Collection in 1984. This collection of lit houses featured a smaller scale of architecture and a non-glazed porcelain finish, which provided for smaller accessories and greater detail.

First out of the kiln in this new collection was the Dickens’ Village Series. Reminiscent of Victorian England during the life and times of the famed British author, Charles Dickens, the Village launched with seven little proprietary shops and a church and would grow to include buildings significant to Dickens and referenced in such books as Nicholas Nickelby, The Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield, and the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol.

As with the Original Snow Village Collection, the collecting fury began after the retirement of the original set of Dickens’ Village buildings. Following the retirement of the little-known, hand-numbered, limited-edition set, titled The Village Mill, interest intensified, and a new collectible was born. This was the first Department 56 village to offer a hand-numbered, limited-edition building. Since then, Department 56 has released more limited editions and limited to the year of production pieces into this second most collected series than any others since. It also includes the first offered hand-numbered limited-edition accessory.

With the incredible following of the Snow Village and Dickens’ Village series under its belt, Department 56 began to focus on the development of two new extensions of The Heritage Village Collection.

In 1986, both the New England Village Series and Alpine Village Series were introduced. New England Village depicts life in the American northeast during the early 1900s. The Alpine Village Series designed to be reminiscent of life in the Alps and countryside of Austria and Switzerland, would later grow to incorporate licensed pieces associated with the musical The Sound of Music.  Both feature their own hand-numbered limited-edition pieces, which adds to their appeal among collectors.

Over the next three plus decades, Department 56 has focused on annual releases, accessories, village expansion add-ons, licensing agreements, limited edition releases, retirements, and new village scenes as proven strategies for growing its business and keeping fans and collectors engaged. These strategies have also led to a strong secondary market among retailers and collectors. Although not as high in value as it has been in the past, retired, limited-release, and numbered pieces continue to be highly sought after by collectors and can be found on numerous websites in addition to Department 56’s online e-commerce site.

As the brand reaches the half-century mark, its popularity among collectors remains strong. In 2024, 85 new product releases, including houses and accessories, were introduced, ranging in price from a high of $325 (Walt Disney World Haunted Mansion) to a range of accessories that can be purchased for under $50. An annual Village Catalog of new releases, fun for fans and collectors, can be purchased on the Department 56 website.

Department 56 Collector Resources

The popularity of Department 56 over the years naturally extended itself to building online communities on Facebook and other collector sites and social clubs where fans and collectors can share knowledge, display their village scenes, and buy and sell items.

NCC stands for “National Council of 56 Clubs” and was founded in 1992 to serve as an umbrella organization for Department 56 Collector Clubs in the United States and Canada. Its site, https://www.ncc56.com, lists upcoming events, a Club Locator, and Tips & Ideas for collectors. The group also has a private Facebook page where those who love Department 56 villages and collecting them can join to receive inspiration, and guidance, and share their creations and ideas.

Another great online resource is The Village Chronicler. This site was founded by a passionate collector with a lifelong professional and personal connection with many key players including the late founder Ed Bazinet, key retailers, and artists among others. This free, invaluable resource provides history lists of items in each collection, linkage of all accessories to their respective buildings, product pictures, and much more.

HookedonVillages.com is a great resource for finding retired and hard-to-find specialty items by village. Christmas Village Collectors on Facebook is another resource. It’s full of inspirational display images and allows fans and collectors to learn from one another, ask questions, and buy and sell.

The most extensive information site on the internet, however, is Department56.com, with complete product lists, history releases, licensed brands, and all the inspiration one needs to add on or start a new collection.

For those looking to see what’s out there on the market and what things go for, both new and pre-owned, eBay is the place to go. Search “Department 56” and about 190,000 results are offered at any one time. Google “Department 56” and dozens of other online giftware and retail sites appear if you are looking for something specific.

Building a Village of Your Own

Want to know more about collecting Department 56 products? You might want to first explore the many Villages introduced over the decades to find a theme that suits your personal style and interests. A good place to start for an overview of the Department 56 Village Series is: https://department56.com/pages/start-collecting

This site also includes “Handy Items to Have When Setting Up Your Display,” such as an AC/DC adapter to power accessories that use a battery box; Tacky Wax to secure standing figurines and accessories such as streetlights and trees; and Village Snow to provide a realistic look to your village scene and help hide cords.

While online sites such as eBay, Etsy, and Department 56 online retailers are great sources for both new and pre-owned items, collectors say thrift stores and flea markets can offer surprising finds. The best way to authenticate? Each Department 56 item has its name on the bottom. Buildings are also dated with the year of copyright rather than the year of issue.

Local collector clubs and the social gatherings they sponsor are also great ways to get inspiration and guidance and connect with other fans. According to the National Council of 56 Clubs (NCC), “There are 70 Department 56 clubs nationwide with active and engaging members of all ages and from all walks of life.”  For a list of a club near you, visit https://ncc56.com

Need a little more, less personal form of inspiration? Watch any number of the YouTube videos you’ll find when you search “Department 56.” Collectors are more than happy to show you how they set up their villages and give you an armchair tour of their finished displays.

While selecting a village and then trying to find all the houses, items, and accessories in that collection is one way to go, the real fun and creativity, say collectors, is in mixing and matching pieces that appeal to you to create a traditional holiday display that is uniquely your own.

 

 

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December 2024: Holiday Traditions