"Lea Hurst House"
The Dickens' Village Series® 808869
"Florence Nightingale" Accessory 808897

Did you know that the new "Lea Hurst House" porcelain building in The Dickens' Village Series® was inspired by the summer home of the wealthy Nightingale family? Their now famous daughter was Florence Nightingale who was named for the city in Italy where she was born in 1820. The younger of two daughters born to an upper middle-class British family, Florence was given all advantages possible of a young girl in the Victorian age - tutor educated, well traveled, and independent.

At the age of 24 Florence was drawn to a career of service to the poor in nursing which in the 19th century which was not considered to be a highly trained or respected profession. After visiting the hospitals of the poor for eleven years, Florence met a group of nuns who impressed her with their disciplined and well-organized methods. She studied with these nurses and went on to do charitable nursing during the Crimean Wars in the 1850s and elevated nursing to a respectable profession, She believed that good care and nutrition were essential to the recovery of patients.

The Lea Hurst estate, located in Derbyshire, England, is an example of the upper middle-class setting for the early life of Florence Nightingale who was often referred to as "the lady with the lamp".

There is much more to learn about this remarkable woman so I hope that you will do a little research to learn more about her. I know that you all enjoy knowing the stories that influence the designs in our Villages and I hope to share more with you in the future. Besides knowing a little of the history of this piece, I think that it would be a wonderful gift to give your favorite nurse or nursing student.

"Foggy Point Platform"
Snow Village Halloween 809379

One of the new pieces for the Snow Village Halloween is called "Foggy Point Platform" (809379). This piece is certain to become the centerpiece of many Snow Village Halloween displays. When we think of Halloween, the spookier the atmosphere, the better, and this piece absolutely fits the bill!

The entire platform (two pieces) is made of resin and includes a reservoir/ basin for water which will produce "fog" which is quite cool. There is a motor that produces the fog and LED lighting which add to the special effects. It is important to take a few minutes to read the "Set-Up Introductions" and review these each season so that you can successfully use this piece in your display for many, many years. One thing our testers learned about this piece is worth mentioning. Because the fog is directed to "bubble" over the edges of the lower basin, direct overhead ventilation may change the flow of fog and cause condensation on any surrounding surface so it is important to put the platform on some sort of absorbent material with a sheet of plywood or Styrofoam beneath that to protect the furniture or floor where the display is located. These recommendations are included in the instructions - If you read them! We hope that many of you will send us electronic photos of how you include this platform in your Village (mslittown@department56.com) and we will share them in the Collectors' Section of the web site. It will also be interesting to see which lighted building you think will look the best on the base which is quite large and can hold a wide variety of buildings that have been introduced into this popular Village.

I was interested in the origin of the name so, of course, I had to do a little research. It seems that "Foggy Bottom" is meteorological term that describes an area of low land that is susceptible to the concentration of fog and industrial smoke. One of the most famous "Foggy Bottom" areas is located west of Washington, D.C. and was home to many early immigrant settlers. Today "Foggy Bottom" contains many historic homes and buildings (the earliest built in the late 1700s), and buildings of interest including the infamous Watergate complex. The rather spooky sounding name is well suited to the platform in the Snow Village Halloween because it not only describes what the piece does but it helps to create a mysterious aura for your display. We hope that you all enjoy this piece as much as we enjoyed creating it for you.

"St. Luke's Church"
(Dickens' Village Series® 25th Anniversary Edition - 808858)

On April 2, 1836, just two days after the publication of the first installment of "Pickwick Papers", 27 year old Charles Dickens married 20 year old Catherine Hogarth at Saint Luke's Church in the Chelsea section of London.

The church had been dedicated October 18, 1824, the feast day of Saint Luke. It was designed and constructed to accommodate the expanding congregation in the area by architect James Savage. Savage was one of the foremost authorities on medieval architecture in England at the time and the design was the first Neo-Gothic church built in London. Limestone from quarries in Bath (England) was used for the exterior. The flying buttresses and pinnacles added an air of height and feeling of flight to the structure.

Hugh Easton designed a replacement East Window for St. Luke's that was installed in 1959. The original 500 square foot window was damaged during the air raids over London during World War II. The new window was designed in honor of the Holy Trinity and incorporated images of many Saints.

Charles and Catherine were married on a Saturday morning, which fit with Charles' increasingly busy work schedule. The group of witnesses to the nuptials was small; the Hogarth and Dickens' families and a couple of Charles' work associates including Mr. Thomas Beard, who was asked to serve as Best Man. According to a friend, Catherine was "a bright, pleasant bride."

Charles presented Catherine with a sandalwood work-box inlaid with ivory with the inscription, From Chas. Dickens to Kate, April 2, 1836. A work-box was a Victorian term used to describe a box where sewing materials and tools were kept, so the gift was a fancy wood sewing kit, a very necessary item for a young Victorian woman setting up housekeeping.

Following the ceremony the group retired to York Place, the Hogarth home, for a wedding breakfast celebration. Later Charles and Catherine traveled to Chalk, near Rochester for their honeymoon.

"Christmas Market, The Gingerbread Booth"
#807296 Alpine Village Series®

Continuing our Alpine series of Christkindl Market booths, the second in this series offers special gingerbread treats, a holiday tradition from Germany. Marketplaces made up of individual booths, are a holiday custom from Germany that began in the 18th Century and have spread to the United States. Each offering a specialty item or Christmastime tradition, our second market booth features special cakes and gingerbread delectable treats prepared especially for the holiday. Have you ever wondered how gingerbread became such an integral part of the Christmas season? Made from the Ginger Root plant, native to Malaysia, it was originally a medicinal product used to cure an upset stomach. The Crusaders brought this spice to Europe and by the 11th Century monks were baking it into gingerbread for special religious celebrations. Their creations became the gingerbread houses we still make today. The first gingerbread man is credited to Queen Elizabeth I of England who impressed guests to her court with what they called gingerbread portraits. The tradition of the gingerbread house started in Germany after the famous Brothers Grimm published their famous collection of German fairy tales titled "Children?s And Household Tales" in 1812. One tale related the story of Hansel and Gretel, left in the forest to starve, and how they found a house made of edible gingerbread and sugary decorations. Nuremberg, Germany quickly became the "gingerbread capital" and the best tasting gingerbread was offered by a Guild of master bakers known as the Lebkuchler. Softly lit from within and by a lantern in front, the porcelain booth comes complete with battery pack, and is AC/DC adapter compatible (56.55026, sold separately). This set of 2 includes the market vendor.

"The Neilan Lund Gallery"
805512 Dickens' Village Series®

New for 2009, "The Neilan Lund Gallery" is a fitting tribute in porcelain to the man considered to be considered the "Master Architect" for The Heritage Village Collection, Neilan Lund. Neilan brought the concepts of Dickens' Village to Department 56 in 1984 based on drawings he envisioned to be used as stationary products. His design contributions laid the foundation for not only The Dickens' Village Series but for New England Village Series®, Alpine Village Series®, and the North Pole Series™. In recent years, Neilan followed another artistic passion-painting. His favorite subjects are still life and landscape settings. Designed by his daughter and collaborative design partner, Barbara Lund, the piece includes artwork in the windows that are replicas of his actual work - which are beautifully lit in the windows of the gallery.

"Victoria & Albert Museum"

Did you know that the new "Victoria & Albert Museum" (799992) was originally called the South Kensington Museum? It was an outgrowth of the Great Expedition, held in London in 1851 which featured expeditions of culture and industry. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's spouse, was an enthusiastic promoter of this exhibition and persuaded the government to form the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to establish the viability of hosting such an exhibition and later a permanent site where the common man could view these marvelous objects d'arts and wonders of the industrial revolution.

The museum started its massive collection of artifacts (which now number 4.5 million pieces) in its first residence in Marlborough House in 1852 but moved within months to Somerset House. At this time it was called "The Museum of Manufactures". Queen Victoria presided over the grand opening of the current museum site in Cromwell Gardens in South Kensington in 1857.

It was renamed in honor of the royal couple in 1899, when Queen Victoria, in her last public appearance, laid to cornerstone of the Aston Webb building. Aston Webb, a well known English architect designed the facade of the main museum building in 1891 and also redesigned the facade of the royal residence, Buckingham Palace in 1913.

Department 56 is honored to have this building included as part of the "Historical Landmark Series™" and feel that it is an important piece to include in the Dickens' Village Series®. Each of the Collectors' Edition pieces will be hand-numbered and will be limited to 9,000 pieces.

American Diner - 799939 "Christmas In The City"

While this is not the first diner designed for our Villages -- "Diner" 56.50784 (1986-1987) and Shelly's Diner 56.55008 (1999 - current), this is the first diner for "Christmas In The City" and its a beauty! The details both inside and out add to the design and make this a wonderful tribute to a style of restaurant that is fading on the American landscape.

A classic "diner"restaurant is defined as a prefabricated structure built in a factory and reassembled in a permanent location. The purpose, of course, is to serve food. Prior to the establishment of what we call "fast food" restaurants, as early as the mid-19th century sandwiches and coffee were sold to factory workers from a basket that was carried and later a horse drawn cart.

Webster's Dictionary defines a diner as "a restaurant in the shape of a railroad car." The word "diner" is a derivative of "dining car" and diner designs reflect the styling borrowed from railroad dining cars. Most diners are equipped with a counter, stools and a food prep area. In the days of the American depression decommissioned railroad passenger cars and trolleys were often converted into diners by those who could not afford to purchase a new diner.

And of course, the meal that most patrons went to a diner for was the "blue-plate special." The name came from the plate that a meal was served on a blue plate, usually divided with sections like the plates used in school cafeterias . The meal consisted of meat and three sides, usually vegetables. And don't ask for substitutions! They were not allowed, who cares is you don't like beets, if beets were part of this daily special you got them anyway. The price was right, a "square" meal and a cup of coffee for a quarter! Oh, how times have changed.

The Nokomis House

The new “Nokomis House” for The Original Snow Village® is a handsomely designed residence that would look great in any Village display. But where did the unusual name come from?

We all know that artists are influenced by their surroundings, the geography, the architecture and the culture. Collectors who live in Minnesota may know that there is a lake by this name in the Twin Cities, a part of the chain of lakes connected by Minnehaha Creek. The word ‘nookomis” is an Ojibwe word that means “my grandmother,” so the name can be described as My Grandmother’s House. This word may also be familiar to poetry readers, and those of us who learned to recite lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s immortal poem. “Song of Hiawatha”: (Nokomis was Hiawatha’s grandmother who raised him.)

By the shores of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
Dark behind it rose the forest,

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a very bright young man who was born in Portland, Maine in 1807 and attended Bowdoin College which was founded by his grandfather. Longfellow was adept at many foreign languages and interested in Native American history and lore.

Written in 1855, this is probably Longfellow’s best known work but 19th century literary critics did not give it the high marks we do today. In the 20th century this epic poem has been parodied by many – every one from the Smothers’ Brothers, Walt Disney and Saturday Night Live.

As with many of the buildings in The Original Snow Village, beside the local connection for the naming, the architecture of “Nokomis House” is the result of our creative team’s familiarity with the residential neighborhoods in Minneapolis that surround Lake Nokomis.