}`DRAFT€!}.mt 10 .hm 3 .h1Grayson Enterprises ltd h”   „   „œ   „    „€  One time rights .h2Page #. Π    „   „”   „   „œ   „    „€  Copyright 1991 .h3 „„   „   „Œ   „   „”   „   „œ   „    „€  1,041 words .LS2    ††! ANGEL COLLECTIBLES   ΚΚ! Written and photographed by June Grayson       „„    „„  By now there must be almost as many earthly angels as there   are heavenly ones, given the zeal of America's angel collectors.   Is there any home that does not have at least one angel figurine tucked away in some corner of a cupboard?  „„  Angels have figured in every century and every culture. As   God's messengers, angels move between heaven and earth and bridge   the gap between God and man. Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism,   Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism speak of angels in   their religious writings.  „„  In some ages, angels are more important players than in   others. In Jewish history in the Genesis and Exodus writings, the   angel of the Lord guided Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The angel of   the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush. The angel of God  π03 Š led the children of Israel after they escaped from Egypt and   wandered in the Sinai desert.  „„  For Christians, angel choirs heralded the birth of Jesus in   Bethlehem. Later, an angel announced the resurrection of Jesus   and guarded the empty tomb. In all, there are over 400 refer  ences to angels in the Bible.  „„  Angels provided the inspiration for much of the stunning   Medieval and Renaissance art and literature. Medieval theolo  gians studied angelology, debating esoteric questions such as how   many angels could sit on the head of a pin.   „„  Dante's Divine Comedy, around 1320, helped establish the   hierarchy of angels into three groupings: 1) seraphim, cherubim,   and thrones, 2) dominions, virtues, and powers, and 3) principal  ities, archangels, and angels (the lowest order). Both Archan  gels and Angels are messengers. Angels are the guardians of the   innocent and the just.  „„  Interest in angels receded with the rise of rationalism and   the Scientific Age. Most theologians were embarrassed to talk   about angels. If they talked about them at all, it was to agree   that angels were only symbolic representations of a spiritual   reality.  „„  Now angels are in again, not only for collectors, but also   for serious students of religious phenomena. Yet for those people   privileged to have been touched by angel wings, no further proof  π0- Š for the existence of angels is necessary.   „„  You don't need to have had an angel experience, however, to   enjoy collecting angels. Such collectibles, formerly available   only around the Christmas holidays, are now offered in stores and   catalogs all year. Collectors who started their angel collec  tions as Christmas items now leave them on display throughout   their homes continually.  „„  Antique angel items are scarce. You are not apt to find one   of the 18th century German or Italian porcelain figures first   made by companies such as Meissen and KPM. Those treasures are   in museums or private collections along with altar and nativity   figures from the same period.  „„  The angel Gabriel blowing his horn was a popular subject for   weather vanes seen atop Early American homes and barns in the   1800s. Current reproductions abound.  „„  Angels were popular design elements during the Victorian   Age. Many homes cherished a version of the well-known print of   the Guardian Angel, protecting two little children as they   crossed a rickety bridge in the dark of night. Another Guardian   Angel version was a Staffordshire figurine from England depicting   the two first-born children of the popular Queen Victoria. Angel   cherubs adorned terra-cotta garden decorations, twined around the   borders of silver picture frames, and served as jewelry motifs.  π0- Š „„  If you come upon a Tiffany stained glass window 24 by 30   inches, call the police. This item was stolen earlier this year   from Irreplaceable Artifacts, New York City.  „„  Christmas tree decorations and lights have used angels as   designs from the Victorian Age up to the present time. Barbara   Agin of New Jersey has more than 1,600 angels for her angel   Christmas tree.  „„  The most popular Christmas cards feature angels in their   design. Store owners report that other paper products such as   angel greeting cards, wrapping paper, and stationery are impossi  ble to keep in stock.  „„  Still, the most popular angel collectibles of all time are   versions of the beloved Guardian Angel. Marilynn Webber of   Marilynn's Angels by Mail in Riverside, California, cites the   Lefton porcelain figurine which comes either with or without a   music box has her consistent best seller (see accompanying pic  ture to this article). "People are tired of materialism," Webber   thinks. "They hunger for spiritual values."  „„  Some collectors have the discipline to limit themselves to a   sub-category of angel items- the Hummels, Lladros, and Precious   Moments, for example. However, angels are so appealing in any   form - and usually being small, they don't take up much room -   that collections numbering in the hundreds and thousands are not   at all uncommon. Joyce Berg, featured in the March, 1990, issue   π0- Šof THE SMITHSONIAN, has over 9,500 angels and is still counting. (If you have a bigger collection, please write me in care of this   newspaper at once).  „„  I don't know of any reference book yet devoted to angel   collectibles alone. You will find them listed individually under   other headings in the yearly price guides, Christmas collectibles   books, and specific manufacturers' price guides.  „„  Every bookstore has magnificent coffee table books featuring   reproductions of angels in art. Every religious book store has   both popular and theological treatises on angel lore. h¬&    „„  Two angel collector clubs serve angel collectors, and many   collectors choose to belong to both of them:  „„  The Angel Collectors Club of America,   „„  Angels of the World, Inc. „œ    „„  Between them, they serve almost 1,000 collectors through   regular newsletters and annual meetings. Unlike most collector   clubs, but totally in keeping with their interest in angels and   all angels represent, these clubs act as charitable service   clubs. The national organizations support the Make-A-Wish Foun  dation, which helps terminally ill children. Local clubs are   encouraged to support benevolent projects in their own communi  ties. „    „„  Still, I am convinced that there are thousands of additional   π0- Šangel collectors without formal membership in these two clubs.  Through their anonymous deeds of loving kindness, perhaps they   represent those angels unaware, of whom the Bible speaks, and   make this world a better place to live.  „„   „   „Œ   I will not wish these riches  „„   „   „Œ   Or the glow of greatness,  „„   „   „Œ   But that wheresoe'er thou go,  „„   „   „Œ   Some weary heart may gladden at thy smile,  „„   „   „Œ   Some weary heart know sunshine for awhile.  „„   „   „Œ   And so they years shall leave a track of light,  „„   „   „Œ   Like angel footsteps passing through the night.  „   „Œ   „   „”   „   „œ  - Author unknown.     rr! ####