The most confusing of all collectibles as far as I'm concerned are the M.I.Hummel figurines. Right away the confusion start's with the name alone. Is it "M.I or M.J. ??? Well, it's M.I. The initials stand for Maria Innocentia. The " I " in the signature is the old German script which to us is a " J". The Goebel Fabrik has been creating figurines from many artist's drawings for many years but is most known for the Hummel figurines. To name a few that Goebel has produced are Disney figurines, Norman Rockwell, Blumenkinder, Friar Tuck, De Grazia, Co-Boys and of course the Modanna's that were the result of the talent of many artist's. To add to the confusion Goebel uses the same trade marks, full bee, stylized bee, etc.etc. on most all of their other products. When someone has a figurine and it has the bee or one of the other marks they immediately assume they have a Hummel. Also products that have the name Bertha Hummel is also associated with a Hummel. A genuine Hummel has the M.I.Hummel signature incised on the figurine.It is mostly found on the base but can be on other areas. I must mention here that you can find a genuine Hummel without the signature, especially one that is from the crown era. Occasionally in the molding process, as a mold was used over and over again the incised signature would become very faint or none-excistent. Now days the quality control is much better and you won't find this on a new Hummel. All products that have the Bertha Hummel name are from the period before she joined the convent and was ordained as a nun. Her name was changed to Maria Innocentia Hummel. At this time the Goebel company received the sole rights to manufacture the figurines that are based on her drawings and include the M.I.Hummel signature. The year was 1935 and the crown mark was born. There also are earlier Hummels that were marked with "FF15" or "FF16" and also with Just "Hum". This was before it was decided to use her full name and the crown. Rule of thump is to allways look for the M.I. Hummels signature. Below you will see some examples of other Goebel figurines that use the same trademark as you will find on the Hummels. More Information can be found on other pages. |
These are the " Red Heads " |
Misc.Figurines By Goebel. All have the bee trademark |
Last but not least Goebel's Co- Boys below ...... |
All the figurines you see here are by Goebel and have the bee trademark. Are they Hummels? No...they are Goebels. |
