The weeks are already passing by quickly; just last week it was Thanksgiving and now the rush is on for Christmas and that means unpacking our favorite holiday decorations and taking great care to place them in the perfect spots around our homes. For me, Holt-Howard Christmas collectibles have so much charm and evoke nostalgia of Christmas’s past (way before I was born) and it is these wonderful figurines and kitschy collectibles that bring a smile to my face every year and, if I am being totally honest, make me smile everyday because I have many of them in my treasured cabinet right by my work desk and can gaze at them every single day.
I have a blog post about collecting Holt-Howard Pixieware you can read that has information and some history about the Holt-Howard company and how it started, why they moved their ceramic manufacturing to Japan and has some neat pictures of the famous Holt-Howard Pixieware collectibles if you want to learn a little bit about the company.
Last week we published post number 1 in our Vintage Christmas Collecting Series on collecting vintage NOEL sets and this week’s post is all about collecting Holt-Howard Christmas goodies so grab your favorite beverage, sit back and relax as I share some of my favorite Holt-Howard collectibles with you.
You can’t have Christmas without Santa Claus. Holt Howard has a couple variations on Santa from a winking Santa to a Starry-Eyed Santa. The Starry-Eyed Santa has always been incredibly collectible and highly desired by collectors but this year its popularity has dramatically increased and prices have skyrocketed. I have just started my collection of Starry-Eyed Santa pieces and here are the large dish and two smaller nut dishes or horderves plates. Starry-Eyed Santa was introduced in 1959 and has so much Mid-Century Modern charm with his starburst eyes, whimsical beard and gold flecks, he exudes wonderful holly jolly and I can’t wait to grow my collection. The set features mugs, a pitcher, chip and dip tray, ashtray, salt and pepper shakers, candle holder and a candle holder trio. A recent Ebay auction on December 2, 2020 had a Holt-Howard Starry-Eyed Santa pitcher and four mugs set go for $535.00. A single mug can go for $150.00, and a pair of salt and pepper shakers for over $200.00. If you are out treasure hunting and spot a Holt-Howard Starry Eyed Santa piece you’d better snap it up!!
Continuing with Holt-Howard Santa’s, how adorable are these candle holders. We’ve got a western themed Santa with his stagecoach and a pair of more traditional Santa’s with their sacks of gifts as the candle holder. So much detail on these pieces and they are full of bright holiday color. Another classic is the Holt-Howard winking Santa, and you can see his jolly face and big blue eye, the pitcher has a set of mugs to complete the set.
Angels are a favorite of mine to collect and Holt-Howard’s Ermine Angels are so lovely. The Ermine Angel set features candle holders, salt and pepper shakers and a planter. The angels have serene faces with eyes downcast, they wear snow-white robes with lots of spaghetti trim detailing that mimic ermine and they have gold sponged accents. Their faces are so pretty with rosy cheeks and long eyelashes and the set is very dainty and a great example of high quality 1950s ceramics. The Ermine Angel set is frequently available and pieces can be obtained in the $50-$75 range.
A fun whimsical pair is the Holt Howard Lil Salt and Lil Pepper Shakers blue eyed candy cane kids. These have big blue eyes and make a wonderful addition to your holiday decor. These shakers are rare and hard to find, they can range in price from $150-$225.
My favorite vintage Holt-Howard set in my collection are these fabulous girl candleholders. These are shopper girls dressed in their red holiday dresses, spaghetti trim detail on their dress hems, fluffy scarves, berets on their heads with spaghetti trim pompoms and they carry a stack of Christmas presents that make up the candleholders. The Holt-Howard girl candleholders also have the sweetest most expressive faces with blue-black eyes, long eyelashes, rosy cheeks and red lips. This is a very rare and super hard to find set, if this were available in today’s market you could expect to pay $275-$325. If you are fortunate and come across the set, be sure to check for damage on the necks, scarves, packages, and that they have their spaghetti detailing intact.
About the Vintage Christmas Collecting Series: This six-part series of blog posts and pictures focuses on vintage and mid-mod Christmas collectibles from the late 1940s-1960s, giving you the insights on starting a collection with tips on prices and where to find these treasures as well as tips for adding to your collection and scoring the rare and hard-to-find pieces. Both new and seasoned collectors will learn new things so they can enjoy collecting vintage Christmas items year-round.
Upcoming Vintage Christmas Collecting Series:
- Collecting vintage NOEL Christmas candleholders, figurines, and bells – November 27, 2020
- Vintage Holt-Howard Christmas collectibles – December 4, 2020
- Pretty Ladies – Vintage Christmas headvases – December 11, 2020
- Collecting vintage Christmas angels – December 18, 2020
- Have yourself a Mid-Mod Christmas – December 24, 2020
- Collecting vintage Christmas year-round – January 2, 2021
Happy collecting everyone!!
