This Elvis Presley Collectibles Nutcracker stands 16 inches tall including his 6¾ inch oval, wooden, base. The Elvis Presley Collectibles is wearing a very flashy costume. He has a red Santa hat with white cuff decorated with red plastic jewels and a red and white cape over white shirt, pants and shoes. His shirt and pants are elaborately trimmed with red plastic jewels and gold beads. Elvis is holding a small stuffed “Teddy Bear” in one arm and he is holding onto a 12 inch tall silver and black microphone and stand with his other hand. At his feet is a blue velveteen toy bag decorated with gold music notes. There is a pair of “Blue Suede Shoes”, a pink Cadillac a record album and a red and white gift spilling out the top of the bag. The base that Elvis is standing on is painted black with a 2 inch oval metal plaque with “Elvis” written in black cursive lettering. Select this link to view our Christmas Nutcrackers Village People.
The Story of The Nutcracker
The combination of a useful tool and a figural form with a human appearance was well accepted by the mid 18th century. In the toy making center of Sonneberg, in the Thuringian Forest, there was mention in 1735 of nut biters that operated according to the principles of leverage. These nut biters were described as sturdy, energetic forms with large heads. Two moving arms on the back of the head allowed the lower jaw to push the nut against the upper jaw. In a carnival parade in 1783, students from Freisingen, Germany presented large models of Berchtesgaden wares, including a nut biter in the form of a little man whose mouth and stomach were one and the same. Select this link to view our Christmas Ornament Sets.
The literary career of the nutcracker began with the 1816 publication of E.T.A. Hoffmann's fairy tale Nussknacker und Mausekönig, a children's book that helped bring the nutcracker into broader popularity. In the spirit of a time when the importance of the family and children was beginning to be emphasized, Hoffmann vividly depicted a sympathetic soul, Under the Christmas tree a very excellent little man became visible that stood there still and modest. He waited as if they would all come to him. The job of the nutcracker was to work hard for the children of the family by biting open the nuts. Select this link to view our Large Nutcrackers.
Thirty five years after the publication of E.T.A. Hoffmann's classic, the nutcracker reappeared as a central character in Heinrich Hoffmann's story King Nutcracker and the Poor Reinhold 1851. In this story the poor Reinhold becomes acquainted with the Nutcracker King in a dream. Select this link to view our Wooden Nutcracker Ornaments.
The nutcracker did not always play the role of the good hearted fairy tale king. More often he wore a monk's robe or was made into the form of a mean looking policeman, a Turk, master of the watch, a cavalry man or some other grotesque helmeted figure with a long nose. He appeared, for example, as a caricature of Napoleon on an 1813 Parisian picture sheet. By the end of the 19th century he appeared almost consistently in the catalogs of the toy wholesalers as a representative of the contemporary authorities. What started out as a practical tool often ended up as an expression of light irony and a social critique by the common people. Select this link to view our Wooden Nutcrackers Soldiers.