Our Red, White and Blue Nutcracker Soldiers
are 14 inches tall and stand on a 3.5X3.5 inch gold square base. The Wooden Nutcrackers Soldiers have on a black stove pipe style hat with a gold band, a glittery gold finial on top and a plastic white jewel. The nutcracker soldiers uniform jacket is red with navy blue cuffs, a navy blue shirt front that has white plastic jewels. The Christmas Nutcracker Decorations jacket also has a black lining at the bottom with three white plastic jewels and a black belt. His trousers are white with red and gold cuffs and tall black boots. Select to see a complete listing of our wonderful Christmas Decorations Ideas.
Nineteenth Century Military Uniforms.
The ornamental peak of the military uniform was reached in the early 19th century in Western Europe. Sometimes the Napoleonic Wars are identified as being the acme of colorful and ornate uniforms, but actually the several decades of peace that followed were a time of much more decorative styles and embellishments. The Napoleonic soldier on campaign was likely to present a shabby and non-descript appearance as unsuitable peacetime dress quickly deteriorated or was replaced with whatever local substitutes were available. Until later on in the century dyes were primitive and different batches of uniforms worn by the same unit might present differing shades, especially after exposure to rain and sun. The white uniforms popular amongst many armies through the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries soiled easily and had to be pipe clayed to retain any semblance of cleanliness. Green as worn by Jager and Rifle regiments proved particularly prone to fading until suitable chemical dyes were devised in the 1890s. British soldiers were known for their striking red clothing (hence the name “Redcoats”). This was actually a fairly dull shade of madder red until the general adoption of scarlet for tunics in the 1870s. Select this link to view our Wooden Nutcracker Ornaments.
The History Of Nutcrackers
A nutcracker is a device for cracking nuts. It works on the principle of moments derived from Archimedes' discovery of the lever. Nutcrackers as woodcarvings of a soldier, knight, king, or other profession have been known since at least the 15th century. These nutcrackers are carvings of a person with a big mouth that is opened by pressing a lever in the back of the figurine. Originally one could insert a nut in the big-toothed mouth, press down and thereby crack the nut. The modern Wooden Nutcracker Soldiers in this style are mostly for decoration and not for cracking hard shelled nuts. The carving of Wooden Nutcracker Soldiers as well as religious figures and cribs developed as a cottage industry in forested rural areas of Germany. The most famous nutcracker carvings come from Sonneberg, Thuringia, also a center of doll making, and from the Ore Mountains. Wood carving was usually the only income for the people living there. Today the travel industry bringing visitors to the remote areas supplement their income.
Nutcrackers have become popular in the United States as well and a recreated "Bavarian village" of Leavenworth, Washington even features a Nutcracker Museum. Many other materials were used for the decorated nutcrackers, such as porcelain, silver, and brass, and can be seen at the museum. Select this link to view our Christmas Nutcrackers Village People.
Carvings by famous names like Jungbanel, Mertens, Karl, Kolbe, Petersen, Ulbricht and especially the Steinbach nutcrackers have become collectors' items. Select this link to view our Large Nutcrackers.
