Dept 56 Dickens' Village NORMAN CHURCH, Limited Edition # 2 / 3,500. PLEASE READ

  

From Department 56's popular, original and the ONLY authentic Dickens' Village collection. A truly, one-of-a-kind, building for a VERY serious, committed, Department 56 Collector. There is likely no other building that is as unique with such a personal connection to the artist who helped Department 56 Village Collecting to be well-known worldwide. Department 56 keeps the hand-numbered, Number 1. This is numbered, #2 (out of 3,500) for Norman Church, Department 56's second limited edition released for Dickens' Village.

It was presented to Neilan Lund, who was the main artist who created Department 56's immensely popular DIcken's Village series, starting in 1984. Dickens's Village remains one of Department 56's successful core villages. He stayed working with Department 56 for many years continuing designing some of the most popular, Dickens' Village buildings. Neilan's first wife, Ruth, who died in 1998, was the inspiration for Mr. Lund when he designed Department 56's fifth, numbered, limited edition building for Dickens' Village.

This tribute building was released in 1989 with a production run of 17,500, five times the number of Norman Churches produced. Lund, unfortunately passed away in 2009. Neilan Lund personally signed HIS specific Norman Church with gold ink. In 2008 as part of the 25th year of Dickens' Village celebration, Department 56 released "The Neilan Lund Gallery", a magnificent, lighted building honoring "The Father of Dickens' Village". This piece was retired in 2010, a year after Neilan's death.

There is no box or sleeve included in this sale. It's unknown whether they were discarded by the Lund family or whether this gift was given to Mr.

Lund without the box and sleeve. These early pieces did not have the advanced porcelain manufacturing techniques used in later years of Dickens' Village. They are less detailed with more inherent imperfections in the final product. Many collectors enjoy the quaintness of these early pieces rather than the mass-produced, finely detailed look of the buildings that are currently in stores. Specific to the Norman Church, it is not uncommon for the tower to tilt back toward the rear or have a slight crack where it connects with the main structure. All four spires on the tower and the attached tree (often not flush) are very fragile. Even though 3,500 Norman Churches were originally produced, the majority of them no longer have the box and sleeve due to a snug fit and easy breakage of the Styrofoam and/or Church.

Without the protective box, it's assumed that many of these Churches were broken and discarded. It's our opinion that there are less than a few hundred (if that many) Norman Churches still in existence. Please take care to only handle by the solid porcelain sections of the building.

We recently received almost the entire Christmas in the City, Alpine Village, Dickens' Village, New England Village, North Pole, Disney Parks Village series and other Dept 56 villages from a former dealer and serious collector who took great pride in her collection. In order to list as many pieces as quickly as possible, we may just show the box/sleeve in the photos. We absolutely promise that all buildings and accessories list are in perfect, working condition with all separate attachments included. The building is in "like new" condition without chips, cracks, repairs or other damage. Light cord and NEW bulb are included. To ensure that you are alerted to all new items as they are listed. The majority of our items are listed on consignment. These collectibles are owned by various collectors and former Department 56 retail shop owners.

Unless the "Make An Offer" option is included in the listing, sellers is NOT interested in considering offers on their items. We appreciate being contacted for ANY questions, comments or concerns. Please visit our Store for additional Department 56 and Walt Disney Classics Collection (WDCC) collectibles.

It's likely we can find most pieces (especially pre-2000) from these two collectible lines. Please send us your requests. We will list your desired piece and notify you when that occurs. We pride ourselves in giving you and honest assessment of all of the pieces trusted to us for sale. We are mostly a consignment service but take full responsibility for all listings provided in our Store.

Best Wishes to everyone during these unique times.