The chapel itself deliberately hints of Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel with its soaring (albiet smaller) cathedral ceiling painted with angels in the clouds. The path through the garden is lined with trumpeting angels. Walking through the reception center to the chapel reminded me of Disney World’s “It’s a Small World.” We viewed various scenes of happy, busy children tending to adult duties: rocking babies, mining coal, building houses and fishing. To enter the welcome center, we walked past a Las Vegas styled fountain flowing through and over wide-eyed children, fish and geese. Only a doll-like trailer decorated with pink flowers and a cute touristy-looking mouse standing on the RV step remains. We quickly learned much more during our 20-minute guided tour and later with a search on my smart phone.ĭuring the height of its popularity, the park included a site for an official Precious Moments wedding ceremony, a couple of restaurants and an RV park. As a gift of thanks to God for his many blessings, Butcher built the Precious Moments Chapel (and park) in Carthage, Missouri.īefore we landed at the hotel we had never heard about the park or Butcher. Butcher credits the marketing of Eugene Freedman and the sculpting of Shuhei Fujioka with the success of the product. The popularity of the softly colored innocent ones expanded to include gift ware, movies and so much more. Butcher first drew his sweet little people with Bill Biel, his partner in the David and Jonathan greeting card business. Still, we had arisen early enough for at least a cursory tour of the Precious Moments Chapel, it cost nothing and we would have bragging rights and pictures to show the relatives who did collect the figurines. simply meant sleeping in a room with a couple of cute pictures on the wall and eating breakfast beside gargantuan versions of those pictures in the cathedral lobby. To me a night at the Precious Moments Hotel in Carthage, Mo. Here are each of the 21 figurines and their catalog numbers.Figurines and drawings of children with tear-drop eyes never caught my attention like they did some in my family. For the original 21, you want to look for the Johnathan & David signature and the figurine's catalog number. Every Precious Moments figurine comes with a production mark, either on the bottom or back of the neck (since 1981). That being said, of these 1980s and 1990s releases, the originals always draw a crowd, so you'll want to look for authentic ones. For example, a Jesus Loves Me (boy) figurine from 1978 is currently listed for $30, and another original 1978 figurine, Make a Joyful Noise, is listed for $22 on Etsy. The collector's market is always changing, and there's room for these figurines to jump back up in price in the coming years, but for right now, they just don't sell for stereotypical collectible amounts. But, currently, they don't really sell for more than $50. Now, these 21 figurines have a reputation for being worth hundreds of dollars, and Precious Moments sells retired versions of a few of them for about $150 each. Many of these original titles are now retired, making them even more collectible because there are no reproductions on the horizon. Lori, a famous antiques appraiser, the first 21 Precious Moments figurines released in 1978 are some of the most valuable in the company's entire catalog. So, when it comes to separating the valuable sheep from the cheap goats, here are the figurines you want to keep your eyes peeled for.Īccording to Dr. While there are over 1,000 figurines to date, Precious Moments doesn't look like it's stopping production soon, and it keeps partnering with new brands for novelty releases to take the place of their retired collectibles. Kitschy Avon Collectibles With Nostalgic AppealĮnesco originally manufactured Butcher's Precious Moments figurines in 1978 with a collection of 21 different characters/scenes.3D Comics: A Brief History and How They're Made.6 Most Valuable Hummel Figurines You'll Want to Know About.Inspired by his deep faith, Butcher wanted to bring his 2D pieces into the 3D realm, and he partnered with a few other creatives to make the cute little figurines. Butcher first brought these cherubic and slightly melancholic looking children to people's homes with his greeting cards and sticker series.
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