Friday, October 06, 2006

History of the garden gnome

Vintage leaflet showing some fine Philipp Griebel gnomes printed 1900

Gnomes have been part of German folklore since the early 1400's. The first ever recorded garden gnome was produced in Graeferoda, Thuringia, Germany in the 1800's. They were generally made of terracotta clay and were beautifully painted. By 1872 August Heissner and Philipp Griebel were turning out gnomes in large quantities. Several more gnome manufacturers sprang up round the town. In fact, Thuringia became known as the gnome capital of Europe.





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