A story for you today. And you well know that everything I have here in the cottage has a story.
You know I collect egg cups. I’ve been collecting figural egg cups since 2002, not long after we moved East. In the beginning, I did what I always do, I researched. I bought the only book on the subject. I poured over photos. I bid for them on eBay. I found many wonderful figural egg cups that are very hard to find nowadays. That book mentioned a set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs egg cups that were made for Walt Disney Enterprises in 1937 and I was entranced by them. At the time, a full set was worth at least $1000 – $1500.
Over the course of most of the past 16 years, I had managed to acquire two of them. Only two. They don’t come up for auction that often. Then, either last year or the year before, two more came up for auction at separate times and I snagged them. I now had four of the dwarfs; Bashful, Dopey, Grumpy and Doc.
Snow White never came up for auction.
Shortly before Don was due to move back home, a Snow White in Australia came up for auction on eBay and I immediately bid on her. I was the leading bidder for several days. We moved Don back home on a Sunday. The auction was due to end the following Wednesday. We were exhausted, both physically and spiritually, and we spent those first few days just hanging around.
I was so exhausted that I completely forgot about the end of the auction until I read my emails and found out I’d been outbid and then that I’d lost out. All because we were sitting outside and my brain was fried. I was so upset! I figured that had been my one and only chance.
Some time went by. One day, I had an idea. I follow a group page of egg cup collectors on Facebook. Perhaps if I wrote a post about losing out on Snow White, my particular holy grail, and shared that frustration with my fellow collectors, I might get a tip about where to search for Snow White?
So I wrote the post. And lo and behold, within an hour, a woman from Canada responded. She had a vast collection of egg cups that she had decided to sell and she had Snow White and five of the dwarfs. She had just discovered and joined the group.
Oh my heavens! It paid off! It’s all in the timing.
I messaged her and we exchanged email addresses and then the negotiating began. She wanted to sell them as a set, but I already had four of the dwarfs and didn’t want to duplicate them, nor pay the additional money for them. She also had no idea how much the value of the egg cups had decreased in the intervening years. So she quoted me a high price, based on what they used to go for. I told her that the Snow White I had missed out on had gone for much less than she had many years before and shared the going price for the dwarfs, based on current sales and what I had paid for my two most recent acquisitions. Much back and forth ensued, but finally, she agreed to sell me Snow White and Happy and Sneezy.
They arrived yesterday.
Oh my goodness! They’re in perfect condition.
I’m thrilled. In addition to all of this treasure, the seller is from Orillia, Ontario, the town in which my mom and grandmother were born. I love that. It made it seem meant to be.
So now I have Dopey, Bashful, and Grumpy.
And Sneezy, Doc, Happy, and Snow White.
I’m missing Sleepy. An interesting thing about Sleepy: he is found in two different designs. One of them is his own distinct look based on the Disney animation. The other is in the form of the exact same egg cup as Sneezy, the only difference being the name on the cup. Did they break the original mold and resort to recycling Sneezy’s mold? It’s very curious! Anyway, if you ever see one, let me know!
They’re going to get their own shelf. I just have to find one that is long enough and vintage enough. Right now they’re on one of the bookshelves.
The first two dwarf egg cups I collected were very pricey. During the past 10 years or so, they’ve gone down in price and I’ve benefitted. The entire set is still worth a lot of money, just not the over-the-top prices they used to go for. I know a collector who has the whole set and probably spent close to $2000 on them many years ago. He has no regrets. I wouldn’t either. These are very old and absolutely delightful – collected by egg cup collectors, as well as collectors of Disneyana. There aren’t that many of them around anymore.
Although…another Snow White just came up for auction in Australia. And her eyes are not quite so wonky. Hmmm…
I kept watching the UPS tracking for the package and was so frustrated when another day in customs kept it from being delivered last Friday! I had to get through an entire weekend before they would be delivered. But now they’re here and all is forgiven.
Happy Tuesday.
Oh…it was meant to be! I am thrilled for you! ;)
Thank you, Donna!
Delighted for you
Are you humming songs from the movie ?
Siobhan
Someday My Prince Will Come and Whistle While You Work!
Great choices- I am humming them with you across the Pond
I thought Don looked rather Princely ……. x
He is indeed my prince.
Congratulations! I know how much you wanted them. Such a sweet story, too.
I wanted them a whole lot! Thanks, Shanna!
Claudia I am so happy for you. I saw where you lost out on Snow White and I felt terrible for you but so glad someone was selling and it worked out. I know you have been on this hunt for years! Snow White does have wonky eyes and it makes me smile, must be from looking at all those Dwarfs! I have had to slow down my collecting as space has become an issue. Still my eye always is on the lookout for a new treasure. I’m so glad I got most of my Roseville several years ago thanks to your enabling! It has gotten very expensive right now. I even have a few pieces I think I might sell but maybe not just yet!
Hugs to you!!
Roseville is very expensive right now. I think I’ve only bought one or two pieces in the past two years and only because I happened to get them at a good price.
I also love how the dwarfs look bigger than Snow White! Thanks, Linda.
Why has Roseville gotten so expensive? Is there just only so much left of it out there now? I’m sure over the many years, a lot has been snapped up but also there’s always the problem with breakage and Roseville; the good stuff is getting pretty old and it’s not durable like porcelains. Thoughts, Claudia? You know the market on this stuff and, as you also know, I’ve got some Roseville I’m digging out of storage next year, so I’m curious. Thanks. Not that we could ever sell it but it’s good to know these things for insurance purposes. Especially when you live in California and it feels like our whole state is succumbing to wildfire. Sigh. (And if not that, earthquake.)
It’s just the market. When I first became interested back when I was living in San Diego, it was so expensive that I could never think of collecting it. Then for the past several years, it became affordable again. Now it’s priced more highly. It’s just what the market will bear and people who price and post on eBay tend to go by what it used to be, not what it is now.
Oh, that’s interesting. Thanks for clue-ing me in; I’m clueless. I’ve never gotten into eBay and Etsy; want to, but resist, as I know my weaknesses. I don’t even quite understand how the bidding works on eBay.
I can get obsessive. Like, I went thru a period with the Goodwill store where I found myself compelled to go a couple of times a week, the lure of that ‘next day’s shipment’ being a magnetic pull. I didn’t want to miss a great find. I recognized, thankfully, that I had to withdraw. I just wish I had better personal disciplines. What really woke me up in a hurry was this old guy who’d hang out at Goodwill all day. Even when I was just driving by, he was either sitting in his car or trotting back inside the store. He was never NOT there when I was there. I had started the habit of going because my bank was across the street and a smoothie store I liked next door. So of course it was an excuse then to go into the Goodwill store. As it turned out, I no longer needed to be at that bank so often (it was banking for Mom and then she died, so things changed) and the yogurt store closed.
But I have to be careful with myself on collecting; I always want, want, want; more, more, more. I guess I shouldn’t admit these things!
I understand. I have that same collecting itch.
when it rains, it pours, huh? (sorry if that pun reminds you of the recent weather not to your liking, but it seems appropriate to the contents of your package and post … heehee!)
glad you found more egg cups to almost finish that group! and what a sweet connection that the seller is from the town where your mother and grandmother were born. :)
hope you find “sleepy” soon. i go to antique shops on a regular basis and will watch for him …
but i pretty much have to stay off ebay because (when i really, really have my heart set on something) those bidding wars are hard!!!
happy tuesday!
kathy in iowa
Oh my goodness, they are SO hard! Losing out is difficult and I’ve found that I have to set my highest price and stick with it, no matter what.
Thanks, Kathy!
I love this collection!
They all look perfect to me :)
They are! Thank you so much, Monica!
I’ve followed this saga for so long, and couldn’t be happier that you’re now so close to completing the group. Synchronicity once again!
I prefer to think of it as an adventure. Much more positive than saga. I love the search and every search is an adventure! That’s what draws me to collecting.
I really was meant to be it seems. My dad (who wanted to be a Disney animator but instead married my mom who refused to leave Wisconsin) painted a big Snow White and all the dwarfs on my bedroom walls when I was little. Later I was lucky enough to grow up with Bambi, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. I thought everyone’s dad could exactly draw and color the Disney characters exactly as they appeared on screen. Your little cups just reminded me of those great memories.
Lucky you! What a wondrous thing to see on your bedroom walls! I’m glad they reminded you of happy memories.
After reading your joyous posting, one word comes to my mind, “Serendipitous”! You needed this boost of positivity and good luck – good for you!
Cheers,
Deb
Serendipitous for sure! Thank you, Deborah!
Your welcome!
xo
Congratulations on all those great egg cups! I hope you find a Sleepy very soon.
Me too! Thanks, Tana!
So “Happy” for you, Claudia. I’ve been following your egg cup hunt for a long time. My daughter’s favorite animated classic is Snow White. I know you’ll find the perfect shelf for it, or maybe a multi-tiered one shaped like a thatched cottage? You can make it yourself!
Thanks so much, Wendy!
Wow … so exciting! I can’t believe you’re finally down to just one more!
I know! I thought it would never happen!
Delightful story. We were just all talking about serendipity (when you reconnected with someone recently) and here it is again. What are you thinking, that you’ll go for the Snow White with the less-wonky eyes and then re-sell the one you just bought? I’ve certainly done that myself when I was collecting certain vintage books, if a better copy became available later (and I could afford it).
‘Happy’ dwarf really DOES look happy!
Happy may be my favorite!
Hey, off topic, but I just read this online; do you know about it?
On Monday, Rosie O’Donnell is set to serenade Trump from Lafayette Park with popular Broadway songs alongside cast members from some of Broadway’s biggest musicals, such as Wicked and Phantom of the Opera while standing outside the White House in protest. The group will sing “The People’s Song” from Les Miserables, Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” ”A Brand New Day” from The Wiz and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” from The Sound of Music.
Yes, I knew about it. It happened last night.
Yeah, I just realized that; I was reading an article from 17 hrs ago. Saw a clip and that it wasn’t a rehearsal but the real thing. Spoke too soon!
xo
So happy that you got those!! How neat! I’ve always been on the lookout for them for you since you posted about them. Will keep looking for Sneezy.
Have a great day.
Judy
Thank you, Judy! I’ve never seen Sleepy listed, so I’m not hopeful!
Rather Sleepy! LOL
xo
I adore stories behind collections and you are such a good story teller. You will probably start a Snow White egg cup craze and sellers won’t know why there’s an expanded demand! LOL! One thing I collect is salt and pepper shakers of mama kangaroos with joeys in their pouches. The joey is the pepper, the mama the salt. I have eight that are all different and surprisingly I found all off them in Canada. I’ve been to Australia twice and have never found any in thrift stores there. Collecting, reading, gardening, and playing Scrabble are four great joys in my life.
An added thought: you should ask your readers to tell you – and us! – what they collect. It would make for interesting reading.
I did that once. I can’t remember when, probably a few years ago. Maybe I’ll do it again.
Love that you collect those salt and pepper shakers! All four of those joys you list are mine, as well! Thanks, Brenda!
I just looked up the Snow White egg cup on AU ebay. three bidders on it right now. And yes, her eyes are painted a little better on the AU one, LOL. I love egg cups too and I think these are adorable!!! Good luck finding Sleepy, preferably the one not like Sneezy! Ha.
GADawn57
At least one of those bids is mine! I’m keeping my eye on her, Dawn!
I am so happy for you Claudia!…I have had the urge to go browsing at the local antique mall for a while now…I will be sure to watch for Sleepy there…the right Sleepy that is!
Thank you, Nancy!
How fun! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome.