Since then, nutcrackers have a long and fascinating history. At first these simple tools were purely utilitarian, but by the 15^th century beautiful carved wood nutcrackers were being produced. One of these, dated 1569, was carved in France of boxwood, and depicts a man whose helmet is crowned with a squirrel. These nutcrackers function like a pair of pliers with two levers that allow the lower jaw to be pushed up against the upper jaw to crack the nut. By the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, cast-iron nutcrackers in shapes of dogs, squirrels, crocodiles and eagles were popular.

According to Arlene Wagner, owner of America’s largest nutcracker museum and president of the Steinbach and Ulbricht collectors’ clubs, Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, was first introduced in the U.S. in 1944. The ballet inspired such a fascination with the wooden toy-like nutcrackers that today there are thousands of collectors in the United States alone and many more around the world.

Like Clara in the ballet, Arlene became enamored with the little wooden men with the big teeth! After over twenty-five years of collecting, she and her husband George, have amassed one of the world’s largest collections with over 3,500 pieces in their museum, both contemporary and antique. Arlene told us that, "Of special interest are the porcelain and silver nutcrackers, which matched the exquisite table settings of the Victorian era when fruit and nuts were served at the end of the meal." This explains the expression "from soup to nuts." There are also a number of porcelain nutcrackers from the same period, and several walking sticks with working nutcrackers carved on the top from the days when it was fashionable for men to carry canes.

As owner of the largest nutcracker museum in the United States, Arlene is continually scouting out unusual nutcrackers with a history for the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. Arlene notes,

"The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum exhibits many carved wooden figural nutcrackers in the forms of birds, animals and human figures from Switzerland, France, Germany, England and Tyrolean northern Italy some dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Beautiful non-figural wooden nutcrackers are seen in both lever and screw types, many with very intricate designs. The museum also shows some vary rare nutcrackers carved from bone and ivory. While the emphasis is on the antique nutcrackers, the museum also displays the nutcrackers of the current makers. The largest producer today of the wooden toy nutcrackers is Christian Steinbach of Germany. His colorful, elaborate designs attract many collectors who come to the museum to see the most complete Steinbach collection."

Collector Donna Adams of Connecticut started her collection over twenty years ago with one nutcracker that she discovered while shopping with her sister. "I don’t know what made me buy it but once I had one I wanted more!" Donna told us. Today, she proudly displays historic figures, such as Beethoven and Napoleon, an honor guard of Confederate and Union soldiers and Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Even Humpty Dumpty appears magically transformed into a nutcracker!

Donna likes to integrate her collections –– which include Steinbach and Ulbricht figures –– into her decorating schemes. Many of her nutcrackers are in lighted display cases. Others are artfully arranged throughout her home on open shelves or tables. "It’s hard to find a collection that has so many levels of interest," says Donna. "They are colorful, provide fascinating glimpses into the past and most can actually be used to open nuts!"

We are certain that if Tchaikovsky were alive today he would add his voice to the mighty chorus of bravas for Arlene and Donna.