Garden Gnomes
Birthday Pipe
The Philipp Griebel company -- one of two manufacturers to produce the first garden gnomes in 1872 -- created this model, "Wendelin," for its 130th anniversary in 2002. The small family-run company is the last of 16 gnome-makers in the eastern German town of Graefenroda, the birthplace of the yard statues.
The Godfather
This gnome, on display at a museum in Naichen in southwestern Germany, was created in 1898 and is the oldest in the collection.
The Grandfather
Showing signs of age, this garden gnome was created in 1905 by Heissner. The company was the first to mass produce the deco statues in 1872 in Graefenroda.
At Home in Gardens Around the World
This garden gnome and his dwarf friends are pictured near Erfurt in Thuringia in 1988. The eastern German state is considered the birthplace of the garden gnomes. The traditional statues were a top export from East Germany during the communist period.
Meet the Missus
The traditional garden gnomes typically resemble medieval miners, sporting a leather apron, shovel, pickaxe, lantern and wheelbarrow, but these figures became symbols of upper-middle-class bourgeoisie life in the 1960s. The garden figures experienced an all-time low in popularity at that point. A recovery ensued in the 1990s, when alternative versions came into vogue -- like this scantily clad model. (The cruder figures haven't been included in this gallery.) Purist advocates of traditional gnomes, however, have criticized the introduction of both alternative designs and female gnomes. The International Association for the Protection of Garden Gnomes, founded in 1980 in Basel, Switzerland, to promote the gnomes' original purpose of adorning gardens is opposed to female gnomes, as they don't appear in gnome mythology.
World Travels
Though garden gnomes originated in Germany, they have since become popular the world over. Do you own one? Click on the link below to tell us about your garden gnome(s).
Tea With the Chancellor in the Garden
The International Association for the Protection of Garden Gnomes strongly discourages the use of garden gnomes for political purposes. But this caricature depiction of former German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was put on the market in 1965, long before the founding of the organization. Adenauer was chancellor of Germany from 1949 to 1963.
Lawn Break
After all that time standing in the yard, these gnomes need a vacation. They're relaxing here at the garden gnome park in Trusetal, where visitors can come by and watch them and hundreds of their gnome buddies.
Miniature Insurrection
A gnome at the Trusetal park holds a sign reading, "Garden gnomes of the world, unite!" Around 100,000 visitors go to the gnome exhibition in Trusetal, which is home to more than 2,500 of the garden statues.
Neighbor Wars
Harald Schmidt (pictured), a teacher in Eisenberg in western Germany, was irked by the loud music coming from his neighbor's house. To get revenge in 1993, he set up these naughty gnomes in his garden, unambiguously directed at the neighbor's. This act of altercation, however, didn't go over well and Mr. Schmidt was ordered by a German court to remove the uncouth clay to avoid having to pay a fine.
The Picture of Patience
Slugs annoy the garden and the gardners -- but nothing can put this Dusseldorf gnome in a bad mood.
The Dark Side
The Plagiarius Award was founded in 1977 to discourage product piracy. It is presented each year for a copied product that is particularly audacious. The "winners" are presented with this mischievious gold-nosed gnome. Authentic garden gnomes have, after all, had their fair share of impudent copycats. Click on the link below for pictures of this year's most brazenly pirated products.