Fontanini nativity scene on display in Ashippun

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Friday, November 21, 2008 10:33 PM CST

ASHIPPUN - A massive nativity scene, including four sets of Joseph, Mary and Jesus and five sets of the three wise men, will be on display at the Ashippun Town Hall this holiday season.

More than 1,200 pieces of Fontanini items, including everything from figurines, houses and cats, will be on display by the Ashippun History Committee at the town hall. Fontanini is celebrating its 100th year.

Although it is not the history of the area, it is a collectors dream to be able to exhibit his collection in a public location.

For years, collector Herb Heck, a local Ashippun resident best known as “Dirty Kettle” for his mountain man persona, has had his display available in his home. “A lot of people would come to the house to view the display,” he said. Many made it a tradition to view the manger scenes on Christmas Eve, he added.

As an added bonus, his grandson would recite the greatest story ever told. But Heck had his doubts his 15-year-old grandson would recite the Christmas story at the Ashippun Town Hall this year.

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A few years ago Heck had a fire in the building where he resides. After the fire, he moved all of his Fontanini figures to his basement and has not set up the display. But this year, the history committee talked him into having the display at the town hall for everyone to enjoy.

Heck spent three days setting up the buildings and background for the display that fills two nooks in the town hall. Most of the buildings contain a fireplace which requires a lightbulb or some form of light. Some buildings have as many as three lights. The challenge was to hide the electrical cords beneath the display.

The history committee, along with their families, spent a day setting up the animals, including camels, horses, elephants and birds, including geese and barn birds, along with a dozen cats and three dogs.

“It is very durable,” Heck said of the numerous pieces. He said he encouraged his children to play with the set and often they would play “Bethlehem,” he said.

Fontanini is famous for its nativity scenes, consisting of stables and figurines, the Holy Family, the shepherds, the wise men and various animals.

The House of Fontanini was founded in 1908 by Emanuele Fontanini in Bagni di Lucca in Tuscany. The company today is run by his great-grandson, Emanuel Fontanini, with other members of the family, Stefano, Marco, Luca and Alessandro.

The basic nativity scenes can be expanded to include many figurines which are not generally available in standard cribs, such as villagers, musicians, and the innkeeper's wife. Many of the additional figurines are available for a short period of time.

Heck purchased his first Fontanini manger scene in 1965 when pieces were reproduced in a specially-formulated polymer. Each figurine is then hand painted. Fontanini guarantees that the polymer pieces will never chip or break.

“They just intrigued me,” Heck said of the figurines. He took to collecting seriously between 1990 and 2000. “I began with a 4 1/2 inch and then a 5 inches and back and forth,” he said. The collector, who was spending between $5,000 and $7,000 a year, said he stopped collecting due to the cost and lack of room.

All of the pieces in his collection have been retired and some are valued at between $40 and $50 each.

Heck can name all the pieces in his collection. “It is mind boggling all the pieces,” he said. “They all have names with a card.”

Each piece comes with a collector's card, providing extra, often legendary details of a particular character. For example, the card for Gasper (also known as Caspar) stated that he was the youngest of the three kings, but was about 109 when he set out with his companions to find the Christ Child. He stood alongside the oldest king, Melchior, to allow him to enter the stable first.

Each Fontanini figurine begins as a clay prototype, fashioned by sculptor Eili Simonetti. To determine if a piece is truly an original, each has a mark of a fountain symbol on the base. The name Fontanini means “little fountains.”

Pieces made prior to the 1960s were marked with an image of a spider, as the elder Emanuele Fontanini's early work had included the production of soft toy spiders with swinging legs. Each piece is dated.

Over the years, Heck said the pieces have become more colorful.

Some of Heck's more prized possessions of the collection are the 17 of the 20 angels issued in one year and then retired and the millennium crèche that was only available in 2000.

The items are imported and distributed by Roman Inc. of Illinois which once offered a Fontanini Collectors' Club. Heck has the information about the club that ceased in 2004.

He said many gift stores in the area sell Fontanini items, but that he finds the rare items on the Internet. He recalled outbidding a priest on e-Bay for a figurine of Mary.

The display will be open to the public starting Thanksgiving Day through New Year's Day. The town hall will be open Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will also be open Wednesdays and Friday's from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There will also be a scavenger hunt associated with the display in which participants will be asked to locate nine cats and other various items in the display. Each participant will receive a candy cane.

There is no cost to view the display but a nonperishable food item for the local food pantry is suggested.