Collectors Press Inc., the award-winning pop culture publisher, is proud to announce our newest consummate art book, The Art and Character of Nutcrackers.  Beyond visions of sugarplum fairies and wooden men with white beards, the nutcrackers featured in this stunning art book are elegant, sophisticated, rustic pieces of usable art steeped in history and tradition.  Beautifully photographed, rare, and valuable, these nutcrackers from around the world are collected and celebrated in one place for the first time ever.  What began as an innocent purchase during a production of the Nutcracker Ballet has blossomed into a world-renowned collection almost 40 years in the making.  Arlene Wagner (also known as the Nutcracker Lady) and her husband have amassed more than 5,000 pieces.  Housed in the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, which is also  a National Heritage Foundation site, the Wagners' collection is on display to the public.

About The Author
    Arlene Wagner became interested in nutcrackers in the late 1960s when she purchased some for her dance studio.  She and her husband George have been collecting nutcrackers ever since.  In 1995 they founded The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, a National Heritage Foundation.  She lives in Leavenworth, Washington, where she serves as president of Ms. Arlene Inc, and manages the Nussknacker Haus and Tannenbaum Shoppe.  An accomplished dancer, Arlene has held several prominent positions throughout her career including director of Ballet Les Jeunes in Renton, Washington, and president of the Pacific Northwest chapter of Dance Masters of America.