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If you have color pictures to replace those in B&W, please send to:
alanburgdorf@hotmail.com
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Carl Wagner Table Bells
Carl Wagner (1938-2011) made a series of bronze table bells with animal figures from 1976 - 1980.
He then turned his attention to larger bronze figures. For an interview with Carl, see:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4405
There are 18 bells that entered into relatively large production, and some prototypes that were never released for sale. The bells are heavy bronze, most are about 6" high, and all but the Elephant have a loop at the top of the bell for a handle. All the genuine bells are signed and numbered, and some have the name of the bell. The clappers are the foot of the animal. Note: the three Rams and the two Sheep are essentially the same other than the markings.
Most bells had a planned Edition size of 1000. The Bison (Head), Elephant, and first Longhorn Cow were limited to 500. The second Longhorn Cow and Rocky Mountain Bighorn were 2500. The bells were cast in batches as orders were received, and it is not known exactly how many of each bell were actually made.
Most of the sales were made in National Park stores and gift shops, and few were originally directed to the bell collecting community.
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## - Name (type) ................... Markings ........................... Year ..... Notes
01 – Bear (Head) ................... none ................................ 1980
02 – Bison (Full) .................... none ................................ 1976
03 – Bison (Head) .................. none ................................ 1978
04 – Cape Buffalo (Head) ......... none ................................ 1979
05 – Dog (Head) .................... (Hound Dog) ....................... 1978
06 – Elephant (Head) .............. none ................................ 1978
07 – Elk (Full) ....................... Wapiti .............................. 1977 ..... Some fakes known
08 – Goat (Face) .................... Der Bock ........................... 1977
09 – Horse (Head) ................. (Old Paint) ......................... 1977
10 – Longhorn Cow (Head) ...... (Series of 500) .................... 1978 ..... Twist loop, tag right ear
11 – Longhorn Cow (Head) ...... (Texas Longhorn) ................ 1979 ..... Plain loop, tag left ear
12 – Moose (Full) ................... none ................................ 1977
13 – Moose (Face) .................. none ................................ 1979
14 – Ram (Face) .................... Dall Ram ............................ 1979
15 – Ram (Face) .................... Desert Ram ........................ 1979
16 – Ram (Face) .................... Stone Ram ......................... 1979
17 – Sheep (Face) .................. Mountain Bighorn ................ 1977
18 – Sheep (Face) .................. Rocky Mountain Bighorn ....... 1979
(Markings) in quotes means marked inside the bell.
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Bear, Bison (Full), Bison (Head)
Cape Buffalo, Dog
Elephant, Elk
Goat, Horse
Longhorn Cow (Series of 500), Longhorn Cow (Texas Longhorn)
Moose (Full), Moose (Face)
Dall Ram, Desert Ram
Stone Ram, Sheep (Mountain Bighorn)
Sheep (Rocky Mountain Bighorn), Sample signature (from Bison - Full)
Thanks to Carolyn Whitlock, Bill Martin, and Rona Kesselman for additional pictures.
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