If you've ever set foot inside a gift shop, you've seen them: shelves full of miniature porcelain figurines. Usually no more than a couple of inches in height, these representations of myriad creatures - from cats, dogs, and horses to meercats, salamanders, and armadillos - are produced by a small company in San Dimas, California, known as Hagen-Renaker.

What you may not realize is just how collectible Hagen-Renaker is.

Established in a Culver City, California garage in 1945, Hagen-Renaker began producing their Miniature line around 1948. It was an immediate success, and today, the line numbers approximately 200 different designs.

To keep the line a manageable size, older pieces are retired as new designs are introduced, usually twice a year. Retired pieces often sell out upon announcement on the Hagen-Renaker website (see Resource section, below). Especially desirable at the moment are retired pieces from the 1950's and 1960's. These can command prices at auction from $30 to $90+. Not bad for items that originally sold for less than a dollar or two! But remember, if seeking to add a piece to your collection, don't confine your search to auction sites. For example, a clown fish that fetched $28.07 at a recent auction was available at an online store for $16.00, so it pays to shop around.

Hagen-Renaker's miniatures are not the most prized pieces, however. That distinction falls to their Designer's Workshop and Disney lines.

The Designer's Workshop line was introduced in 1952 and continued until 1974, and again from 1980 until 1986. These pieces, designed by noted artists such as Maureen Love, Tom Masterson, and Helen Perrin Farnlund, were much larger and more detailed than the miniatures. The horses are especially desirable to collectors who are willing to pay several hundred dollars to $1000+ each for specimens in excellent condition.

Also high on collector's wish lists are the H-R character figurines officially licensed by Disney between 1955 and 1960. Many now fetch from $30 to $250 at online auctions. Recently, a 1956 miniature of Figaro, the kitten in Pinocchio, sold for $269.50.

During the 1950's, Hagen-Renaker also produced a Practical Pig cookie jar that is considered extremely rare. An example sold at auction in 2005 for $4900!

Condition, of course, plays a major role in the determination of price, but pay particular attention to the variations of H-R pieces. Many were not marked, but had labels applied, which have since fallen off. And the company often reissued pieces with variations of color or glazing. (Several of the Designer's Workshop horses have recently been reissued along with a few new designs.) Add to the mix the many foreign copies of H-R's popular porcelains, and it can be difficult to identify a truly rare Hagen-Renaker collectible without assistance. The following resources have been compiled to aid you:

Books:

"Hagen-Renaker: A Charlton Standard Catalogue"(Third Edition), by Gayle Roller and Jean Dale
http://tinyurl.com/37332n

"Hagen-Renaker Pottery: Horses and Other Figurines," by Nancy Kelly
http://tinyurl.com/2p2omu

"Hagen-Renaker through the Years," by Nancy Kelly
http://tinyurl.com/34mho3

"Horse, Bird, And Wildlife Figures of Maureen Love: Hagen-Renaker and Beyond," by Nancy Kelly
http://tinyurl.com/2vyn4c

Websites:

Animal Figurines Gallery
http://www.animalfigurinesgallery.com
Terrific reference site for any collector of animal figurines. Boasts over 2000 images for Hagen-Renaker alone to aid in identification of pieces produced from the late 1940's to the present. Also check out their sections on
"Marks and Labels"
http://www.animalfigurinesgallery.com/marks.htm
"Copycats/Fakes"
http://www.animalfigurinesgallery.com/fakes.htm

Hagen-Renaker, Inc.
http://www.hagenrenaker.com
The official website. Offers history, news, pictures of entire current line including new releases, discontinued and "endangered" lists, more.

The Hagen Renaker On-Line Museum
http://hagenrenakermuseum.com
EXCELLENT site offers history of H-R; nice, clear pics of 3,000 figurines illustrating H-R's sometimes multiple variations of individual pieces.

Model Horses
http://www3.sympatico.ca/appaloosa/MH/collecting.htm
"Model Horses 101". Comprehensive site devoted to model horse collecting in general.

World Collectors Net
http://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/renaker/index.html
Page on H-R offers information and message board.