Hummel "Little Helper" #73 TMK-3 Stylized, 4 1/4" Tall, Created by Master Sculptor Reinhold Unger, Original Mold Year 1937

Hummel "Little Helper" #73 TMK-3 Stylized, 4 1/4" Tall, Created by Master Sculptor Reinhold Unger, Original Mold Year 1937

This Hummel captures the ideal vision of a child's excitement as helpful. She stands with her basket to help gather whatever is being harvested. She waits for the items to be placed in the basket.
M.J. Hummel's drawings come to life.

The Hummel is in very nice condition and she could be 85-90 years old. This Little Helper is older then she appears. Her basket weaving shows she was made very early. I would estimate she was made in TMK1 or TMK-2 but not finished until TMK-3 first issue. It is possible that she was hidden to protect her from being destroyed as many were when the war came to their factory and demanded they make dinnerware of porcelain for the new government leadership.

In other TMK-3's the basket has a horizontal line of weave. Also, the TMK mark is an embedded circle stamp, with Stylized V showing the Bee as a modified bee below the sides of the thickened V. Notice the blue dot, could mark this as a sample, for painting. Her face is closer to the TMK-1 then the TMK 2-3. Lastly her basket had "mud" on the handles and hands. Only, the early figures had mud or dirt on her hands.
The West Germany puts a time stamp as between 1937 and 1944. Black ink, this Hummel may have been finished and not stamped until after the Allied determination of the country division or the stamps would show Germany, Allied Zone, US Army Zone, Western Germany, then West Germany, after elections it became Germany DDR.

This one is really a mystery but if only she could talk would we know?

I try to go by photo comparison, documentation, Stamp, and facial features, body position.

Sculptor: Reinhold Unger 1880-1974 Goebel Hummel (employee): 1915 to 1956 Original Mold Year 1937.

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