Goebel Hummel Classics: TMK Marks and Childhood Scenes

Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel was a Franciscan nun born Berta Hummel in 1909 in Massing, Bavaria, who had already established herself as a commercial illustrator before entering the convent at Siessen. Her drawings of Bavarian children - rounded, sentimental, warmly observed - caught the attention of Franz Goebel, who negotiated a licensing arrangement with the convent in 1935. The Goebel Porzellanfabrik in Rödental, Bavaria began producing three-dimensional porcelain interpretations of her drawings that year under the M.I. Hummel name, a production that continued for over seventy years until the 2008 Goebel bankruptcy transferred the Hummel license to Manufaktur Rödental. The TMK (trademark mark) system - Crown from 1935, Full Bee from 1950, Stylized Bee, through TMK-8 - allows collectors to date any piece to within a few years of production.

Goebel Hummel Figurines attract collectors who follow the TMK dating system as an organizing framework as much as the individual figurines - early Crown-mark pieces from the late 1930s and wartime production carry both material scarcity and historical provenance that later marks don't have. The 2008 production transition creates a clear before/after attribution point, and collectors who track the pre-bankruptcy Goebel production separately from the Manufaktur Rödental continuation are making a coherent collecting distinction.

Two practical habits. Verify the TMK mark before any significant acquisition and understand what it implies about production era - a TMK-1 Crown piece and a TMK-7 piece of the same figurine may look nearly identical in a listing photograph but carry different values and different historical contexts, and mark identification is the essential first step in Hummel assessment. And protect Hummel porcelain from temperature fluctuation; porcelain is susceptible to thermal shock, and the bisque-finish figures in particular can develop hairline cracks from rapid temperature changes that are difficult to detect without careful inspection.

The TMK-dating long game

Learn the Statues fundamentals - Goebel TMK mark identification and production-era attribution, how the 2008 bankruptcy affects Goebel versus Manufaktur Rödental production distinction, and which HUM numbers have the most documented demand from collectors tracking early Crown-mark production - and keep notes on TMK mark, HUM number, and production era at acquisition.

Find the other Hummel collectors

Niches like Goebel Hummel Figurines grow sharper when collectors tracking TMK marks can compare authentication approaches and sourcing leads. Amassable lets you log figurines with mark and HUM-number notes, display the Hummel collection like a gallery, and meet others building the same production-era catalog. Early members help shape how this specialty develops.

Your turn

Log the figurines, document the TMK marks, track the HUM numbers. Amassable is built for Goebel Hummel collectors - catalog what you own, track the production-era gaps, and start conversations about the Crown-mark pieces worth finding. Download Amassable from the official store links on our homepage, and help bring the Hummel community together, one TMK mark at a time.