Many people assume that the familiar blue, four-fingered Smurfs have only been around since they burst onto the UK chart scene In 1978 singing their Smurf Song' with Father Abraham. This may have been the catalyst that shot them to international stardom and resulted in a myriad of 'smurfy' collectables. But, as Annie Phillips discovers, they have, in fact, been quietly inhabiting mushroom houses in a Belgian medieval forest since 1958.

The Smurfs were created on 23rd October 1958 by Belgian artist, Pierrot Culliford, while working on a cartoon strip called 'Johan et Pirouit' in Le Journal de Spirou. According to Culliford - who was simply known as 'Peyo' - they were inspired by the trolls of Nordic fairy tales, with their name a derivation of Schroumpf the Flemish equivalent of 'whatchamacallit'. Initially secondary cartoon characters, they soon inherited celebrity status and, between 1959 and 1963, six 'mini storybooks were published. During the 1970s, these were printed as full size books and, when Smurf songs entered the charts, their popularity grew to such international proportions that the Panamanian Riot Police adopted them as a somewhat incongruous vehicle logo!

One of the early Smurf fans was Melissa Silverman, daughter of television executive, Fred Silverman, who was so certain of their international appeal that he contacted Hanna Barbera and, by 1981, a cartoon version of the Smurfs and their escapades was broadcast every Saturday morning on America's NBC. The animated Smuns appeared in over 250 episodes and pulled in 44% of TV cartoon viewers until 1990.

Smurf fans usually start their collections with the two-inch-high PVC figures first introduced in 1965. Of all the different variations that have appeared since then, two in particular deserve special attention. Rather inexplicably, the only female in Smurfdom is a blonde Smurfette who has appeared in guises as varied as a Hula Dancer to a mermaid. The other loner is a wise and magical Papa Smurf who, while other Smurfs remain eternally ageless, is 543 years old. His role in life seems to be rescuing the Smurfs in their frequent times of trouble, particularly when they come up against evil characters like wicked wizard Gargamel and his cat, Azreal.

Over time, this innocent scenario seems to have tugged at the heartstrings of both adults and children alike, especially in Holland and America where there are two flourishing collectors' clubs. Freda Saunders first got 'ensmurfed' at a car boot sale 12 years ago and has been collecting ever since: "My first figurine was Sunbather Smurf. After that, it soon snowballed and I was looking for them everywhere. I now have neary all of them but you're never really up to date. New Smurfs are being produced all the time. Besides the figures, you can collect Smurf houses, castles, windmills, Gargamel's laboratory plus things like pencil sharpeners, keyrings, alarm clocks, telephones, books, records, tapes, CDs and a range of plushes."

Maureen Stanford of Childhood Memories at Farnham in Surrey stocks a wide range of Smurf collectibles including figures, soft toys, records and books: "People obviously collect the figures but the mushrooms houses and windmills are also very popular" she says. "A few of the hard plastic figures are particularly valuable because they vary from the norm but, generally prices range from 3-8 pounds, with plush toys starting from about 10 pounds. Many of the Smurf figurines fall broadly into a number of different categories, such as Tradesmen and Sportsmen, but some are purely individual and often thematic characters like the St. Patrick's and Valentine Smurfs.

Over the years, the universal appeal of Smurfs has been used to promote assorted products, companies and services and these are generally harder to find. Freda has bought Smurf items from car boot sales and flea markets in this country, but much of her collection has been boosted by forays to the continent: "I buy all the new ones as they come out" she says, "but, because of their origins, I find a lot of tne old ones in Belgium and Holland. I do swaps more than anything and often bring figures back from Germany, like the German McDonald's Smurfs because you can't get them here."

Besides the McDonald's figures, there have been several 'Smurf appeal' promotions for big department stores, banks and newspapers. For example, a unique Magic Smurf bearing a 'GB' banner was given away free to every child who visited the Grand Bazaar Store in Belgium. In all, the promotion cost more than 15 million Belgian francs.

Many Smurfs have also been given included in foods like crisps, spaghetti and marshmallows although not all Smurf promotions have been licensed. A good example is a promotion run by Zweifel of Switzerland for its 'joujoux' potato chip. Each bag contained a giveaway 1 & 1/2-inch-high Smurf fashioned after a Schleich figurine, with a total of 10 to collect.

The current range of around 100 Smurfs is available at British retail outlets and includes some of the older models which are regularly reintroduced. According to Carol Mclaughlin of The Bad Wolff Toy Company, UK agents and distributors for Schleich, the manufacturer has brought back seven old figures and produced 12 new ones this year, including - from the standard range - Smuri in leather shorts, Caretaker, Smurf with a sandwich, Swot, Fireman, Scuba-Diver, Chimney Sweep and Climber. New in the range of 15 Supersmurfs are Smurf on a schoolbench sleeping, Smurf on a schoolbench looking back, Smurfette on a schoolbench and Headteacher."

A limited edition of 10,000 'Millennium Smurfs' were also produced for 2000, depicting a Smurf riding on a red and yellow 'rocking' 2000. According to the USA Collectors' Club, the piece - standing an inch higher than the usual two - sold out immediately: "I bought mine for 6 pounds as a pair with a matching keyring" says Freda Saunders "but I believe they are already quite rare and will probably rise quite a bit In value."

All Smurf figurines have been given a number, starting with the first Papa Smurf figurine introduced in 1969 which has the number 20001. However, in spite of Papa having the first number, the earliest Smurfs actually date from 1965 and range from a plain blue and white Smurf figurine (20002) to a gold coloured one (20005). But the vast majority of Smurf figurines were produced from the late 1970's onwards: "It's hard to say which have been the most popular" says Carol "but generally Smurfs that come in sets, like the musicians, have probably been the best sellers. Also popular are the various Papa Smurf figures as well as the newer ones with a modern theme, like the mobile phone, computer and snowboard."

While re-introductions can give rise to some confusion with dating, further complications may result from colour variations or different accessories. The Winter Smurf (20004), for Instance, came with both yellow and red scarves while the Astro Smurf (20003) went into orbit both with and without a tie. Others wear the same clothing but come in completely different poses. It is also not uncommon for a figure to look the same but have up to eight possible markings, such as 'Peyo', 'Made In Hong Kong', 'Schlelch', etc. and the rarity will have a marked impact on the price. According to the German Smurf Guide, 'Der Schlumpf Katalog', Swimming Smurf - bearing the mark 'Made in China'- is worth DM8 compared with DM20 for the one marked 'Peyo'. Super accessories have included Gargamel's Lab, Smurfette's bedroom, Western set, Garden set, Well set and Drum set. 2000 sees the introduction of two new super playsets in the form of a School and Playground. New sets of Christmas, Easter and Back to School Smurfs are also currently available.

The old Smurf Easter series, produced from 1984, consists of six different Smurfs with colour variations on three and numbered from 20489 to 20497. PrIces vary from 2-5 pounds each. The History series, made in the late 1980's, has six figures in the set, all marked 'Made in Macau' representing famous characters, such as Christopher Columbus, and numbered 20501-20506. Of these, the most valuable are Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin, both worth around 25 pounds each.

The traditional Smurf Christmas series of figurines started in 1983 and consisted of 12 different Smurfs with a gold loop for attaching to the Christmas tree Some of these are the most valuable Smurf figurines of all, particularly the Holly Wreath Smurf and two variations of Praying Smurf. All three pieces were produced for one year only in 1985 and, as limited numbers usually make for high prices, the Holly Wreath Smurf can expect to fetch a Smurfly 250 pounds and the Praying Smurfs around 300 pounds each.

The beauty of being a Smurf collector lies in the ability to broaden the collectibles net and encompass the broader range of books, puzzles, flasks, lunchboxes and even sheets. A pair of Smurf curtains can be snapped up at car boot sales or flea markets for 5-7 pounds, puzzles from around 4 pounds and books for 5 pounds upwards.

The future of a collectables market which has grown up around an unlikely band of diminutive blue folk with their hard-working, honest and friendly image is undoubtedly assured!"