Welcome to the July 2002 issue of the "Smurfy News," a free e-mail newsletter delivered to over 2,023 Smurf lovers by www.eSmurfs.com! Welcome to our new subscribers! If you know a Smurf fan that might enjoy the Smurfy News, please forward this e-mail to them. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or edit your profile, please visit www.esmurfs.com and enter you e-mail address in the Smurfy News subscription form, or see the bottom of this e-mail. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Wow, I'm actually a few days early with this issue! I have decided to take a break in August, so you can expect the next issue of the Smurfy News to arrive in September...I'll be vacationing in Las Vegas, so if anyone has some inside pull, let me know :) I have pretty lousy seats for Danny Ganz and Siegfried & Roy, so if anyone can bump me up, I'd appreciate it, lol!! Seriously, I will certainly still be hard at work behind the scenes, so you can expect some surprises will be announced by the next issue! Smurf on for the newsletter :) -Pete www.eSmurfs.com =-=-=-=-= CONTENTS =-=-=-=-= 1) NEW IN THE SMURF SHOP 2) FROM THE MAILBAG 3) (UN)SMURFY ARTICLE? 4) FACTORY FRESH NEWS 5) A SMURF SONG 6) SMURFY NEWS GIVE-A-WAY 7) CLOSING =============================================== -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1) NEW IN THE SMURF SHOP -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Please take care to check this list of new arrivals here at eSmurfs.com There are quite a few hard to find pieces here! As you see, we continue to add Markings information for all updated listings, for the increasing number of collectors seeking specific markings. Some especially noteworthy pieces are raws, PVS on tree stump pencil sharpeners, 20079 Jolly, 20084 Handstand (yellow pants), 20099 Head Cook, 20125 English Heart ("Have a Heart" written in English!), 20404 Sassette (with orange hair), 40208 Sign Bearer, 40211 Gargamel and Azrael, MIB, and 40512 Basketball (small holes), MIB. 20001 Papa [Markings: Hong Kong] 20009 Drummer [Markings: Portugal, Mustard Paint Dot] 20034 Smurfette [Markings: CE hot stamp, Portugal, red paint dot] 20036 Glider Smurf [Markings: CE, Germany, Portugal, Red Paint Dot] 20044 Lover [Markings: West Germany, Red Paint Dot] 20047 Trumpeter (yellow) [Markings: West Germany, Red Paint Dot] 20053 Ice-Lolly (red) [Markings: CE, Germany, Black Paint Dot] 20078 Beer [Markings: CE, Germany, black paint dot] 20079 Jolly [Markings: West Germany, Mustard Paint Dot] 20084 Handstand (yellow pants) [Markings: None] 20086 Present (red bow) [Markings: Hong Kong, Wallace Berrie] 20089 Painter [Markings: West Germany] 20092 Conductor [Markings: Hong Kong, Wallace Berrie, No Paint Dot] 20094 Bookworm [Markings: CE, Germany] 20099 Head Cook [Markings: Bully, no paint dot] 20102 Archer (1 piece mold, horizontal bow) [Markings: Hong Kong] 20110 Hairdresser [Markings: Hong Kong, No Paint Dot] 20122 Cowboy (brown rope, on pencil sharpener) [Markings: CE, West Germany] 20123 Policeman (white, on pencil sharpener) [Markings: CE, West Germany] 20125 Heart (English) [Markings: West Germany] 20126 Roller-skate [Markings: Portugal, Mustard Paint Dot] 20132 American Football (with "3") [Markings: CE, Portugal, No Paint Dot] 20144 Indian (raw) [Markings: CE, West Germany] 20149 Cheerleader (with "S") [Markings: Hong Kong, Wallace Berrie] 20192 Smurfette with Baby (raw) [Markings: West Germany] 20226 Grandpa [Markings: CE, Germany] 20230 Wild [Markings: CE, Germany] 20404 Sassette (orange) [Markings: CE, China, Germany] 20408 Nanny [Markings: CE, Germany] 20427 Caveman [Markings: CE, Germany, Black Paint Dot] 20430 Viking (raw) [Markings: CE, Germany] 20442 Inline Skater (raw) [Markings: None] 20450 Bass Guitar Player [Markings: China, CE, Germany, No Paint Dot] 40090 Well (old Wallace Berrie box) 40208 Sign bearer [Markings: West Germany, Old German Schleich box] 40211 Gargamel and Azrael [Markings: Hong Kong/Wallace Berrie Box] 40502 Kayak (microprint box) 40512 Basketball (small holes) [Markings: Smurf: Portugal, Mustard paint dot, Base: Germany, Schtroumpfiade Box] As always, all orders ship with a free minicatalog, and free Smurf Stickers (collect all 9)! Orders totaling $50 or more (and yes, we base this on your grand total, including shipping) are currently shipping with a free embroidered Smurf patch featuring Normal Smurf, Papa Smurf or Smurfette! Click here to see the back-in-stock listings for this month: http://search.cartserver.com/search/search.cgi?cartid=a-6296&category=Smurfs&maxhits=20&keywords=new0702&bool=AND AOL Click Here! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2) FROM THE MAILBAG =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Hi Pete, I receive your Smurfy News for some years now. I think it is very interesting and a good way to stay updated on Smurf facts. One comment though. In the Smurfy News of June 2002 I discovered a very often-made mistake in the historical facts of the PVC Smurfs. You write in this issue, "The Smurfs were created by Pierre Culliford (1928-1992), a Belgian artist from Brussels who went by the nickname "Peyo." They made their debut in a 1958 cartoon and were an instant hit. The first molded PVC figurines appeared in 1965, and are still being made today by the Schleich Co. in Germany. Smurf figurines first appeared in the UK in 1978 when National Gas used them to promote service stations. A year later, they made their U.S. debut". The above however is not correct. The first PVC Smurfs where indeed produced by Schleich but were at first exclusively produced for BP gas stations in the Netherlands. The first Smurf ever appeared in 1965. I do remember it well because that time we recently had moved and had to take a different road to get to our grandparents. On that way there was a BP gas station with a big advertisement for the new Smurfs. From that time my father was not allowed to go to our grandparents without stopping at the gas station! Only when you filled your car you could buy one Smurf at the BP gas station. It did cost 50 Dutch Cents (this currency doesn't exist anymore due to the new European coin called the Euro but was worth about a quarter US Dollar). Every few months later a new character appeared. This way I collected my first 50 Smurfs. By the way the first character issued was the Normal Smurf (!) and not Papa Smurf as often thought. In 1968 BP still was the only shop you could buy Smurfs, but at this time you didn't need to buy gas anymore. Anyone could buy Smurfs at the BP gas stations. In the beginning of the seventies (I don't remember which year exactly) BP quit selling Smurfs soon after the release of the fiftieth Smurf character. Regular toy stores in the Netherlands took over and where selling Smurfs from that time till this day on! By the way; my personal collection consists at this moment over 1.600 different (including colour variations of course) PVC Smurfs. Happy Smurfing. -Ronald (aka smurf4ever)" --- I said, "Smurf figurines first appeared *in the UK* in 1978 when National Gas used them to promote service stations." The year 1978 refers only to the UK debut. As you and I both noted, the first PVC ever was produced in 1965, although I overlooked discussing where that occurred. The information for this article was based in part on a UK article, and for that audience, the UK origin was of most interest. However, a world-wide audience reads visits eSmurfs.com and reads the Smurfy News, so I agree, I should not have placed an emphasis on the UK debut. I have revised the article as it appears in the eSmurfs.com article Library! (^do it!) ----- "hi! how are you? My name is Ivan and I enjoy very much all of your Smurfy News...keep smurfing! Which leads me to another thing - why don't you make a movie-related comments about the Smurfs? There's this very funny comment/discussion about the Smurfs in the very wicked dark comedy "Donnie Darko" you should check it out!! And there must be tons of Smurf mentions in movies right? Hope you like this, Ivan" --- Hi Ivan, thanks for writing. I'm sure you are right, check out this other e-mail I received: ----- "Just thought you'd be interested in some Smurf info. I watched the movie "No Man's Land" the other night. This is the film that won the Oscar for best foreign film in 2002. It takes place during the Bosnian/Serbian war in 1993. At one point, a UN tank enters the battlefield and a Bosnian soldier responds to it by saying "The Smurfs are coming! The Smurfs are coming!" I don't know if it was just something funny in the movie, or if all Bosnians refer to the UN as the Smurfs, but it was cute nonetheless. Plus, the movie was really good, so you should check it out. -Eric Hempsall" --- That's odd! If anyone reading this knows anything about this reference, I will publish it. I frequently hear anecdotes about individuals with Smurfy nicknames, but never heard anything like this! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3) (UN)SMURFY ARTICLE? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This article first appeared in the January 23, 2002 issue of The Onion Antique Dealer Sick of Appraising Smurf Collections DULUTH, MN - Milton Jarry, an antique dealer with 29 years of experience buying and selling rare collectibles and furnishings, announced Monday that he is sick of estimating the value of Smurf collections and other "piles of pop-culture detritus." "If one more person brings in a 'rare' figurine of Smurfette in a jogging suit, I'm going to set it on fire," said Jarry, owner of The Finer Things, a Cortland Avenue antique shop. "That goes double for Brainy Smurf ceramic piggy banks." Created by Dutch cartoonist Peyo in the early 1960s, the Smurfs made their U.S. debut on NBC in 1981. The animated series chronicled the adventures of a band of tiny blue dwarves that lived in the mushroom cottages of Smurf Village with their 542-year-old leader Papa Smurf, Jarry begrudgingly explained. The hit series spawned a host of spin-off merchandise, including Smurf toys, jewelry, curtains, and kitchenware - all of which has made its way into Jarry's shop at some point. "A 17-year-old cereal bowl featuring a bunch of silly blue creatures does not constitute an antique," said Jarry, whose areas of expertise include antique European and Russian chandeliers, wall fixtures, and classic reproductions of 18th-century candelabras. "Neither, for that matter, does a 1986 ALF pillowcase." Though he considers himself an expert on many types of antiques, Jarry's true passion is the work of the New York lighting and metalwork firm E.F. Caldwell & Co. "Two years ago, during a trip to Washington D.C., I went to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Design and spent a full day just with their collection of E.F. Caldwell lighting fixtures," Jarry said. "I also was lucky enough to see the Strater collection of Swiss enameled glass, 19th-century French block-printed wallpaper, 20th-century Soviet propaganda porcelains..." Jarry's reverie was then interrupted by a customer wishing to be directed to the McDonaldland character glasses. Jarry said he dreams of one day running a store that deals exclusively in E.F. Caldwell sconces, table lamps, and chandeliers, along with those of other celebrated firms like Sterling Bronze Co., Bradley & Hubbard, and Murano. Unfortunately, the antique market in Duluth is not large enough to support such specialization. To ensure his store's profitability, Jarry has been forced to offer more in-demand collectibles, such as Star Wars action figures, Schlitz beer signs from the '70s, and Welcome Back, Kotter TV tray tables. As an added incentive for customers to come to his store, Jarry offers free appraisals. "This morning alone, I appraised a Dukes Of Hazard lunch box, a UM-Duluth edition Monopoly game from 1996, some Jaws 2 trading cards, and a smiley-face pillow that the owner found in her basement and thought looked 'pretty old,'" Jarry said. "Why do I put up with this?" Ever since the debut of the PBS series Antiques Roadshow, Jarry has seen a rise in the number of people hoping to make a fortune selling antiques. A recent customer was disappointed with the $3 valuation he gave a 1999 reproduction of a 1976 Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox, a price Jarry said was "on the generous side." Renee Knight, 34, owner of the lunchbox, questioned Jarry's appraisal. "I saw a metal lunch box on eBay go for $60, and all it had on it was a picture of a horse," Knight said. "Frankly, I don't think he knows what he's talking about. Or maybe he was lying so I'd sell it to him for next to nothing." Knight said she frequently browses The Finer Things for "cute Christmas and Halloween decorations" or items for her sister's extensive Garfield collection. "The prices here are a lot higher than at Goodwill, but sometimes I see something I just have to get," Knight said. "I'll warn you, though: Don't even go to the back of the store. I once saw a cute little lamp and was going to buy it until I realized it was $1,200, not $12." The lamp, a numbered Tiffany accent lamp with gold Favrile shade, remains unsold. "Most of the people who come in here expect I'll see the junk they scraped out of their basement toy boxes and start salivating," Jarry said. "They're disappointed if I don't say, 'I can't believe my luck in getting to hold in my very own hands an actual Skipper doll from 1978!'" Jarry, who holds masters degrees in history and art, said the antique business isn't what it was when he started. Though he occasionally speaks with respected peers when attending a convention or trade show, his everyday interactions as an independent dealer in a mid-sized city are less-than thrilling. "I'm in here six days a week, and all anyone asks me is if I know the name of Smurf arch-nemesis Gargamel's little black cat," Jarry said. "Why doesn't anyone ask me about 17th- and 18th-century Delftware metalwork? Or pre-Federal American-period furniture? Or even a simple question about Depression glass or old maps or decorative brass door knobs? By the way, it's Azrael." View this, and a growing collection of Smurf-related articles at the eSmurfs.com Library: http://www.esmurfs.com/smurfs-library.html AOL Click Here! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 4) FACTORY FRESH NEWS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I recently asked a Schleich factory rep in Germany about the "CE" designation we are seeing on some pieces. This is not the sharp "CE" that is molded into the figure in the injection machine. Rather, it is a rough mark that seems to have been engraved or stamped into the material. There has been some discussion on the bulletin board as to whether this mark was stamped or engraved. He said: "Around 10 to 15 years ago Schleich used a hot iron with the CE logo to brand the Smurfs with it. This was done around the time when the CE regulations came into force and it was added to those Smurfs that were on stock at that time and that did not have the CE mark molded into the PVC. The device used was a modified soldering iron." I am currently working on a new page for eSmurfs.com which features illustrations and discussion of all kinds of markings found on PVC's. The CE regulations will be discussed on this new page. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 5) A SMURF SONG =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Here is a little question and answer from Arnie Sykes, an Artist who has released a song called "Smurfin' Blue" on his debut album "TV Junkie." (You can visit www.arniesykes.com for a 30 second MP3 clip, and to buy the album.) "How did the song come to encompass a Smurf theme? I've been in relationships where I admit I made some mistakes and I wanted to write a song that encompassed all my emotions that I felt being in the relationships and losing them to other causes. It's a wide variety of emotions so Smurfs, being a wide variety of emotions, names, and the like, seemed to be the perfect fit, especially since I was mostly feeling "blue." How did you come to know of the Smurfs? I am guessing you [Pete] are maybe in my generation (I'm 32) [I'm 31 :) -Pete] and know them from the NBC cartoons, and the general "Smurfmania" in the 80's. Yes, it definitely started with the cartoon and Smurfmania of the 80s. The cartoon was actually one of my favorites all the time. Sometimes, even though I shouldn't because I got work the next day, I stay up until like four in the morning just so I can catch an episode on Cartoon Network. [Actually, CN is showing the Smurfs at 5AM, EST in the US -Pete] Did you ever collect Smurfs? If so, where are they today? I sure did collect Smurfs. I remember having about 30 of them when I was a kid. But I was not a responsible child so I either lost them, gave them to a friend that I never saw again, or sold them in a yard sale. I need a new hobby, so maybe I'll start collecting them again :) I also used to have the Smurfs glasses. But one of my friends (Leah Stinson, who sings on the title track "TV Junkie") gave me a vintage Smurfs record player and Smurfs record last Christmas. It's the best present I've ever gotten. ----- Well thanks Arnie, for fielding these few questions! It's neat to see how the Smurfs continue to reverberate even to this day in the US. They certainly made a big impact! I've heard rumors of a US reintroduction, but they are strictly rumors at this point...stay tuned! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 6) SMURFY NEWS GIVE-A-WAY =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Here are last month's winners! Congratulations Ian Noah of Culver City, CA! You won the Blue Ice Lolly Smurf! Congratulations "carterfrick" of Flesherton, Ontario, Canada! You won the Surfboard Smurf! I think I have a really special piece to give away this month. It is the old "Sport & Fitness" keychain promo with gold shorts! This unfortunate fellow was apparently mauled by a dog, but still displays very nice! He has no rubs at all, and the promo mark is clear as a bell. He just has a few puncture marks - must have been a puppy that got at him! Still, this is certainly a very hard to find piece, and you can't beat FREE!! Enter by completing this secret entry form for Smurfy News subscribers ONLY!! http://www.esmurfs.com/smurfs-contest.html AOL Click Here THE WINNER WILL BE DRAWN AND ANNOUNCED AT THE ESMURFS BULLETIN BOARD BEFORE THE NEXT SMURFY NEWS: http://www.esmurfs.com/cgi-local/forum2/dcboard.cgi?az=lobby AOL Click Here! If anyplace is eSmurfs headquarters, it is the bulletin board! Please stop in, introduce yourself to your fellow members, and join the fun! =-=-=-=-=-= 7) CLOSING =-=-=-=-=-= I'll end this with my usual plea to contribute whatever you can to OUR newsletter. Please don't assume "eSmurfs must know!" Please let us know when something Smurfy is discovered so we can share the news with our worldwide network of Smurf fans! This goes for YOU too! I'm hoping to return with a great issue in September, with all the extra time to work on it, but I need help from YOU too! Let us know how you got into Smurfs! Tell us about your Smurfy finds! Ask questions, we can help get answers! If you are wondering about something, chances are, other people are too! Let's all share what we know, and learn together! Until next time, Smurf On! -Pete www.eSmurfs.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE SMALL PRINT =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This newsletter is (C) 2002 eSmurfs.com, All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, without the express written consent of eSmurfs.com. The contents of this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the opinions of eSmurfs.com. eSmurfs.com makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, about the truth or accuracy of the contents or information provided by the sponsors or by the writers. Use info contained herein at your own risk. The "Smurfy News" is a FREE e-mail newsletter published for your enjoyment every month by your friends at eSmurfs.com (www.esmurfs.com) Joining or leaving the list is voluntary, we do not spam! eSmurfs.com carries the full range of current production Smurf products by Schleich as well as much of the retired line and many other Smurf collectibles. If you enjoy this newsletter, please help support us with a purchase - Smurfs make great gifts! SHARING IS CARING!! Share what you know and learn with other Smurf collectors by submitting information, news, articles, stories and anything Smurf-related to eSmurfs.com - just hit reply now! We collect and disseminate information the world over to keep Smurf collectors united and having a Smurfy good time! The Smurf character is a registered trademark of Studio Peyo - License I.M.P.S. eSmurfs.com is a collector resource and retail Smurf shop only, it is not affiliated with I.M.P.S. or Peyo. For information on licensing the Smurfs name and/or character, contact I.M.P.S. at rue du Cerf 85, Genval 1332, Belgium