Shop Open Day Pieces

I will try and give an idea of numbers sold for as many pieces as I can but it might prove tricky.  When Clarecraft closed all the pieces were automatically ‘retired’.  If a piece retired prior to this then there is a good chance I will have the final number sold.  Unfortunately with the closure of Clarecraft so many pieces retired that the number sold figures were not released. 


Shop Open Day pieces came about as a way to say thank you to fans who managed to attend, a piece that could only be bought at Open Days.  The first of these was DW35S Dibbler with Dragon Detectors.  It was felt that this wasn’t the right Dibbler piece for general sale so it was taken along to an open day in 1994.  This became a tradition and whenever Clarecraft attended an open day there was always something that could be bought elsewhere.  DW35S was introduced in 1994 and retired in August 1998.  350 were sold at an RRP of £25.  Top price since has hit £180.



In 1998 Elton Murphy who was in charge of the Collectors Guild at the time came up with the idea of making a ‘Death’s Head’ to be given away to the first 100 guild members that attended.  These heads were whites for the purposes of PYO however most people preferred to wait in a queue and offer it up for the visiting Clarecraft painter to do it for them.  There ended up being 4 different heads.  Death (DWE8), Rincewind (DWE9) and Granny Weatherwax (DWE10)  (introduced in 1999) and Twoflower (introduced in 2001).  The heads RRP was £3.50.
 
When DW35S retired DW88 was brought in to replace it.  DW88 is Death as Beau Nidle and shows Deaths head (skull??!!) poking out of the sand.  This was introduced in July 1998 and was retired in December 2000.  261 of the original version were sold at an RRP of £9.99, top price since, £43.  I say original version (with Clarecraft there is always something J), the usual pieces were painted to have white hats with a blue band across it (as pictured).  However for an event in February 2002, 100 pieces were painted with a black hat.  These were a one off, not all of them sold on the day and were still available some time later.  One of these has sold recently for around £60.

  In March 2002 DWE18, Susan and the Death of Rats was produced.  This piece cost £20.  At around the time Clarecraft closed, this piece and DWE19 Dr Whiteface went through a period of being extremely popular and as a result sold for some ridiculous prices.  Both pieces reached £150.  It is more reasonable to expect anywhere between £10 and £50 though.  These figures were only retired on the closure of Clarecraft so although I know they only sold in low numbers I’m not sure of the exact figure.

As well as shop visits it was possible for fans to visit the factory to see how things were done.  PYO proved popular for these too.  DWE7 was the Shield of the Gamblers Guild.  It was introduced in February 2000 and was available until the closure of Clarecraft.  The shield cost £25 if bought painted and could only be bought direct through Clarecraft.  This was expensive for a shield due to the amount of painting involved.  It sold for £15 as a white for PYO and proved popular.  This piece again was only retired on the closure of Clarecraft so exact sales figures are not available.  I love this particular piece simply for the motto on the bottom.  I will do a piece on the Shields soon but all the shields have a motto on them.  The motto for the gamblers guild is ‘Excretus ex Fortuna’ which can be (very loosely) translated as ‘Shit out of Luck’.

Event Pieces

I have pictures of a few of these and will put them in.  Some of the others I either don’t have or the pieces are buried too far back in the cupboard for me to reach (I may have started collecting again but I still don’t have a big enough house to display them all :D).  If there is a piece you are desperate to see then let me know and I will endeavour to get a picture.

The first Event in 1995 didn’t have a theme exactly, so the pieces were a motley collection of what could be made in time.  Leigh Pamment, a Clarecraft sculptor, made Roderick the Hippo (to be found on the COA of Ankh Morpork, Bernard made a piece of Dwarf Bread and a Plaque with the crest of the City Watch was produced.
DWE1 Dwarf Bread was a Ltd Edition of 200 which sold out on the day.  They originally cost a bargain £2.50 and the current top price is in the region of £50.
DWE2 Roderick was a Ltd Edition of 500 and despite his low price of £4.50 was still on sale several years later.  They finally sold out however and can now fetch up to £60.
DWE3 the City Watch Plaque was a Ltd Edition of 500.  It sold out quickly at £10 and at its peak sold for £110.


Of these 3 I must admit to being a big fan of Roderick.  He is smooth and quite chunky so he is nice to touch (I am aware I sound like a loony but bear with me).  I bought my Roderick off eBay after being desperate to get a collection of these 3.  I finally got him and was checking him (as I do with all pieces) when I saw silver writing on the bottom.  I checked and he has been signed ‘Best wishes Leigh Pamment’.  Having never seen another Roderick I’m not sure if they all came with this but I have never heard mention that Leigh signed them all.  The seller hadn’t noticed it and hadn’t bought him at the event personally so could shed no light.  Just another thing I love about collecting these figures.  They are all so individual with individual stories.  I of course love to think he is special and not all of them were signed I this way, but I would, wouldn’t I.

DWE4 was a piece produced for the 1996 Discworld convention.  I do not have one so am unable to post a picture.  The piece shows the Librarian lying in a hammock with ‘The First Discworld Convention 1996’ written underneath.  It is a flat back style piece and 450 were produced at a price of £20.  This has sold for as much as £170 but generally gets between £40 and £60.

DWE5 is Death as Bill Door, another flat back piece.  This was for the 1997 event which had the theme Reaper Man.  The piece shows Death looking through a barn door.  This piece wasn’t Ltd Edition as such.  Attendees to the event were given a voucher entitling them to £15 off the piece if bought that weekend.  The pieces bought at the event included a special plaque at the bottom saying ‘The Reaper Man Event Clarecraft 1997’.  The pieces were released for general sale after the event at the price of £30.  784 pieces were sold in total.  Pieces with the plaque on have sold for up to £60, pieces without have made around £40.

DWE6 was from the 1999 Event whose theme was Carpe Jugulum.  A Nac Mac Feegle was produced as the Event Piece.  The Event NMF is about 4 inches tall putting him out of scale with the rest of the collection (Clarecraft produced another range of NMF a few years later which are considerably smaller and in scale with a Tiffany figure produced at the same time).  He has a thimble in one hand raised in toast and a sword in the other.  This was the first piece to feature a pewter sword and Clarecraft were keen to try out their new pewter machine.  Many future pieces have small pewter touches to them.  The NMF sold 750 at a price of £15 and has reached £45 since.

In 2000 the Discworld convention was cancelled at the last minute.  Clarecraft stepped in and organised an Event, basing it on Lords and Ladies.  There were 3 pieces produced (1 stand alone and 1 pair of bookends). 
DWE11 (fear not, pieces DWE7 etc will be explained shortly) was Granny Weatherwax on a Bridge and DWE12 was Wizard on a Bridge.  Each bookend depicted half a stone bridge with a figure stood on it so when the pieces were displayed together you had the whole bridge.  For the first time 2 different sculptors worked on the same piece.  Bernard made the bridges from plaster and Joe Pattinson sculpted the figures from resin.  Unfortunately resin and plaster do not stick together effectively making the heads of the figures prone to falling off.  I coveted these for years as they are particularly lovely looking pieces.  I finally won a pair on eBay for a very reasonable sum, unfortunately Royal Mail treated them rather roughly and when they arrived the heads had fallen off both figures.  They were returned and my hunt continued.  Only 100 painted sets of these were produced however unlimited numbers of whites were made available for PYO.  Each bookend sold for £30 and an intact pair has sold for up to £700, however they more regularly make around the £300 to £500 mark.








The final piece for this event was DWE13, Magrat in Armour.  Magrat is shown wearing chain mail, her wedding dress and carrying a pewter crossbow.  This piece was a Ltd Edition of 500 and sold out rapidly.  A retail price of £32.50 has translated into a top price of £150.  Clarecraft themselves were surprised at how well she was received and she is a sought after piece for many collectors.  






In 2001 the scheduled Event was held and again 1 stand alone figure and 1 pair of bookends were produced.  The theme was Moving Pictures.
DWE15 Detritus Bookend and DWE16 Ruby Bookend.  These feature the trolls in full evening dress.  100 painted pairs were produced but again unlimited whites for PYO were available.  The 100 pieces sold at the event have a broken plate next to the characters foot with ‘Event 2001’ on it.  The pieces were made available after the event on general sale without these plates.  The general sale pieces were the first ones to have the pewter hallmarks on them and had numbers DW131 and DW132.  There was another variation on these pieces but that will be explained in the Oddities and Cock Ups section that will be coming soon.  The original Event versions had a price of £49.50 each and a pair has made around £200.



DWE16 Laddie and Gaspode was made for the 2001 Event and features the beautiful pure breed Laddie along with the unfortunate Gaspode. This was a Ltd Edition of 500 and sold for £34.99.  Top price on this so far appears to be between £50 and £60 but they don’t seem to come up too often.






  

    


 The 2003 Event was based on Pyramids and the Event piece was DWE20 Tortoise and Arrow.  This piece features a small tortoise with an arrow in the sand next to him.  This piece was relatively inexpensive at £12.50 (after the more expensive pieces of the last few events) but didn’t sell particularly well.  They were a Limited Edition of 500 but were still available from Clarecraft 2 years later.  They have sold for up to £30.   





Also available at the 2003 Event were 2 pewter badges.  They were only sold at the event and the remainder were melted down.

 


The 2005 Event was the final event however no-one apart from Clarecraft knew this at the time.  The theme was Monstrous Regiment and the Event piece was not a piece exactly but a small collection of items.  The main part was the Shako Badge, similar in style to the original City Watch Plaque in 1995, this was DWE24.  DWE25 was a pewter Shako Keyring, DWE26 a pewter Flaming Cheese Pin Badge and DWE27 a pewter Flaming Cheese Keyring.  These were sold as a pack for  £30 but were still being sold when Clarecraft shut down a couple of months later (at a discounted price of £20).

At the 2003 and 2005 Events there were pewter medals awarded as prizes in the various competitions.  These could only be won at the events and rarely come up on eBay so are definitely something to look out for.

The Events

The Event Pieces were designed for the Discworld Events held once every 2 years (generally) starting in 1995.  The Events were timed to alternate with the Discworld Convention. Each Event was based loosely around one of the books and took place over a weekend in the summer.  The first event was held at the factory in Woolpit but as word spread and the event grew they were held on a nearby farm.  People attending had the option to camp on site and there were various barns selling Discworld merchandise, food, drink and of course the infamous Paint Your Own section.  At Paint Your Own you bought ‘whites’ of various pieces.  Then you went and sat around a table with lots of other people where there were paints and painting guides.  The actual Clarecraft painters were generally wandering around and were generous with help and advice.    Once you had painted your piece you could go and have a small, PYO pewter trademark added to it to complete it.  The whole thing was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and then you emerged, blinking in the sunlight, to go and find the bar (I have a feeling that PYO and the bar are the most memorable parts of the events for many people :D).

Terry would do book signing sessions.  There would be times posted but again, Terry was very generous with his time and would often spend double the allotted amount of time signing and talking.  Everyone was happy and friendly and the whole thing was very relaxed.  If you had a penchant for dressing up you could indulge yourself and there was even a prize for the best decorated tent.

Event Pieces are easily spotted as they have an E in their number, however not all pieces with E in their number are strictly Event pieces.  As well as the actual Event there were ‘shop open days’ throughout the year when Clarecraft would visit a stockist for a day.  Special pieces were made that were only sold at these open days, as a thank you for people who went along (more on these later).

I will try and give the top price that the pieces have gone for however there was a peak time a few years ago when pieces sold for substantially more than they are likely to achieve again anytime soon.  The prices are an example of the top price paid and are not the value of the pieces.  Value is subjective.  To me, some of my pieces are priceless, I would never part with them and the top price paid in no way reflects their value to me.  All it takes is for someone to get carried away on eBay and a piece gets given a top price that distorts it’s general sale price.  I don’t really like mentioning prices as they change all the time and it’s hard to put a value on things.  The best way to get a feel for how much a particular piece is worth is by watching eBay.  However I understand that some people may be curious so have included top prices where I have them.

Makers marks

It would be logical to start at the beginning, the beginning for Clarecraft Discworld figurines being DW01 Rincewind.  I am not terribly logical and I think that it would be too limiting to construct the pages in that way.  There is a massive breadth of Discworld ‘stuff’ out there.  I don’t want to have to be limited to only Clarecraft when one day I might fancy writing about Bernard Pearsons’ Assassins Guild or some such.  Even within the items that are Clarecraft there is a huge variety of paint finishes, tweaks, different stamps and stickers (and even little extra touches when the painters get bored!).  The list is endless.  Ill just try and tackle things as logically as I can.  As ever, if there’s anything you want to add or ask about, feel free.

If you look closely at any Clarecraft Discworld piece there should be a couple of things in common with any other piece.  There should be a sticker on the bottom.  This sticker will give the piece name and number.  The design of the stickers changed in January 1992.  Very early pieces may have a sticker with the old Clare craft ‘Double C’ logo. Pieces made after this may have the sticker with the Discworld logo on it.  The word ‘may’ is important here as some pieces may have small plain rectangular stickers or round Clarecraft stickers rather than specific Discworld stickers or even no sticker.  On very early figures, the green felt on the bottom of the piece may be simply a circle rather than covering the bottom of the entire piece.

Early figures may also have the old trademark stamps on them.  These include the Discworld stamp, a hand written copyright name or a square block trademark.  In 1993 a new trademark and logo were produced.  This consists of a Discworld in the O of the word.

Part of the charm of Clarecraft is there is no fixed rule so there may be any combination of stamps and stickers.  I love checking any new pieces I get to see whats on there!  As time went on further alterations were made.  In about 1995 the sculptors began to sign and date each piece they made.  This will generally be handwritten somewhere on the piece.  In 1997 painters marks were introduced.  Originally they could have been written anywhere on the figure but from February 1998 small plaques were put on the figures for this purpose.  In 2001 it was recognised that Far Eastern companies were copying Clarecrafts work.  To help identify true Clarecraft pieces Pewter Hallmarks were added to each piece produced after this.  The Discworld pewter hallmarks are the same logo as on the stickers and the previous base marks.  The Discworld ones also have a ‘notch’ at the top.  Starting in 2001 these notches moved along every year to help future collectors identify what year their piece was produced.   I have attached some piccies of my own pieces to show the various stickers and stamps and also showing the painters mark and sculptors names.  I will dig out a piece with a block trademark and post it another time. 

Bitten by the Pratchett bug!

Clarecraft was set up initially in 1980 by Bernard and Isobel Pearson. In 1990 they acquired the rights to make pieces based on the Discworld series of books. In 1993 the factory was taken over by Trish Baker and Sally Crouch. Bernard continued to make Discworld pieces and the Cunning Artificer is responsible for producing the amazing buildings of the Disc. After reading the books the designers would come up with an idea which would be shown to Terry, when it got his approval, (and only when it got his approval) it would be manufactured. The beauty of the Clarecraft figures is that due to the processes and the fact that each one is handmade and hand painted each figure is unique. Also mistakes were made and tweaks were made to figures resulting in many different versions of the same figure. Famous examples include putting the wrong badge number on some of the City Watch characters (Carrot and Angua being given Vimes number), an errant apostrophe on the dried frog pills boxes and adding the cloak to the Vetinari figurine to make it easier to paint. These of course just added to the fun of tracking items down and I can still remember the absolute joy I felt when I managed to snag a perfect Mark 1 Carrot off eBay for a reasonable price!

With the arrival of Discworld figurines there of course followed Discworld fanatics. The Disc has a nasty habit of bringing out the fanatical collector in anyone and Clarecraft soon realised that the figurines were acquiring a devoted and loyal following. Acting on this they did what any reputable collectable company would do and set up a club!!! Not just any club, but the Discworld Collectors Guild!

The Discworld Collectors Guild was set up and for the payment of a small sum you got yourself a card (every club needs a card otherwise what’s the point in belonging to it!) and a free figurine/pewter figure. The card entitled you to buy the collectors piece, a special piece produced every year for sale only to members of the Guild. Initially these were available through normal Clarecraft stockists but it soon became apparent that certain proprietors were not demanding the production of the card prior to sale!!! This nefarious practice was brought to an end when the figures were made available only through Clarecraft themselves.

I came to the Collectors Guild and indeed Terry Pratchett rather late. My father had been trying to interest me in Terrys’ books for years but I resisted! Finally, in 1997 I was sat on my own on Christmas day in my then boyfriends flat, he had to work and I was waiting for him to finish. Bored and lonely I did what any young woman would do when left alone in someone elses flat. I snooped, shamelessly and obsessively! Finally, when I had exhausted that particular avenue of entertainment I became bored again. I am an avid reader, have been all my life and this flat belonged to a young man and his flatmate so the only literature appeared to be of a certain type of publication not suitable for young ladies…. and one book. It was Soul Music by Terry Pratchett. I picked it up, I wasn’t heartened by the picture on the front and frankly the blurb on the back didn’t thrill me, but I was desperate. I began to read.

I would like to say I was instantly in love with it all but although I enjoyed the book and wanted to read more I was quite casual about it all. I went to Tesco and bought another paperback Pratchett and then another. And quickly realised that there were some that I would grow to love and some that I, well, wouldn’t. I then read Hogfather and that is what ultimately did for me. By the end of that I was hopelessly and completely in love with the Disc and its inhabitants. I began to accidentally say Hogswatch instead of Christmas, kept forgetting that the Verucca Gnome doesn’t exist and I subscribed to the Samuel Vimes Boots theory of economic unfairness, which I still finds illustrates the point nicely today!

In the back of all these paperbacks was a little advertisement. Promising that the characters I was growing to love would ‘step out of the page’ thanks to a company called Clarecraft. When I discovered Discworld I was 17 years old. I had no money (in common with every 17 year old). I had no idea how much these figurines might cost, I also had no access to the internet (oh, I feel old). I was vaguely intrigued but in the time before the internet I would have to fill in and cut out the coupon in the back of the book and (gasp!) post it off to Suffolk to get my hands on the goodies. I ignored it!

Time went on, I continued to devour the books and soon had my firm favourites. I loved the City Watch series and soon imagined myself to be a member, walking the streets and taming miscreants (never dreaming that a few years later I would end up in the Roundworld Constabulary!). I went to university, was still poor and still could only look longingly at the little pictures in the back of the books.


A couple of years later I went down to Leeds to see a friend. My university city was small and historic. Leeds was huge. With lots of shops. On one of our trips into town we stumbled into a little shop which sold Clarecraft figurines. I was able to see the figurines for real for the first time. I liked them, they were pretty. To a student they were also expensive. I picked up a little leaflet, that I still have (told you, fanatical collector!). This leaflet told me about a wonderful thing called the Collectors Guild. I think it was about £20 a year to join, a huge sum for me but I considered it and considered it and eventually paid my 20 quid. I got my card, I got my pewter miniature (more on those later), I got my Ankh Morpork Coat of Arms and each quarter I got my Newsletter. It told of figures that were retiring, new figures that were being produced, it had puzzles and prizes. A veritable cornucopia of Discish delight. Throughout it all however, I never dreamed I would begin to collect them, that of course, is how these things start (it is also how I ended up with 7 cats, collecting by stealth!!)

Each year the Guild would give out renewal pieces. Initially collectors got a different thing for each year they had been a member but this was unwieldy and hard to administrate. It was decided that this would be changed. Members would receive a Coat of Arms on renewal. The Coat of Arms would change each year and each member would get the same one regardless of how long they had been a member. They could choose to give up the Coat of Arms and instead get 15 quid off a figure of their choice. I stuck with the Coats of Arms. I joined too late to get the original renewal gifts, and too late to get the very first Coats of Arms. These included the Seamstress Guild, the Beggars Guild and the Assassins Guild and each became very collectable and on occasion, quite expensive. The original renewal gifts and the Coats of Arms will be discussed later.

One day however, I received a missive informing me that Clarecraft had ‘Cocked Up’. They had produced a new Carrot figurine. DW100. Unfortunately, they had made the first few with badge number 177. The sculptors had believed that 177 was the Precinct number when in fact it is Vimes personal badge number. They had also produced that years Collectors Edition, ‘Angua as a Wolf‘, again with the wrong badge number. These were Rarities. They had decided to release the items with the wrong badge numbers to collectors only. Not being keen on Angua and at this point still not thinking that I would turn into a (hushed tone) ‘serious’ Collector, I decided on an approach that has stood me in good stead ever since. I bought the figurine that I liked the most, rather than the one I thought would eventually be worth the most. I counted my pennies and sent off my 30 quid (well, 29 pounds 99 pence) and for my efforts I received my DW100, Carrot with the Wrong Badge Number!!!!!! I put him on my shelf and admired him and was pleased that I had managed to buy one piece. I decided that if this was the only one I ever bought, I was happy! I had never collected anything in my life before, I underestimated what it is to be a Collector (capital c!).

Sadly, several years later my poor Carrot was knocked over by my cat whilst I was cleaning and lost his feet at the shins, I still have Carrot and Shins though and hope one day to get round to getting them reunited! Unfortunately as I still also have the cat it might be better to wait a while!

I continued to receive my newsletter. It told of The Discworld Event. The Discworld Events were a way for the fans to get together without the word convention being used. There were already several conventions in existence, usually costly affairs and Terry preferred the idea of the more informal sounding event, a chance for fans to get together without too much pressure or expense.


Terry attended these events, there were always lots of pictures of people having an obscene amount of fun. And they were always in Suffolk. I lived in the North East and it seemed so far away. Each event I planned to save for the next. 2 years would roll round and I would be stuck at home again. At the event, they had special Event Pieces. Produced only for that event. By this time the collecting bug had well and truly struck. I had a list I my head of figures I coveted. I got on with it and time moved on (as time is wont to do).


I left uni, started making money and building my collection. I discovered eBay and a whole new world of retired figurines was opened to me. I paid over the odds for some, and also got some bargains. But I always stuck to the golden rule. I only ever bought a figure if I liked it.

I got to fulfil a long held dream when I went to my first Discworld event in 2003. It was all I had hoped for. I sat and painted my own figurines in the ‘Paint Your Own’ tent. The weather was wonderful, the people were friendly and the beer was cold. I got to meet Terry and have him sign a print I had bought (I had never met an author before so was not prepared with huge piles of books, I learned that lesson the hard way after queuing for a looong time behind people with every book they ever owned :-)). I was tongue tied and overwhelmed, if you have read Hogfather I think I probably did only manage an ‘’nk you’ when he signed my print :). Terry continued to wander around for the rest of the weekend, it was a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere.

In 2005 I went to the next Event. This time though, something wasn’t right. Normally the collectors piece for the year was produced and made available at the event. This time, there was no sign of it and questions about it received vague, ‘It’ll be out soon’ type replies. I had no reason to doubt them so I didn’t! I also felt a vague sense of disquiet at a new attraction. A lucky dip. £25 got you a fumble in a large bran tub. You were guaranteed a figurine. I went and because I wasn’t born lucky I got a DW01 Rincewind (I already had it and I’m not a massive fan of the Rincewind books so frankly I was disappointed). My companion had a go, he was born lucky and reached in and got an Angua, Collectors Edition with the Wrong Badge Number!!! The very piece I had foregone in order to get my precious Carrot several years before (by 2005 my collecting had gathered pace and I had a large number of figurines, including some rare ones). I of course was delighted but did ponder on what an odd thing it was to do. I had a delightful weekend and put it out of my head and went home where I continued frequenting Clarecraft, Discworld forums and eBay.

One night, shortly after the event I was browsing, it was late on, I couldn’t sleep. I clicked onto the Clarecraft site as usual and found a new message. It said that Clarecraft was having trouble staying profitable (handmade in Britain isn’t easy) and they would be closing in October. Any orders placed before the middle of October would be fulfilled. I was shocked, I actually cried. I couldn’t believe I was so upset but, without realising it, Clarecraft, its people and its figurines had become a massive part of my life. I immediately set to work on a list of must have figurines. Again I stuck to my rule on liking them and instead of buying the more recent figures that would be rarer, I bought the figures I really wanted. I had been given money by my dad to buy a drum kit after starting lessons some months previously. I spent the money on figurines. I still don’t have a drum kit :-). I’ve never regretted what I did with the money.

Clarecraft closed, people lost interest. I meandered to the Cunning Artificers site, where Bernard Pearson, the founder of Clarecraft still produced his own amazing wares. These were buildings however, beautifully made and incredibly expensive. Bernard held an ‘Event’ in 2007, something to fill the gap, the Discworld Jamboree. It was great fun but it was a one off. Wadfest was still going but that had never had the same appeal for me as the Clarecraft Events and I never enjoyed it as much. It gradually stopped being such a big part of my life. I did something I vowed I would never do. I put my collection in cupboards, out of view. I lost interest. I stopped buying them. I stopped loving them. I had a database of all my figures, I updated it regularly with prices they went for on eBay. I stopped. It wasn’t just Clarecraft that had gone, it was a whole little community that shared my interest.

A few days ago, at a loose end, I decided to do a check and see what figures I actually have. I took them out of the cupboards. I looked at them. I realised how amazing they are and I fell in love with them all over again. I picked up each figurine and it had a story, I knew the history of each piece, what it was called, what it was worth, how it came about, how I acquired it, I wanted to tell someone. I remembered how much I actually knew about these figurines, realised I had acquired a lot of information in the 14 years since I picked up a Pratchett book. I saw the detail, the humour and warmth and I looked on the internet. I searched for information on these figurines. Information that used to be freely available. I only found questions. People wanting to know more about their figures, how much were they worth, who made them, whom did they depict. I found answers that were lacking, from people who admitted to not being fond of Clarecraft, only Pratchett. People who were trying to help but who could only offer basic information. I thought back to when I first started collecting, how hungry for information I was. I thought how if I began collecting now I might give up through lack of reliable information. I decided to write what I knew down.

I think there is an element of the ‘mad fan’ in everyone and this is me indulging my inner ‘mad fan’. I hope you find it useful and maybe even entertaining and I hope you allow your ‘mad fan’ to join in and make it complete!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Introduction

It is my intention in these pages to create a record for any collector of the Clarecraft Discworld series of figurines.  From looking about on the internet I can see that since the demise of Clarecraft in 2005 there is a lack of information about pieces in general.  Someone discovering the figurines for the first time could potentially have a real problem satisfying the intense curiosity in knowing everything about a new interest!  These pages are only about the Discworld series that Clarecraft produced.  They did make other ranges however, I know nothing about them, as lovely as they were, I had to concentrate on something for fear of becoming a serial collector.  I will assume that any person locating these pages will have an interest in Discworld and the characters to start with so there will be no need for me to extensively explain the characters and their histories and interactions.  This is not the Discworld Companion! If there are characters here that are unfamiliar then grab a copy of the companion and achieve enlightenment :D

I have never written anything before, I have no flair for it, there is nothing else I know enough about to write down.  This is a labour of love, written for my own pleasure, for me to revel in my knowledge.  I know no other collectors, there is no-one I can boast to, or proudly show my collection to, or offer advice to.  I write this so that there will be a resource, somewhere with information on Discworld collectables.  I offer it as a place for other collectors to boast of their collections.  If you have a rare piece, tell me, take a picture and show me, let me be jealous (especially if you have the bridges, the heads fell off mine :)).  I don’t profess to know everything about these figurines, if I get it wrong or you have more detail, tell me.  If there is a particular piece you want to ask about, do it.  I may not know everything about it but I’ll know something!  I want to share my love of Pratchett and Clarecraft and for others to do the same.

I will try and make the information as accurate as I can but as with Clarecraft themselves I am sure I will make ‘Cock Ups’. (more about those later!).  I intend to try and give basic information about each piece sold including when it was made, rough numbers sold and prices.  Some of this information will come from the collectors guide produced by Clarecraft themselves or their newsletters produced at regular intervals with news on pieces but information on prices etc is more likely to come from my own personal database of Discworld pieces. I will also shamelessly garner facts from all corners of the internet and my brain and throw them in here somewhere.

As well as Clarecraft items I am sure I will go off at a tangent onto some of my other pieces (including items by Paul Kidby, Mark Ayling and Bernard Pearson).  I have artwork, books and other, various Discworld ephemera.  I have a love of all things ‘Discish’ and have a varied collection.  Also as a collector I am fascinated by my collection and delight in sharing it with others.  This may mean that I sometimes go off at a tangent but I hope that the information helps people enough that they sit through the rest of it