Hallmark Little Gallery

I found this little treasure at Goodwill for .69.  The saying is hallmark-y for sure, but how cute is it! I'm glad the sticker is still on it because I never knew Hallmark had a "Little Gallery" collection. I found the following paragraph from this link: http://ornaments.freeservers.com/guide/lg/index.html

The Little Gallery was introduced by Hallmark in the early 1970s and ended in early 1984. The line included figurines, plates, placques and decorative items primarily produced in pewter, porcelain and Australian Crystal. Prices for the pieces ranged from $12 - $80. 

Popular pieces included Betsey Clark, Mary Hamilton and Joan Walsh Anglund children. There seems to be a demand on the secondary market now for the Muppet Collection pieces. A series of mice, Cheddar and Co are also popular.

Hallmark sold the copyrights for Cheddar and Co and Betsey Clark pewter to Hudson in cooperation with the New England Pewter Co., who continued to produce the pieces after 1984 without the Little Gallery Logo.

Of special interest is a plate named "Special Day" produced in 1984. This plate was originally to be used for Father's Day and Mother's Day, but with the line discontinued - they produced the plate in small quantities and offered it to dealers for the "Special Day" of the end of the Little Gallery. http://ornaments.freeservers.com/guide/lg/index.html. 

When I googled "Little Gallery Mice" as referenced in the above paragraph, links for miniature mice figurines came up as well as some other Hallmark miniature collectibles. Some are being sold on Etsy, like this one:

Little Gallery Hallmark Ceramica Plaque showers of kindness fill hearts with Sunshine Tague Kitschy Walnut Frame Girl and Ducks

https://www.etsy.com/listing/159666278/little-gallery-hallmark-ceramica-plaque?ref=market for $12.  This one has the artist: Tague

Other similar "Little Gallery" pictures show the artist such as Betsey Clark and Walsh Anglund.  Mine, as shown, doesn't have an artist's name. Darn.   If you have any Hallmark Little Gallery items, they may be worth money because many of them are now collectibles.

On Ebay this same item sold for $9.95.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hallmark-Little-Gallery-Wood-Plaque-Love-Isnt-love-til-its-given-away-Mouse-/121269823266
I can't find out any other information about this one specifically.

This picture made me recall the FRIENDS episode (Sorry had to put a link to the full series seeing as I always reference these 6 goofballs) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B1LN8WY/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00B1LN8WY&linkCode=as2&tag=crifoyo-20&linkId=4AVE2FEYNTECZSLS
where Joey and Phoebe argue about if there's such as thing as a selfless act.  Phoebe believes it's possible to do something selfless without receiving anything in return.  To make her point she goes out and lets a bee sting her so the bee could "Look tough in front of all his bee friends", while she didn't receive anything except for a painful sting.  Joey broke the news to her that after she did this, the bee most likely bit the dust.  Needless to say, this news was not received well, not to mention, how did Joey all of a sudden become the smart one? Maybe he learned it from the Encyclopedias he bought from the Encyclodpedia salesman, or maybe, Joey, like many others in this world are underestimated.  I just found that ironic.  I would have pictured Ross or Chandler to have spoken up and enlightened Phoebe to this bit of trivia.  Alas, Joey had his moments where he could give the others a run for their money.

I interpret this mouse in my Little Gallery treasure to be offering this bee his flower at the risk of being stung. The mouse does not appear to be a martyr because it's smiling as if to say: "Joey and Phoebe, your argument is silly because I can give this flower to Mr. bee and receive joy at the giving without worrying about if I'm being selfless or not." If the artist had shown him/herself we could possibly verify that, but now we'll never know.  It's speculation at this point.  We'll all have to find a way to sleep at night without knowing exactly the extent of this mouse's angst at sharing his flower.

We do know, however, at least from "Cinderella" that cartoon mice seem to have somewhat cheerful, selfless dispositions, not to mention singing and dress-making abilities, but their relational skills are quite pronounced (at least from what I've gathered from watching "Cinderella" several dozen times). I don't feel like putting a link to the DVD "Cinderalla" because if you haven't seen it by now...well...we'll just leave it at that.

What's neat about this miniature picture is that it doesn't take up hardly any space on the wall; it's lightweight and did I mention how darn cute it is! That's a fact, no opinions here. No wonder miniature things are so desirable.  How did this line ever stop getting produced? We may never know.  Again, lets not lose any sleep.  Just let it bee.