Clara Johnson Scroggins
{{Short description|American Christmas ornaments expert}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Clara Johnson Scroggins
| birth_date = {{birth date|1931|01|01}}
| birth_place = Arkansas, United States
| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|12|19|1931|01|01}}
| death_place = Florida, United States
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Author
- collector
- fashion model
- broadcast journalist}}{{cite news |title= World Famous Author; Ornament collection numbers 22,000 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=15 December 1983 |page=I41}}
| spouse = Edwin Redfern
(m. 1969; d. 1972)
{{marriage|Joe Scroggins, Jr.
|1974|2008|end=died}}
}}
Clara Johnson Scroggins was a collector and author on the subject of Christmas ornaments, and was considered an expert in the field as well.{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Ruth |title=DATED ORNAMENTS ON COLLECTORS' LIST |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/12/nyregion/dated-ornaments-on-collectors-list.html |accessdate=17 September 2018 |work=New York Times |date=12 December 1982 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Talley |first1=Olive |title=She goes to the bank before decking the halls |publisher=The Hartford Courant |date=11 December 1983 |page=E9}}{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Ruth |title=Christmas ornament collection: A keepsake for friends & family |work=Atlanta Daily World |date=15 December 1987 |page=2}}
Biography
Scroggins started collecting ornaments in 1972 following the unexpected and sudden death of her then-husband from a cerebral hemorrhage a few weeks before Christmas. She recounted that she "needed something to really consume me, to help me." In a jewelry store she purchased a second edition Reed and Barton silver Christmas cross and started researching how to obtain a first edition one. By the following year, Scroggins's had collected nearly 1,000 silver and silverplated ornaments from past years and editions.{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Katy |title=Holly Jolly Hang-ups: Ornaments Aplenty Light Up Her Life |work=USA Today |date=24 Dec 1992 |page=1D}} Through meetings with secondary market dealers and other collectors, she learned about ornament values and eventually documented ornament history.{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Lynn |title=Collectors of ornaments deck their halls with history at Newspapers.com |url=https://baltimoresun.newspapers.com/image/377705511/?terms=collectors%2Bof%2Bornaments%2Bdeck%2Btheir%2Bhalls%2Bwith%2Bhistory |accessdate=17 September 2018 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=22 Dec 1985 |page=IN |language=en}}
Scroggins's collection grew to 40,000 Christmas ornaments, from manufacturers such as Hallmark Cards, American Greetings, Bacarrat, Cartier, Enesco, Gucci, Lenox, Orrefors, Pfaltzgraff, Precious Moments, Rosenthal, Royal Doulton, Tiffany, Waterford, Wedgwood and materials including German keugel or blown-glass, porcelain, pewter, tin, paper, and crystal.{{cite news |last1=Hotton |first1=Peter |title=Trees not only light up, but move and sing |work=The Boston Globe |date=13 December 1987 |page=B43}}{{cite news |last1=Soble |first1=Ronald |title=1850-1930s mechanical banks still draw interest |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=10 December 1987 |page=F22}}{{cite news |last1=Hagerty |first1=Brigid |title=Christmas grows on trees for collector |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=25 December 1992 |location=St. Petersburg, FL |page=59}}{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Katy |title=Holly Jolly Hang-ups: Ornaments Aplenty Light Up Her Life |work=USA Today |date=24 Dec 1992 |page=1D}} Many ornaments in the collection are from Europe, particularly Germany.{{cite news |last1=Soble |first1=Ronald |title=1850-1930s mechanical banks still draw interest |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=10 December 1987 |page=F22}} By 1994, Scroggins's ornament collection numbered 250,000 pieces.{{cite news |last1=Lignitz |first1=Amy |title=Decorating the Christmas tree is big business |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=15 December 1994 |page=10}}
Scroggins was the author of a number of books about Christmas ornament collecting, values and history. She focused her writing on ornaments from Hallmark Cards because they were the most popular at the time.{{cite news |last1=Werne |first1=Jo |title=Hooked on the holidays. Christmas ornaments are a year-round preoccupation for Houston woman. |work=The Poughkeepsie Journal |date=23 December 1985 |page=13A}}
In 1973, Hallmark Cards started manufacturing Christmas ornaments. The first collection of 18 ornaments, including six glass ball ornaments.{{cite news |last1=Andersen |first1=Erin |title=Lincoln Journal Star at Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/297774397 |accessdate=15 September 2018 |work=Newspapers.com |date=21 December 1998 |language=en}} Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments are dated and available for just one year. In 1996, the ornament industry generated $2.4 billion in total annual sales, an increase of 25% over the previous year. Industry experts estimated more than 22 million US households collected Christmas ornaments, and that 75% of those households collected Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments.{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=John Philip |title=How to use advertising to build strong brands |date=1999 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=9781452231396 |page=259 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/894769418 |accessdate=17 September 2018 |language=English |chapter=The Case for Collectible Brands by Jan S. Slater|oclc=894769418 }}
By 1998, 11 million American households collected Hallmark ornaments, and 250,000 people were members of the Keepsake Ornament Collector's Club.{{cite news |last1=Andersen |first1=Erin |title=Lincoln Journal Star at Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/297774435 |accessdate=15 September 2018 |work=Newspapers.com |issue=17 |date=21 December 1998 |language=en}} There were as many as 400 local Keepsake Ornament Collector's Club chapters in the US.{{cite news |last1=Barrs |first1=Jennifer |title=Collecting Memories: Ornament collectors begin the hunt early |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/340350027/ |accessdate=15 September 2018 |work=The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com |date=23 Jul 1998 |language=en}}
Scroggins was instrumental in influencing Hallmark Cards to introduce African American-themed ornaments, including its first Black Christmas ornament, "Cheerful Santa" in 1992.{{cite journal |title=200,000 and counting: Tampa woman's collection of Christmas ornaments worth more than $2 mil. |journal=Jet |date=27 December 1993 |volume=85 |issue=9 |page=12}} She also wrote an ornament column for Collector's Mart - The Magazine of Art Collectibles.{{cite news |last1=Barris |first1=Jennifer |title=Collecting memories |work=The Tampa Tribune |date=23 July 1998 |location=Florida |page=17}}{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Katy |title=Holly Jolly Hang-ups: Ornaments Aplenty Light Up Her Life |work=USA Today |date=24 Dec 1992}}
Publications
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;"
|+ Books by Clara Johnson Scroggins |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Published ! scope="col" | Publisher ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| OCLC ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments: A Collector's Guide, 1994-1998
| {{sort|1998|1998}} | Meredith Integrated Marketing, Des Moines, IA | {{OCLC|40227648}} | 25th Anniversary of Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, 192 pages. |
| scope="row" | Silver Christmas Ornaments: A Collector' Guide
| {{sort|1980|1980}} | A.S. Barnes, San Diego, CA | {{OCLC|5029287}} | 24 silver collections highlighted, including Reed and Barton, The Franklin Mint, Lunt Silversmiths, and The Smithsonian Collection made by Stieff, 197 pages. |
| scope="row" | Collector's Value Guide Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments: Secondary Market Price Guide & Collector Handbook
| {{sort|1999|1999}} | CheckerBee Pub, Middletown, CT | {{OCLC|797142383}} | Jeff Mahony, Managing Editor, foreword by Scroggins. 367 pages. |
| scope="row" | Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments: A Collector's Guide : 1973-1993 the First Twenty Years
| {{sort|1998|1998}} | Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO | {{OCLC| 40554873}} | 20th Anniversary of Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, 480 pages. |
| scope="row" | Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments: A Collector's Guide
| {{sort|1991|1991}} | Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO | {{OCLC|24465598}} | Features Hallmark ornaments from 1973 to 1991, 361 pages. |
| scope="row" | Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments: Also Featuring Merry Miniatures, Kiddie Car Classics
| {{sort|1998|1998}} | Collectors' Pub. Co., Meriden, CT | {{OCLC| 973163769}} | Jeff Mahony, Managing Editor, foreword by Scroggins. 349 pages. |
| scope="row" | Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments: A Collector's Guide. 4th Edition
| {{sort|1989|1989}} | Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO | {{OCLC|29478341}} | 281 pages. |
| scope="row" | Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments: A Collector's Guide. 2nd Edition
| {{sort|1985|1985}} | Wallace-Homestead Book Co., Des Moines, Iowa | {{OCLC|990756251}} | Featuring ornaments from 1973 to 1985, 158 pages. |
| scope="row" | Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments: A Collector's Guide. 3rd Edition
| {{sort|1987|1987}} | Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO | {{OCLC| 17341277}} | 207 pages. |
References
{{reflist}}
External References
{{WorldCat|id=lccn-n79015766|name=Clara Johnson Scroggins}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scroggins, Clara Johnson}}
Category:African-American writers