Precious Moments is widely known as a series of collectible porcelain bisque figurines. The original artwork was created by the American illustrator Sam Butcher in the 1970s. The figurines depict young children with distinctive teardrop-shaped eyes, and are often accompanied by inspirational messages which are also found on the products.

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	"Girl and Boy on Stump" Precious Moments Salt & Pepper Shakers
	4" Tall

	Prec. Moments Adorable Salt/Pepper Set
	Precious Moments Simply Adorable Ceramic Salt/Pepper Set, size- each piece is 5.5" tall.

	PRECIOUS MOMENTS GIRLFRIENDS SALT & PEPPER SHAKERS
	Item Number: 55252.02 Measures 5 1/2" H BRAND NEW IN ITS ORIGINAL BOX

Check out these other great items Pillsbury Salt and Pepper Shakers.

Precious Moments is also the brand name for a series of giftware and collectibles licensed by Precious Moments, Inc (a.k.a. PMI) based on the artworks by Sam Butcher.

Precious Moments is a brand of products based on illustrations by artist Sam Butcher. His illustrations of children with teardrop shaped eyes include messages for inspiration. Christian themes appear throughout his work, as Butcher is a born-again Christian.

The flagship product of the brand is the porcelain figurines that has been in the market since 1977. At its peak, this product line saw forty times the sales of the next-best selling Precious Moments product line (Enesco).

Precious Moments, Inc. is also the name of the company that maintains and licenses copyrighted material pertaining to the designs by Sam Butcher. Precious Moments, Inc. a.k.a. PMI was incorporated in 1989. 80% of the royalties collected by the company was from its licensee Enesco Corp. for the porcelain figurine line.

Also in 1989, Sam Butcher used his profits from PMI to build his longtime dream - a chapel in Carthage, Missouri. Honored as the father of Precious Moments, he appears at some events in Carthage and occasionally at large scale collector club events, like those which took place in May of 2005 in Hawaii for the club's 25th anniversary. Sam Butcher currently resides in Aklan, Philippines and spends little time in the US.

The Precious MomentsTM Collectors' Club was founded in 1980, followed by the Precious MomentsTMFun Club in the 90s.

In a 2004 report by the club headquarters, the cumulative membership was 100,000 individuals. In January of 2005, PMI reported the running total to be 200,000. This number includes members from the Precious Moments Collectors' Club (PMCC), the Precious Moments Fan Club (PMFC), and unofficial members that are simply registered as direct mail recipients in PMI's database.

Club members have established local chapters to each of these clubs. One does not have to join a local chapter to be a member. Local chapter members benefit from local sponsorship that is otherwise unavailable from club headquarters. There are even chapters in Canada. Each chapter is usually sponsored by a local gift shop selling Precious Moments figurines.

Each local chapter may also distribute their own newsletters to its chapter members. Some chapters create their own club logos and pins.

During the Enesco years, the Precious Moments Community was approved as the only official online chapter for the Collectors' Club.

As Enesco lost its license with PMI in 2005, all local chapters and international clubs have been disavowed - although still active. Since then, PMI has decided to re-evaluate its club strategies. In February of 2006 PMI began accepting registration of local club chapters in an open letter in their quarterly newsletter, Moments.

*There was a big 25th anniversary celebration in Hawaii in 2005. So 1980 would be the charter year.