The first garden gnomes were made in Gräfenroda,a town known for its ceramics in Thuringia, Germany in the mid-1800s. Philip Griebel made terracotta animales as decorations, and produced gnomes based on local myths as a way for people to enjoy the stories of the gnomes' willingness to help in the garden at night. The garden gnome quickly spread across Germany and into France and England, and wherever gardening was a serious hobby. Gnome manufacture spread across Germany with numerous other large and small manufacturers coming into and out of the business, each one having its own particular...