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More than 50 photographs! We love elephants for their beauty and size but especially for their intelligence, and personality. They have much in common with our better sides. For example, these gentle giants are the only animal known- other than humans- to grieve their dead long-term. There are many examples in the literature of elephants showing compassion to other animal species and helping them. People have collected elephant figurines for centuries. Today sculptures and statues, décor items, jewelry, furniture, and high relief 3D wall hangings of elephants are collected for fun, for religious and political reasons, because they are team mascots, i.e. “Big Al,” the University of Alabama elephant, and simply because elephants are endlessly fascinating. The good news is that all of the elephant collectibles featured in this Buying Guide can easily be found online in various sizes, even the antiques. So many were made, they are not rare yet. You don’t have to travel all over the world. You’ll read about web sites that sell vintage collectible elephants like these in a price range starting around twenty-five dollars and going up to one thousand or more. There is one web site where you can buy entire elephant figurine collections. The bad news is that labor and material costs around the world have risen since many of these elephant types became popular in the 19th and 20 centuries. If they are still made, they are likely to be fewer in number, higher in price, and smaller, or with simpler designs. You’ll read about one special web site that is a bright spot. It sells modern elephant figurines, but they are handmade around the world and absolutely beautiful. An elephant figurine can be made from almost any substance you can name but the most common and popular are wood, (especially ebony, teak, mahogany, sheesham, and rosewood), stone (especially soapstone, onyx, alabaster, and marble), brass, bronze, sterling silver, ceramic, papier mache, and semi-precious gemstone. E