A number of eBay members, after reading my 'Guide to Cybis Porcelain', have asked how they can find out more (identity and/or value) about the sculptures they have (or are contemplating buying). This guide will attempt to answer in more detail some of the questions I've received.

•  Is there a collectors' club or online forum for Cybis collectors? As far as I know, there is no online forum specific to Cybis porcelain anywhere on the internet. Also, the Cybis Studio never formed or sponsored any sort of collectors' club or organization.
• Is there an 'official' price guide or collectors' guide to Cybis, either in print on online? As far as I know, there is none. However, in early 2009 I came across the mention of a Cybis collectors guide supposedly written in 2003 by someone named Carol Marren. I have never seen this guide for sale and a Google search finds it ONLY within the item description given by one specific dealer... and nowhere else. Therefore I cannot with any certainty say there is a published or accessible collectors price guide available.
  
•  In the absence of a collectors' guide, how can I identify my sculpture, and/or find out what its current value is? There are several indirect ways to find the information you seek. Because none of these sources will be 100% complete, it will be best to check all of them. 

ONLINE RESOURCES:

1. First, of course, you can check the open and completed listings on eBay. The downside to this is that not all listings have the sculpture properly identified by name, so you will probably have to check all the images. The upside to researching on eBay is that it will give you the most up-to-date idea of what the eBay 'market' for the piece is at the moment. You will need to also take into consideration whether or not the piece being offered, or recently sold, was in 100% mint condition or not -- a factor that dramatically affects its value.
   
2. Another online resource is the Replacements site, which consistently offers a selection of Cybis. The sculpture names are usually correct, but there may or may not be a photo for each one. Again, this source will give you a good idea of current market value.
   
3. A third online resource is Brock and Farrar's site, a reputable dealer in decorative arts. They have a very comprehensive website which is the closest I have seen to a collectors guide; they include the production dates of most sculptures as well as photographs and their current asking price for what they are selling. They often have some of the older pieces that you might not see elsewhere.
   
4. The Cybis Studio has its own website which shows only currently-produced sculptures (click on the Shop tab to get to that section). Since retail prices do change, and many limited editions are produced for quite a long time, it is always a good idea to check the Cybis website just in case your piece is still being produced.  
5. I believe the Kovels guides to collectibles do include Cybis. Their site requires a paid subscription to be able to view current values. I have never used this resource and so cannot vouch for either its completeness or value accuracy; but if you have a large number of Cybis to identify and/or price, it may be worth the cost of membership to the online guides. I would guess that the printed version would be rather out of date as to pricing, though I have no idea how often the web version is updated.

•  OFFLINE/PRINT RESOURCES:

1. The Cybis Studio: I have mentioned the Cybis Studio website, and you may be wondering 'Why not simply contact the studio for information from their archives?' A very good question indeed! Sad to say, the Cybis Studio is far less than helpful when it comes to matters like this. It is virtually impossible to get a response from them no matter what the method of contact. Telephone calls go to a voicemail system and are rarely returned. Emails are rarely if ever answered; the same goes for letters. I have not only heard this from numerous collectors but have experienced it firsthand myself for the past five years! The only instances that I have ever heard of anyone getting any response from the Cybis studio was in cases where the caller had a piece of Cybis in need of repair or restoration. Several years ago I was told by the person in charge of the studio that their policy is to ignore any request for information that includes a reference to eBay. It is sad and frustrating that the Studio - for whatever reasons - has become so unhelpful to collectors and would-be collectors! 
2. Cybis semi-annual 'catalogs': Although Cybis never published a collectors' guide, they marketed their porcelain in a unique way. During the 1960s and 1970s, new sculptures were introduced twice a year (in spring and fall). At that time the studio would publish a full-color 'catalog' of a half-dozen or so pages showing the newest sculptures and also listing updated prices of currently available pieces and updates on which were near closing or retirement. During the mid to late 1970s these fullsize catalogs were replaced by smaller full-color foldout brochures. These are great resources for identification if you can find them. 
3. Cybis special publications: Cybis did publish three softcover large book-type catalogs and one hardcover book (all pre-1990s). The hardcover book was 'Poems for Children and Other People' and shows many of the older pieces with names. Unfortunately it does not give information as to dates and prices. The big softcover catalogs were done on studio anniversary years. At least one of them was black-and-white only (no color photos). The one entitled 'Cybis in Retrospect' includes many photos of the old Cordey-era (1940s) and early Cybis studio pieces. These catalogs had an excellent index that showed introduction dates and prices, and where applicable, retirement/closing dates and prices. I have occasionally seen some of these publications available for sale on eBay and also at antique and/or bookseller sites. Unfortunately my entire collection of Cybis brochures and publications was lost in a house move several years ago. It is definitely worth monitoring the internet for the availability of the old Cybis publications if you are at all interested in these sculptures! 

• Why is information so hard to find? You may well be wondering why there is such a dearth of information about Cybis Porcelain, while there is so much 'out there' on other collectibles. This situation is a result of Cybis' marketing strategy over the years. During the 60s through the 1980s, Cybis was very picky about who they allowed to be their retailers. Sculptures were never sold directly from the studio, but only through approved retailers catering to a higher-end market. Cybis retailers included jewelers such as Bailey Banks & Biddle; the gift departments at Bonwit Teller and Neiman Marcus stores; antique galleries such as Wakefield Scearce Galleries in Lousville; high-end collectible galleries such as Brielle Galleries and Reese Palley Galleries, both in New Jersey; and other smaller very select retailers in locations such as Palm Beach and Los Angeles. Retailers were not allowed to sell second-market pieces. Their marketing (and pricing!) strategy kept Cybis Porcelain restricted to the upper echelons of collectibles and thus, not many people were/are familiar with them as compared to, say, Lladro or Hummel which were available pretty much everywhere. The only comparable American art porcelain was rival studio Boehm, and even then Boehm was marketed less exclusively than Cybis. In the early 1990s many of these retailers stopped selling Cybis porcelains. It's a matter of conjecture as to whether the studio dropped them or the retailers decided not to continue. The true story will probably never be known (although I've heard rumors)! At the same time, the Cybis studio began selling directly to consumers (retail). By the late 1990s there were (and are) very very few brick-and-mortar retail outlets for Cybis porcelain; the majority of sales are direct from the studio, and of course now on eBay and other online outlets and/or between private collectors.
• You've tried everything but you still can't find any information on your sculpture? This situation occurs most often with the religious sculptures, especially with ones that were made in the 1940s through the 1960s. Cybis often produced a small edition of a sculpture for local New Jersey churches during this 20-year or so period of time. Such 'special commissions' (as described in my other Guide) will never appear in the literature and will probably be misidentified (if at all) if someday offered online. That's the bad news. The good news is that because there are so few of that particular piece, it is likely to be of great interest to a serious collector. Another, though secular, example is the 'Spirit of Ecstasy' sculpture created for the Rolls-Royce Collectors Club in the 1970s; another piece that is pure luck to be able to find outside research identifcation for!
  

As you can see, you may have to do quite a bit of 'hunting' before you find the information you need about your Cybis sculpture(s). But as in any quest, the journey can sometimes be half the fun!