Ursula Mertz Her Life in Dolls Effanbee’s Darlings Dolls Are Artists Harry’s Babies Schoenhut Infants - Pattern Included
The Complete Guide to Antique, Vintage and Collectible Dolls
March 2019, Volume 22, Number 2 Follow us on... facebook.com/antiquedollcollectormagazine pinterest.com/antiquedollcollectormagazine instagram.com/antiquedollcollectormagazine
On The Cover
Ursula’s favorite doll, Mibs, made by Louis Amberg & Son, circa 1921 Photo by Gail Lemmon
29
39
URSULA MERTZ & THE AMERICAN COMPOSITION DOLL
HARRY’S BABIES: A LOOK AT SCHOENHUT BABY DOLLS
by Gail Lemmon
By Martha Waterman Nichols
TO SUBSCRIBE GO TO www.antiquedollcollector.com
20 Gaithersburg 2018 Review 21 Auction News 52 May NADDA Show Preview 59 Emporium 60 Calendar 60 Classified
Errata
Missing credit (February): Mlle. Violette, the beautiful reproduction Huret featured in February’s “Folly” costume pattern and article by Niki Burley was created by artist Darlene Lane. She can be contacted at www.darlenelane.com.
53
46
DOLLS ARE ARTISTS
EFFANBEE’S DARLING DOLLS
by Linda Holderbaum
6
ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
By Jane Foster
MARCH 2019
(212) 787-7279 P.O. Box 1410 NY, NY 10023
Quality Antique Dolls by Mail Return Privilege • Layaways Member UFDC & NADDA
1) Delightful Gottschalk ‘Flower House’ - with Side Porch! Charming country house details w. spacious interior, big rooms, orig. papers. Comes furnished! (dolls & animals NSF). 10” by 17” by 18” tall. $995 2) 18” Handsome Chad Valley Scot - orig. Paper Hang Tag, beautiful condition! $275
1
matrixbymail@gmail.com
3) Super-Size All Bisques Elegantly playful 7” Hertwig All Bisque Pair w/ Molded Clothes & Jtd. Arms. Stunning! $350 4) Delightful 16” ‘Singing’ Heubach - round mouth with Mld. Tongue & Teeth, dense mld. curls, glazed bow, period clothes. $1200
2
6
3
4 5
10 7 8
11
5) 15” Glass Eye Kaiser Baby - rare K*R character w/ Orig. Wig & Body, wonderful oily sheen bisque/ deep modeling too! $750 6) 6.5” Tartan Plaid China w. Flat Soles - orig. body w/ Porc. Limbs & exciting layers of orig. classic clothes. $195 7) Rare Lenci ‘111-G’ in Original Box- w/ the lid & label too, still has the Big Bow, light dust only, no stains. A Pip! $750 8) Large 9” All Bisque ‘Tynie Baby’ mint rarity, top quality, orig. chubby body, sl. eyes, Orig. Miniature Fancy Gown, a gem. $1495
9
9) Rare 12” Cabinet Handwerck ‘199’ - never seen model, not ’99’ or ‘109’; top quality, early Stiff Wrist Body, plus Heirloom Clothes! $850 10) Sweet All Original 12” Bye-lo; mint ‘Attic’ Infant, orig. body, hands, Factory Clothes and sleepy eyes! $265 11) Early 18” ‘Can’t Break’em’ Lad - plucky fellow w/ smile, period clothes, no craze, by Amberg. $175 12) 19” Ernst Heubach Lad - gorgeous silky bisque, dear expression, big innocent eyes, Side Part Molded Hair, mint head and jtd. body, Happy face! $650
12
Ursula Mertz & The American Composition Doll By Gail Lemon
333333333333333333
333333333333333333
33333333333333333
33333333333333333 Ursula as a child in Germany with her doll. Accompanied by her mother and a family friend.
T
his was perhaps the hardest and certainly the most important article I have written to date. Often articles can be difficult for lack of information but the task of summarizing Ursula Mertz, her life, accomplishments and contributions to the doll world is nearly impossible to do in a single article‌ it could fill an entire book. She is perhaps the person in the doll world that has inspired me the most. I hope the reader will also be inspired with a renewed passion and greater understanding of the dolls they collect.
28
ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
MARCH 2019
While visiting with Ursula we discussed her life’s journey, places, dates, people and achievements. Although she is not one to talk about herself she willingly shared and then reminded me “this is about the dolls.” Indeed it is about the dolls. But to fully appreciate them and the art of collecting it helps to know something about the ultimate collector, Ursula Mertz. She first became a United Federation of Doll Clubs member in 1975, joining the Shaker Doll Club of Region 14. She steadily moved through the ranks as a local club president, Regional director and has been a judge of the competitive exhibit at the annual UFDC National Convention for many years. Furthermore, she has been active at the local and national levels giving programs on American Composition Dolls. For 20 years she wrote regular articles for Doll Reader and the Antique Doll Collector magazines and published two books on the subject. In 1997 she was presented with the UFDC’s “Award of Excellence for Protection and Preservation of Dolls” Her life, as a member, has been a role model for the UDFC’s motto: “Educate, Preserve & Conserve” As with any story it’s always best to start at the beginning, so, my first question to her was, Where were you born? Of course, as a doll collector, the second was what was your first doll? Ursula was born in Breslau, Schlesien, formerly a German Ursula’s first purchase as a collector. Made by Louis Amberg & Son, circa 1915
province now part of Poland. She owned two German composition dolls and one celluloid baby. Perhaps this could have been the start of her collecting but World War II turned her familie’s life and, indeed, the world upside down. They became refugees and re-settled in Bavaria Germany. With the end of the war, Ursula was able to continue her education. She went to business school and trained to be a secretary. Although Germany was rebuilding, job opportunities for a young woman were lacking. So, at the age of 24, Ursula set out on her own to make a life for herself in the United States. She worked as a secretary in New York City, and, in 1962, she met and married Otto J. Mertz. They eventually moved to Albany, New York where they built their life and raised their daughter. Many of you may not know that, before she began collecting, Ursula was a talented contemporary artist. Several pieces of her work grace her home. This visual arts background would be an asset when, shortly after she began collecting in 1975, Louis Amberg & Son, American composition dolls with their German cousins by Gebruder Heubach ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
MARCH 2019
29
Includes P a for Sailor ttern Suit
Harry’s Babies: A Look At Schoenhut Baby Dolls by Martha Waterman Nichols
Photo 1 – Bill Schoenhut with the bust his uncle, Harry Schoenhut, sculpted of him as a baby taken at the Schoenhut Collectors Club’s first meeting in October, 1986. Photo by Betty and Quentin O’Sullivan.
Harry Schoenhut Babies: In the Image of a Real Baby In 1911, art academy-trained Harry Schoenhut was living with his brother and sister-in-law who were expecting their first child. When young William arrived, Harry was asked to be his godfather, and took a personal interest in little “Bill.” When Bill was 9 months old, Harry sculpted a likeness of his godson that in 1913 became a new line of infant/baby Schoenhut dolls. [Photo 1] As the Schoenhut advertising stated, “Schoenhut dolls are the image of real children.” [Photo 2] The A. Schoenhut Company of Philadelphia was known for its toy pianos, soldier, policeman, and fireman gear, rolly-pollys, toy weaponry, toy boats, and toy circus with a huge array of figures and animals. In 1911, the Schoenhut Company entered the doll market with their line of “all-wood perfection art dolls.” The patented dolls were made of poplar and maple, with solid wood, enamelpainted heads advertised as unbreakable and washable. Their wood bodies were fully articulated through the use of steel spring hinges and swivel parts. [Photo 3] The dolls had no elastic stringing which would eventually decay. Advertised as “the strongest and most indestructible doll that was ever made,” a prototype doll was famously tossed out the factory window, and again out an upstairs window of the Schoenhut family home; it suffered only a dinged nose. The earliest dolls, including two “Infant” models (child dolls called Tootsie-Wootsie and Schnickel-Fritz), had been 38
ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
MARCH 2019
Photo 2 – Cover of the 1914 Schoenhut catalog, reprinted in 2009 by the Schoenhut Collectors Club.
Photo 3 – A promotional photo from the 1914 catalog, which demonstrated the Schoenhut doll’s posing ability.
Photo 4 – The Nature Limb baby using Harry Schoenhut’s design.
Photo 5 – Two 15 inch Nature Limb babies from the collection of Linda Spencer. Photo by Linda Spencer.
designed by an artist named Graziano, and then possibly by a Mr. Leslie, but the new line of babies was the first which originated from the Schoenhut family itself. Harry attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, studying with the well-known sculptor, Charles Gaffly. In 1912 he was made manager of the Schoenhut Company’s art department where he was already developing the new baby dolls based on his sculpture of his godson and nephew, Bill Schoenhut. A brand new body was also designed for some of the new baby models, similar to 5-piece, bent-limb baby bodies of composition. [Photo 4] Called “Nature Limbs,” the wood arms and legs of the new baby body were produced in three parts invisibly joined by wood dowels. At the hip and shoulder were typical Schoenhut steel spring joints. Due to the Nature Limb designation, dolls with 5-piece bodies are sometimes referred to by collectors as “nature babies.” [Photo 5] Models made with the typical Schoenhut fullyarticulated child body are known as “toddlers.” [Photo 6] Only the fullyarticulated bodies came with round metal stands and had corresponding holes in the feet (as well as in their shoes and stockings) to fit the stand’s post. The Photo 7 – An original Schoenhut metal two holes in each doll stand, and original white kid shoe with foot allowed the grommeted holes in the sole.
dolls to stand flat or on tip-toe. [Photo 7] The company had a well-organized system of numbering for the dolls based on the style of face and hair, and the size of each model. The new babies were: No. 107—11" and 14" painted-hair toddlers, Photo 6 – 14/ 107 W toddler body and and 13" paintedoriginal, worn mohair wig. hair baby. These are referred to as 11/107, 14/107, and 13/107. Other models are designated the same way, size first, then model number. The only disadvantage to the Schoenhut number system is that the numbers were not imprinted on the dolls. We know of them from existing Schoenhut catalogs. No. 107W—the same as the 107, but with short bob-style mohair wig instead of painted hair. This was the only wig style offered for Harry Schoenhut babies. [Photos 8 & 9] No. 108—a larger, more detailed model, 17" toddler and 15” baby with painted hair. No. 108W—wigged versions of the 108 toddler and baby. [Photos 10 & 11] Later, in 1919 and 1921, specialty versions of the Harry Schoenhut babies were created: a non-mechanical walker [Photos 12 & 13] in 11-, 14-, and 17-inch sizes, and a 13- and 15-inch sleep-eyed baby. Harry Schoenhut patented his sleep eyes in 1921. In 1924, a cloth-bodied baby with wood head made a brief appearance. Factory clothing for the Harry Schoenhut babies was limited. [Photos 14 & 15] It included a knee-length cotton chemise, gingham or chambray knee-length rompers, and a lawn christening-style dress with diaper, petticoat, and ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
MARCH 2019
39
e e ’ s b n a f f Darling E Dolls by Jane Foster
”Suzie Sunshine” is shown here cradling her Effanbee “Babykin” in matching outfit. (Author’s Collection)
During the 1950s and 1960s Effanbee made some beautiful vinyl dolls. Producing dolls that little girls would enjoy playing with was one of Effanbee’s main goals; now these same vinyl dolls are becoming very appealing to doll collectors. They certainly are in the vintage category as they are approximately sixty years old now. It seems some of these dolls are harder to find in original condition than older dolls. Possibly this is because many of them became play dolls just as Effanbee intended. These dolls were sculpted by Bernard Lipfert, who was from a family of doll and toy makers in Germany; he then immigrated and brought his talents to the United States. 46
ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
MARCH 2019
Lipfert designed play dolls for children beginning around 1915 and continuing well into the 1960s. The dolls were designed by Eugenia Dukas, from Newburgh, New York, who began working for the Effanbee Doll Corporation in 1947; her career with them lasted over thirty-five years so she also remembers Effanbee’s producing of their composition dolls as well. She collaborated with Lipfert as the dolls were sculpted. When Effanbee wanted a new doll sculpted they always went to Westbury, New York, where Lipfert resided. Eugenia fondly recalls going to his house where they consulted on the dolls, and she said she always enjoyed a wonderful meal during these visits provided
Mint twenty-two inch L’il Darlin’ was made as a toddler in this vinyl version, circa 1960. (Courtesy of Theriault’s)
In unplayed-with condition is this eighteen-inch “Suzie Sunshine” made in the late 1950s with her pretty little purse. (Courtesy of Theriault’s)
by Lipfert. Eugenia was responsible for the coloring and painting of the dolls’ faces to their costume details. She was influenced by her Aunt Eugenia who was a clothes designer. Interesting to note, Eugenia also was personally acquainted with Madame Alexander and recalls attending many doll functions where she was present. “Fluffy,” came out in 1957 and continued to be an important doll in the Effanbee line until 1965. Fluffy was made in an eight-inch and an eleven-inch model. However, unknown to many doll collectors, Fluffy was not always Fluffy. Effanbee was very creative and innovative with their marketing techniques. The eight-inch Fluffy was sold as “Patricia” in the early 1960s. She came with the Effanbee
heart tag with “Patricia inscribed on it; one difference being this Effanbee heart tag was a little smaller in size than the other Effanbee tags. It would be reasonable to surmise that it would be getting increasingly difficult to find an example of this Fluffy doll with the Patricia hangtag since Fluffy was probably advertised as Patricia for only about a year. In 1959 Effanbee made a vinyl “Patsy” and “Patsy Ann,” making use of an old name from their composition line. Patsy was eleven inches tall and Patsy Ann was 15 inches tall. The vinyl Patsy Ann looked nothing like her composition counterpart while the vinyl Patsy had the little pursed mouth like the Patsy made in the thirties and forties. Effanbee, like other doll manufacturers, used and reused a name often for decades. Another reason for doing this was because the companies wanted to make sure the name was not “owned” by a competitor and this required a lot of effort, time, and money. Two other popular dolls from ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
MARCH 2019
47