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Antique DOLL Collector April 2009 Vol. 12, No. 3

April 2009 Vol. 12, No. 3 95 / $695 95 Canada $595 www.antiquedollcollector.com www.antiquedollcollector.com

Fondly Part 2 Gaultier

Photo 1

by Samy Odin

Photo 2

Photo 3

he Gaultier porcelain factory was a very important producer of bébé heads during the last quarter of the 19th century. Dolls that bear the “F.G.” marking have already been discussed in the March issue. The purpose of the second part of this article is to focus on the French bébés whose bisque heads were also made by Gaultier for other companies, who required their own initials as a special marking. The name of André Thuillier was already mentioned in the Gaultier 1881 inventory. All of his bébé heads from the 1880s were made by Gaultier, whereas it is still uncertain which French porcelain factory provided the more ordinary heads from the late 1890s. The bisque heads made by Gaultier bear the “A.T.” initials encircling the size number, engraved very high in the back of the head close to the rim cut; they are among the best heads ever made by this porcelain maker. All of them have a closed mouth and stationary enamel eyes, they seem made out of the same basic mold, in several sizes with slight changes in the eye cuts, in the decoration of the mouth as well as in the shape of the eyebrows. The quality of the painting on these bébés is usually exceptional, which explains the popularity of this model among the advanced collectors (photo 1).

by Carol Corson

In our March 2007 issue Carol Corson wrote on the black dolls that today are commonly called Lancaster Rags. In this article she focuses on their clothing.

ll too often Black dolls of the late nineteenth century are shown in raggedy clothing indicating the Caucasian American view of the status of Americans of color. The Lancaster Rags are a real exception to the usual. These dolls were well dressed with shoes and socks worthy of their outfits. The boys are usually wearing wool suits with short pants, and Eaton jackets, both trimmed with buttons and well made buttonholes. Although the pattern is basically the same, the trim varies with each outfit. (Picture 1) Our first 17-1/4” (44 cm.) boy, from the Nancy A. Smith collection, has a complete white shirt with tiny red and blue designs printed on it. This design has faded almost completely where the shirt has been exposed to light. It was only when I removed his jacket that I found the tiny figures. His stockings are really dark red, which has faded to brown in the front. His suit is unlined, but the jacket front edges are turned and edged with two rows of stitching. It closes, right over left, with five small silver colored ball buttons. The two-piece jacket back has a two-piece self-fabric belt with a silver button where the pieces overlap. The two-piece jacket sleeves are set in and trimmed at the cuff with a matching button. Two silver buttons trim each leg of his short pants. His black hand sewn boots have matching buttons and are edged with brown tape binding. (Pictures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) The 19” (48 cm.) second boy has a blue wool suit with gold button trim. His suit is completely lined and has a hip pocket in the jacket, which buttons right over left. He does not have a shirt, but a separate collar pinned with a gold bar pin. His shoes are Keystone marked and fit his larger feet well. It appears, from marks on the leather, that there may have been buckles on the toes. I have been able to photograph each piece of his clothing. The back of his short pants is lined with the same brown

print cotton as his jacket, while the front of the pants is lined with a black and cream geometric print. His socks and shoes are commercially made. (Picture 7) This 19-1/2” (49.5 cm.) third boy in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, at the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia, has a dark green fine wool suit with brown tape binding at the neck and brown stitching around the jacket edges. His jacket buttons, as usual with boy’s clothing, left over right. There is a pocket in the lower front right of the jacket. Five red ball shaped buttons fasten the jacket and three more red buttons decorate each trouser leg. He has a short sleeved white cotton chemise identical to the one shown later on the Caroline Edleman doll. He has separate white cotton cuffs and a white cotton sailor style collar with a square back. He also has long red stockings and black hand sewn oil cloth boots bound with brown tape which lace up with brown cord laces. The boy I traveled twice to photograph is in the Marion Maus Collection. He is 18-1/2” (47 cm.) tall. He is in wonderful condition and has the most elaborately decorated suit of the group. (8) Because he has not been described in a previous article it seems right to digress a bit to show his head. His face is round with a mouth molded in open position with four tiny set in teeth. His black/brown oil painted stockinet face covers a firmly molded mask. The back of his head, like the other Lancaster Rags, is well stuffed with no supporting hard mold underneath it. His eyebrows are the usual single stroke black which are barely visible against his dark skin color. His eyes are round with large black pupils and brown irises. His nostrils are pierced, but do not have the red decoration that some of the dolls have. His tear ducts and the inside of his mouth are decorated in brick red. His hair is black wool looped through a wig cap. (9) He has a charcoal gray herringbone tweed wool suit trimmed with red embroidered stitching around the collar, down the jacket front, along the jacket hemline, and on the sleeve edges. The buttons on his jacket and trimming his short trousers are steel colored. His jacket also buttons right over left. He has a red dickey with a patterned bow tie. His suit is completely lined with dark brown polished cotton. His jaunty black tweed cap completes his outfit. He has black silky stockings with vertical stripes woven in. These are the same stockings worn by several of the dolls. His black oilcloth boots are hand made and trimmed with red cotton tape. His natty gold watch and chain add spice to his dandy outfit. (10) The 11-1/2” (29 cm.) toddler clearly represents a very young child and is dressed in a red, black and white checked romper with white cotton drawers with no waistband. He has no shoes or socks. At first I questioned the originality of his outfit, but realized that I had photographed him casually twenty years ago, long before these dolls were recognized, and that his outfit was the same romper then, although he has gone through several owners since then. The girls’ and women’s clothing shows more variety of design, but all are well made. The yellow cotton print has been found on four of the dolls studied (one not photographed). It

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Identifying Miniature Parian Dolls 1850s-1900s by Kathy Embry

7-1/2 inch Simon & Halbig untinted bisque with peg-strung arms. Bald head with mohair wig. The molded pink luster boots and white socks have pink scalloped edging. Identical boots are found on many parian-like dolls made by this factory, c. 1870s.

n the late 1850s through the 1870s miniature dolls of unglazed porcelain or parian-type were first manufactured. This was a time doll artists expressed their talents by creating play dolls of exquisite beauty. European fashion plates of the second half of the 19th century influenced hairstyles and what fashions women wore. The fancy molded hairstyles of the parian-type dolls represent decades of history. The UFDC definition of a Parian Doll is: doll made of fine white bisque (unglazed porcelain) without tinting. The features, hair and cheeks may be painted. Most doll collectors think of parians as dolls with molded hair, no tinting or with a pale complexion. From her book, Identifying German Parian Dolls, Mary Krombholz states that the 1850s brought great change

7-1/2 inch Simon & Halbig representing a man with a molded combed side part hairstyle. He has a dark outline around his eyes (a technique of this factory) with one stroke eyebrows, short, flat black boots and stark white bisque lower arms and legs, c. 1879s.

8-inch Simon and Halbig parianlike doll with blue gold-edged head band, gold painted earrings and a black necklace with a gold cross pendant. She has carved wooden lower arms and legs and a cloth body. A smaller S & H doll is shown on page 107 of Mary Krombholz’s book, Identifying German Parian Dolls. Circa 1870’s.

The Other Little Lenci by Judy L. Fisher • photos by Rick Fisher

1 – 1930 Catalog with original four 360 dolls

Lenci dolls are without a doubt the most collectible felt dolls manufactured in the 20th century. About 1920, Elena and Enrico Scavini began to create these dolls as well as toys from the wool felt made near their home in Turin, Italy. The Scavinis registered the trade name Lenci (Elena’s nickname) to use on all their products and the rest is history. These dolls had unique expressive molded and painted felt faces, moveable bodies, and very colorful costumes. This tradition continued well into the 30s and beyond, even when the company was purchased by the Garella family. Most doll enthusiasts will recognize the faces of the 109s which stand 21 inches, the 110s which stand 18 inches, and most importantly the famous face of the 300 series doll which stands 17 inches. It is probably considered the most desirable among true Lenci collectors. However, most people don’t know about the other face that is winning the hearts of many collectors. It is the other little Lenci – best known as the series 70. The ﬁrst doll appeared in the 48

1930 catalog as series 360 and measured approximately 11 inches tall. There were only four female children pictured in the catalog. (Photo 1) As you can see, all of the dolls were in organdy except one in pieced felt. The doll pictured here was the first series 360 purchased by the author (Photo 2). Her hair has most likely been redone with those adorable banana curls. In 1933, they changed several series, e.g., the 300 series to the 100 series and the 360 series to the 70 series. The littlest miniatures went through similar number changes over the years. In the 1933 catalog (Photos 3 and 4), several more of the 11inch dolls appeared, identified as series 70. Now instead of just little children, there are 18 dolls dressed in organdy and felt outfits as well as bright regional costumes.

2 – 360 in her pieced felt outfit which is in excellent condition. Approximately 11 inches tall. Author’s collection. 3 – 1933 Catalog with 70/1, 70/2 and two pictures of 70/3 in chairs.

The tradition of manufacturing these provincially dressed series 70 dolls would continue throughout the 30s and into the 40s. Also included here are two large black and white photos of these wonderful dolls (Photos 5 and 6). What make these dolls special are their faces with the wonderful side glancing Lenci eyes, which are very

4 – 1933 Catalog with 15 examples of Series 70 dolls.

5 – Rare black and white photo of Series 70 dolls and one miniature. Here they have an F with a number.

6 – Another rare black and white photo of Series 70 dolls now with NE followed by a number.

realistic and almost childlike. Some have claimed that they are a smaller version of the famous pouting faces on the series 300 dolls. You decide. In the 1930 version of the doll, there are disc joints at the neck, arms and legs; however, in 1933 the construction of the body changed. The dolls had tab jointed arms which allowed them to move more freely. Ironically, the outfits on the regional dolls are sewn so tightly that this is impossible to do. Some further details – the dolls have rooted hair, single-layer felt ears, felt arms, legs and head with a woven cloth toddler-shaped body. Their hands are mitten style and their feet are flat. After purchasing my first 360 at a doll show, I was fortunate to meet Stephanie Farago, one of the authors of The Magic & Romance of Art Dolls,

at her home where she was selling her huge collection of Lenci dolls. My eyes popped when I entered the room with so many priceless dolls, but the doll pictured in Photo 7 caught my eye. I knew immediately that she was the same size and style doll that I purchased earlier; however, I had never seen a black Lenci dressed as a child doll. The black dolls were always character dolls. Of course, I had to have her and unfortunately, she was the only one I could afford to buy at the time. Her face, arms and legs are made of cocoa brown felt; however her body is the normal colored muslin they used for these dolls’ torsos. Her hair is very curly black mohair, which is not very common. She is wearing a simple coat styled dress over her teddy and she is simply a wonderful example of the Lenci artistry.

7 – This doll purchased from Stephanie Farago’s collection is one of the rarest Lenci dolls made. Author’s collection. 49