Ioys in the

FABULOUS ORIGINA! GERMAN DOUBLE ROOM BOX fmish.d with mlkhing di.in8 @m ud prlor pnG in gild.d hd Md Dk uphoht.y. OriSin.l pip.c Md M.in! ThG bisqu. dou hod*dou Mrh mold.d blond. hrn, oiAinrl.cMe.

Ttu rcom, 2IL x 12 1/2"H x 1 2-l/2"D, a2.550

FORMERLY EI(HIBITED AT THE ATLANTA TOY MUSEUM, rhn grr Gdm.n Kirch.n E filcd wirh fin. Mcldin p,c .nd r ipLndd o'sl4 .y.d &n h orixin.l dl6. An q.itim omDLm.nr ro w dol ollcdor 2(].LrrJYDxir'wr2.,i95

FIARE SIGNED MINUTUR! GALLE E-TCHED CIN.55

CHANDEUI R by th. cl.bnrd rlttrh ELs m.Is Emil.

G.!e, hdunq in P, dwnsth.l880s61900. Aon.-otu-ldrd pi.e for )bu 6c.m quality dou how. PL$c cdl for d.hjL.

The Carl Thieme factory was only slightly damaged as a result of World War II. Arother fortuitous event occurred conceming the €ompany's extEmely valuable sample collfftion. This collection was destined for Russia as war reparatiore but thanks to some clever dcumentation manipulation and a sympathetic Russian officer, Emil Alfred Kuntzsch (the younSest son of Karl August) re.eived back his own porcelain .olletion one day after

Pots.hapIEl lay in that part of Germany which b6ame the Sovi€t Occupied Zon€ after the wal The new .ulers were perceptibly interested in the Thieme fadory but they had to 8et dd of Kuntzs.h whom they b€lieved to be a Capitalist. Kuntzs.h was accused of having committed *veral crim6 rncludinS the herding of por.elain fiSurines, zinc and oil and cons€quently, spent a few months in confinemmt. The r€cord is unclear as to whether he saped or was expelled, but in 1952 Kutzsch was in West Gemany. He owned a porcelain and antique shop in Kais€rslautem until his death in 1969.

A portion of the porcelain colle€tion which had been saved from transport.lion was 5old in lc57lo raise money for the paymeht of workers' wa8es. In 1958, a disastrou! summer flood inundated the fa.tory; more than 1,m0 old molds and nearly all archival dcuments were destmyed. Private invstment in the factory was eliminated in 1972 but re-established in 1990. At this time a French banking syndicate assumed control. Rather than

TWO EXCEPTIONALLY rINE BEIDERMEIER dOII hre prk' D..l li)6dood with bristu sDld tu:ftr. G.mmx c. 1890i. Th. D.rlq ]'W x 4-ll2" H. t4ls Tn. Si&b@d, 4-l/2'H x 2-l/2" W. 1435

FIVE MAIDs AWAITINC,,, 'OI P[dOU hOU& ENJjG, P.n oi. col(oon ofdou ho,E doll; {ion !l). Wshntun DoUs Hou* sd Toy Mum includina d& *ldaion oi Sin;n ed Hdba dou"nd Mv oths fio; 'l 7t b !29t. Plcg c.lr or

THE SEASIDE !'ILTJI BY R, BUSS d6inbl' I'r bthosnph.d prFr on qnd vill,.. l8eoi. Sr., .d;i{ mdi,., mulo g,bLd [do p,Rm.d lhins]c md *dn.d Ahs sndffi. wEp rbund knndrh, rhF. tums, *.U.nr pri.r 2t'H ! 1R"\,!/r 10"D tl)m email: toysintheattic2@v erizon.net produce the porcelain paste th€mselves, itwas imported from France. The French paste was a wonderful white .olor but not flexible mouSh for figuin6. Furthe., the Fmch instructions were not underst@d by the workers. German-made paste reappeared in 1994.

As of 2001, inlolven y pro(eedinSs were in effect and a new owner willing to conhnue Carl Thieme as a fun€tioning porcelain facto.y wasbeing sought.

Particllarly prior to world war ll, the Carl Thieme factory not only copied models from other manufactureN but their marks as w€[. when conionted in 19$ about th€ utilization of thes€ foreign mark, Emil Arred Kunlzsch replied that the mark wer€ "fr€e" (public domain) and that hrs lactory was nor lhe only one using lhem.

The porcelains of this fa.tory are beautiful creations whether th€y be old or new. When we began €ollectin& F.ieda Marion's first halfrlollbook (Chitu Hall Figu/cs

Ca etl Pincushio,t Dolls) was not long out. w€ marveled over the models which we were (ertain would never come our way. Thop we admi.ed the mo6t were the lovely ladies holdinS baskets of handmade flowers - those we now know are from Carl Thieme.

Editor's Note: Sin e 1999 Shona and Marc t-o.rin hav€ published four b@k on halfrlolls. Thes€ aie pari of a six or Rven volume series ennied The Haf-Do l\ith Rel ed Ilems, Makerc I Vslrcs.I1\e Lorrins may be contacted by writing tor luniper64@aol.com.