Antique DOLL Collector June 2011 Vol. 14, No. 5
June 2011 Vol. 14, No. 5 $595 / $695 Canada www.antiquedollcollector.com
The Extraordinary Dolls of
SONNEBERG 1875-1900
BY ANDY OURANT
T
he best way to begin an article on these treasures of Sonneberg is to make a bold statement. Belton or Belton-type does not accurately describe this group of dolls. Over the last fifty years, doll researchers have documented the rich history of three centuries of German doll production. Many of the mysteries have been solved, but some habits for doll collectors are hard to shake. In the mid-20th century doll collectors erroneously attributed dolls with solid dome heads as the product of Belton. Although modern research has completely removed Belton as a possible manufacturer, this attribution persists in the use of the term Belton-type. One reason the Belton name continues in use is because it is not easy to assign manufacturers to each of the dolls included in this article. Based on the inherent nature of the toy industry in and around Sonneberg you will see why this is difficult. Understanding the economy of this region of Germany is the key to collectors refining how they define and categorize these dolls. Beginning in the 15th century, this thickly forested area began to manufacture and organize trade routes for their varied wooden wares including dolls and toys. By the beginning of 19th century and lasting until the world economic crisis of the 1930’s, Sonneberg was the number one provider of playthings for the world market. By the end of the 19th century over 40,000 individuals were involved in the production of playthings in the surrounding areas of Sonneberg, most of them working from their own homes.
Left: Reminiscent of an early Jumeau Bebe this 12” all original doll has a solid dome bisque head incised 3 with an unusual flange neck. Wearing her original French couture style aqua satin clothes, her composition and wood body with straight wrists also closely mimics its French counterparts. 18
Above: With a solid dome socket head incised 2 this 10.5” boy closely resembles an early Jumeau EJ model with long full cheeks, deep set eyes and threaded blue glass eyes. This outstanding doll wears its original mariner’s outfit. Top right: Strikingly similar to a portrait Jumeau bebe, this 13” unmarked child has large almond shaped eyes, finely painted brows, brown glass eyes, mauve eye shadow, and slightly parted outlined lips. Right: Having classic French Bebe characteristics, this doll has pale bisque, finely painted details, mauve eye shadow and blue paperweight glass eyes. Standing 14” with a solid dome socket head she is incised 137 over 6. 19
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Emile and Albert and the “Unique” Bebe by Kathy Embry
Emile-Louis Jumeau, circa 1890
A
pproximately 133 years ago two extremely talented and ambitious French businessmen worked together to create the very first “unique” bebe doll. The new doll was to be sculpted to represent an image of the ideal French pampered child. Emile-Louis Jumeau, born April 18th, 1843, inherited his father’s porcelain doll manufacturing business due to tragic circumstances, but he emerged as one of the great French doll makers of his era. It was in 1872 that his father, Pierre-Francois Jumeau (founder of the Jumeau firm), made a request to exhibit at L’Exposition Universelle in Vienna and made preparations to go to Austria with his oldest son, Georges. All of the models of dolls and accessories were packed, but on the evening of May 23, 1873 Pierre’s oldest son, Georges, unexpectedly died. He was only 32 years old, a bachelor, and expected to take over the entire management of their doll manufacturing business, while Emile, younger by two years, was taking care of the accounting.
Carrier-Belleuse terra cotta bust by Auguste Rodin, circa 1882.
Sculpture by Carrier-Belleuse. Photo taken at Musee d’Orsay in Paris, France.
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THE MODEL DOLL SHOWS OF 1896-1898 by Rhonda King
“Isn’t it stunning?” said a pretty young matron, stopping before a little blue gown with trimmings of black braid and buttons. “I would like to have one just like it myself,” and she turned Mlle Dollie around to admire her stylish little person from all points of view, with a charming disregard of the warning signs: “Please do not handle.” The young woman mentioned in the The New York Times in March of 1896 had reason to be enthusiastic: she was privileged, and was attending a premier event, limited to invitation only sent out by “patronesses” of New York Society which included among other illuminati Mrs. John Jacob Astor. She had paid $1 to a specific patroness to attend the private preview which was held in Sherry’s (the Sherry Netherland) pink ballroom, hung with “Oriental” rugs and decorations. There was music all day
A notation on the back of the photo describes this dress as geranium red silk, covered with figured mull, embroidered in paler red and white.
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T
Do You Have a Mystery Doll ?
his doll has a cotton muslin stuffed solid body; carved wooden head with a smooth face painted with round rosy cheeks, red small lips and black dots for her eyes. Her hair is in braids; I think it is mohair. She is wearing delicate pantaloons, pleated at the bottom of each leg, as well as a delicate under slip. Her dress is a red and white calico fabric with small crocheted hearts on the sleeves and neck line. She has a delicate pinafore over her dress with delicate lace on the bottom of the pinafore and around the sleeves of the pinafore. I am sure she is dressed in authentic original clothes. I hope one of your readers can help me identify this doll, value, or where I can find any information. Judy
Perhaps there is a doll in your collection that you and others have never seen before. Send us a high resolution photo and any information you have to antiquedoll@gmail.com (you may also send a print photo to Antique Doll Collector P.O. Box 39, East Petersburg, PA 17520). If you can identify a mystery doll, write to us at the address or email above.
I
hope someone can help me identify this interesting lady. I bought her online a few years ago. She has a wax head and a jointed composition body. She is 16” tall. The head is marked with a 5-pointed star and letters which appear to be C - F. She reminds me in some ways of my Lanternier lady, with a similar body, and I think she might be World War I era French. This body is nicer than the Lanternier body and the joints move better. I have been through all the books in my library and can not find such a mark or a doll quite like her. Patience
News I I
n response to Paul’s question in our last issue, Gail Enid Zimmer believes these (see above) are Italian dolls by Creazione Gipi. According to Gail, among their many characters were commedia dell’arte figures and carnival figures in 18th century dress. The owner of about a dozen of these dolls, she tells us they occasionally show up on eBay and are probably mid-20th century. 40
n June, Paula Walton is celebrating her 25th anniversary as a professional doll maker and of her business, A Sweet Remembrance. Paula was recently juried into Early American Life Magazine’s 2011 Directory of Traditional American Crafts in the Toys and Dolls category, for her recreation of Izannah Walker dolls. This marks the 23rd time that Paula has been named as one of the top traditional American craftsmen by Early American Life. In addition to the Toys and Dolls category, she has also been selected for her work in Clothing, Textiles and Needlework, Miscellaneous, Santas, Other Holidays, and General Christmas categories. Paula advertises in our emporium section – visit www.asweetremembrance.com
Learning About American-Made Dolls
Studying and Having Fun with Swivel Dolls
by Ursula R. Mertz
Photos by Otto Mertz and Christopher Partridge
They are easy to pose without doll stands thanks to a swivel joint at hip level.
Four all composition swivel hip dolls. Arm and hip joints are connected by elastic. Three dolls are 10” and the forth is 9” tall. None of them bear any markings.
Y
ears ago I bought the first one of these swivel dolls, a little girl with sweet face and molded pink shoes. On closer examination I discovered her swivel joint at hip level. I wondered what little girls might have thought of this curious anatomical feature. In addition, both arms were molded in a rounded shape with hands outstretched. Was she possibly meant to be a dancing doll? Eventually, three more dolls with identical novel swivel hips joined the collection. Even though there is little to report regarding their maker, they seem worthy of study. It is always amazing to see how doll makers can change the
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THE
Josephine
LEGENDARY
Baker W
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by Myra Fay Graubard
hile hunting for treasure at my favorite antique swap meet, I spied a fabulous 12-inch exotic doll clad in a felt banana skirt. Point of fact, the entire doll was created from felt. I asked the price. The vendor replied, “twenty dollars.” I paid, and walked briskly down the aisle, trying to appear nonchalant, with my heart pounding fiercely; hoping that the dealer would not come to his senses and want his merchandise back. My heart rejoiced, as I had found the find of the century! I knew it was a version of a Josephine Baker doll, but not the coveted felt Lenci version of 1926. This one had many of the attributes of the Lenci, yet it differed in the face, hair and finger formation. There were a number of knock-offs, as she was a star celebrity of the Jazz age and often nicknamed “The Black Pearl” or “the Bronze Venus.” All are rarities and command top prices. This one was an especially well rendered doll, possibly manufactured by Joao Perotti of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who had once been a Lenci designer. Perotti made similar dolls, competing with Lenci and other French felt doll manufacturers. The faces and limbs of these dolls and mine have a dark flesh coloring with colorful costumes. My find has a sweetheart mouth, right side-painted eyes with highlights, and rosy cheeks. Her eyelashes, eyebrows, and nose are painted black, her face is flatter in appearance than the Lenci versions, which are wellrounded. Her hair is fashioned from black curly yarn, which stumped me somewhat. Perhaps it had mohair at one time that was replaced, but the style is definitely appropriate and artistically attached. The arms are articulated at the shoulders, but my doll has four separated stumpy fingers. The Lenci version has four longer fingers with a separated thumb. Both examples can stand on their own on sturdy feet, and their body postures imitate an erotic dance pose with breasts emphasized in a banded top. Josephine Baker was born into poverty as Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906. She scavenged for food in garbage cans in the black slums of St. Louis, plus attracted attention performing street-corner dancing as a 12-year-old. She also cleaned houses and did laundry for wealthy white families. At age eight, a white woman employer abused her, scalding Baker’s hands for placing too much soap in the laundry.
During her lifetime she had numerous liaisons and marriages. They were Willie Wells, a foundry worker, 1919, William Howard Baker, a Pullman porter, 1920-23, whose name she took professionally, Jean Lion, a Jewish French sugar magnate, 193738, who attained her French citizenship, and Jo Bouillon, an orchestra leader, 1947-57. Jo Bouillon conscientiously and lovingly helped her raise their 12 adopted children. Josephine toured the United States with the Dixie Steppers in 1919, performing comical skits. She then had considerable success in New York during the Harlem Renaissance, performing at the Plantation Club and Sissle and Blake’s Broadway revues Shuffle Along (1921), and the Chocolate Dandies (1924). She was the last dancer in the chorus line, traditionally performed comically, rolling her eyes, acting clumsy, as if she could not remember the steps; until the encore, she performed it not only correctly , but with complexity and verve. She became a box office draw. The audience loved her comic touch, her beauty and spontaneity. Josephine traveled to a more open minded Paris for a new venture, “La “ Revue Negre.” .” Along with her dance partner, Joe Alex, they captivated the audience with the “Dance Dance Sauvage Sauvage,” ,” boldly dressed in nothing but a feather skirt. American promoters often considered her too skinny, dark or too light. Segregation plus racism was in full swing. French audiences reveled in the unusual, frenzied, uninhibited dance movements, although they favored an exotic, African flare. She became an overnight sensation. She became the most photographed woman in the world and the highest paid entertainer in Europe. She was flamboyant, ambitious, and unconventional, spending her fortune on jewelry, clothes, and pets. Often she would pose with her outlandish, beloved menagerie, including a leopard, a chimpanzee, parrots, raucous monkeys, a snake, fish, cats and dogs, even a gorilla. When “La Revue Negre” closed, Josephine starred in “La Folie de Jour” at the Follies-Bergere Theater. Her electric performance, including a costume of 16 bananas strung into a skirt, dazzled the clientele, cementing her celebrity status. She starred in two movies in the early 1930’s, “Zou-Zou” and “Princess TamTam.” Her astounding salary allowed her to move her family from St. Louis to Les Milandes, her estate (a castle) in CastelnaudFayrac, France . Yet she was more than an exotic who danced in banana skirts. Guiseppe Pepito Abatino, a former Sicilian stonemason, who fancied himself a wannabe count, became Baker’s manager. He was actually competent and sincere in this regard, securing her posture, singing, elocution, and French language lessons, elevating her stage and public persona to a grand diva. He marketed ‘Bakerfix,’ a popular hair straightening pomade, as well as Bakelite broaches and felt dolls in her likeness. They had a small French nightclub together. Josephine was the main attraction, vivaciously mixing with the patrons, kissing bald men atop their heads, playing badminton using paper balls and rackets, holding dancing contests, while Josephine entertained them with impromptu singing and enticing dance moves. Josephine Baker dolls, in 1926, were souvenirs sold at their club. So attached was she to Pepito, that she went through two non-legal wedding ceremonies to him and wore his ring until the day she died in April, 1975. As an expatriate, Josephine showed her patriotism to her adopted country during World War II in several ways. She became an honorable correspondent, participating in the Underground, smuggling intelligence to the French resistance coded within her sheet music as well as notes pinned to her bra. She was well known with the French, and even the Nazis, who occupied France, were hesitant to cause her harm. In fact, she believed no one would dare frisk ‘La Baker.’ Nevertheless, she surely placed her life in jeopardy. After war’s end, she was the first American-born woman to receive the French military honor, the Croix de Guerre, the Rosette de la Resistance, and was made a Chevalier of the Legion de’honneur by General Charles de Gaulle.
Possibly manufactured by Joao Perotti of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who had once been a Lenci designer, this 12-inch doll depicting Josephine Baker was a rare find by the author. The cost – $20! The popularity of the international star sensation inspired many knockoffs of the rare Lenci doll. 45