Antique DOLL Collector August 2011 Vol. 14, No. 7
August 2011 Vol. 14, No. 7 $595 / $695 Canada www.antiquedollcollector.com
The Legendary “Singer” Jumeau by Samy Odin
At 22 inches, the doll’s stately elegance in her factory original costume by Ernestine Jumeau is clearly evident.
W
hen I first heard about this doll, I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be a Jumeau character doll with a singing expression, a Jumeau doll with a provenance relating it to the private Singer family or a doll connecting the Jumeau and the Singer sewing machines companies? Once I saw this famous doll among the multitude of treasures gathered by the late Doreen Chapman, a revered Australian doll collector from the Sydney area, I immediately sensed why it had such a reputation. At the first glimpse, one can notice the strong charisma of a plaything whose force resides in it being perceived as a “model”. Each category of dolls has its “reference classics”, those dolls that stand up to embody some higher degree of perfection, some stronger historical statement or some deeper human testimony. It’s the case of this “Singer” Jumeau doll.
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fter the spontaneous fascination I felt looking at this 22 inch marvel, my enquiring mind needed to deal with facts. I was allowed to handle this beauty and inspect it in detail so, this is the result of my understanding:
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The face mold and the type of make-up immediately place this doll in the Jumeau production after 1872, when this entrepreneur started making his own doll heads in his brand new factory in Montreuil. This deluxe model has a first quality pale pressed bisque head bearing the size number 8 (almost engraved like a 9); it has the typical narrow eye cuts seen on the earliest models made out of this specific mold, the spiral design of the irises, the delicate eyebrows feather-stroked shape, the mauve blushed upper eye-lids and peachy-toned faintly outlined lips. The blonde mohair wig is traditionally nailed onto a cork pate and styled with a light short fringe, a braid framing the face and a low chignon in the back.
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The body is entirely made of white leather, stuffed with crumbled cork and articulated at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. It has separately stitched fingers and it is not marked, what helps to date it prior to 1878.
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The elaborate costume is fully factory original and shows the highly professional cut by Ernestine Jumeau. Both this fact and the style of the garment help to date this doll after 1874, when the young Madame Jumeau started running the fashions department of the doll factory. The construction of the gown follows the Haute Couture standards: cut from beige and burgundy silks, both the skirt and the vest show a very intricate pattern, matching pleats, ruches, lapels, knots, lace ruffles and a fancy straw chapeau, trimmed with silk lining and velvet red flowers. So chic and so typical of the French elegance that brought the highest recognition to Jumeau both in Philadelphia and, two years later, in Paris.
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The new mold used for this poupée is also found on early bébés with a fully articulated body, in fact, this face shape idealizes both the adult and the child beauty.
The doll is contained in its factory original blank cardboard box retaining the original straw, still in its tin traveling box, unfortunately missing the lid, where complementary information might have been written.
The richness of this underwear is very typical of the Jumeau deluxe production, it also combines machine and hand sewing.
Now, let’s consider the provenance. Mrs. Doreen Chapman bought it at auction in Sydney on September 9th 1984. It was featured in the catalogued auction “A Collection of Antique Dolls and Juvenilia, Barrel, Organs and Music Boxes”, by the auctioneer Geoff K. Gray, including items from the private collection of the late Miss Byrne, a teacher from the Northern suburbs of Sydney. It is through this private collector that the information, noted by hand in Mrs. Chapman’s catalogue of her doll collection, came to light. It states the direct link of this Jumeau doll with the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Since no printed proof has been found to this day of this prestigious “past”, one can only enumerate suppositions on how this doll relates to these two major companies. According to Mrs. Chapman’s writings, this doll would have been sent to Australia, from the United States, by the Singer Company to demonstrate the stitching versatility of their sewing machines. Was it after Jumeau won the First Prize at the Philadelphia International Exhibition in 1876? It seems plausible and would mean that Jumeau was already using Singer sewing ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
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Maree and Jen’s Excellent Adventure By Jennifer Kohn Murtha
he wax doll was always the one I visited first at the Mary Merritt Museum, sitting there serene and silent, encased forever in glass. I said hello to her when I first came in and goodbye when I left, always coveting what couldn’t be had. She at all times, to quote my friend Florie Hirsch, spoke to me, loud and clear but no answer could I give in return, separated by that impenetrable glass wall as we were… Many years later, she came up for auction when the museum closed. Very busy with portrait commissions, I totally forgot to bid on her and was dismayed when I realized what I had done, or hadn’t. Countess Maree Tarnowska, known for beautiful and rare early dolls, who was at the auction, did not forget and bought her. She took the doll with her to UFDC convention several months later and an impressive display in her booth this very large doll, along with others, made. At forty-two inches tall, give or take a few, Mariah, as she later came to be called, was a stunner, with a classical oval face, long inset light brown hair, graceful hands and feet and the most beautiful and noble expression. Clad in a magnificent young lady’s gown of blue silk satin, circa 1870, tailored by Maree to fit perfectly, she displayed to great advantage. Her delicate features demonstrated most ably the doll maker’s art, and her price, fair though it was, was more than I could pay at the time, so with a sigh, I left her. To everything there is a season, says the bible, and so it came to pass a year later that I thought about the doll again, called Maree and asked about layaway, the portrait business being spotty at that time. I explained the situation to Maree, who had no idea of how I made a living, but after her initial surprise, inquired of me whether I could do a portrait of her as a surprise gift for her husband Bob for their fifth wedding anniversary. I’ve known Maree for 44
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a number of years and have always admired her good looks, so was very happy to comply with her request. (It is the portrait painter’s happy lot to look for beauty in everyone, but when beauty is already there, it makes our job both easier and harder – easier as there is less editing and harder because there is nothing more difficult to paint than a pretty woman.) However, said I, it’s still not clear how I am to pay for Miss Wax, so would you consider swapping a full-length formal portrait for the doll? Yes was the answer and so the plan was launched. Like many wives from time immemorial, Maree wanted to surprise Bob with the portrait, but how to do it, when she lived in South Carolina while I was ensconced in Maryland? Luckily, in putting our heads together to figure out this knotty problem, I told her that British doll collectors were coming here and they were being entertained at several local houses in the area…a royal progress of doll collections. One of the collections that they were supposed to visit was mine. Now, if you have never seen Maree’s booth at the UFDC convention, you’ve missed a treat, (which just goes to show that you might as well join UFDC so that you don’t miss anything else.) Suffice it to say that she has a fine artist’s eye, so that her dolls, mostly early wood and wax, are grouped with careful attention to color and scale and make a sumptuous visual feast. Quick thinking Maree told Bob that I needed help setting up my collection for these doll collectors to view, didn’t tell him that I’m a portraitist so have a decent sense of the visual myself, (!) and flew into BWI the day after Thanksgiving, the only time our busy schedules coincided, looking very svelte and stylish in a full-length mink coat, stepping smartly along the promenade. I had warned her that we have a time-honored tradition here of leftovers the day after Thanksgiving and that she
was to consider herself family, as family and friends come back for round two…out came the extra turkey and ham with all the trimmings. We also have a tradition of saying grace; Maree was our guest, so we invited her to do the honors. Without batting an eyelash, and paying gracious homage to my and my husband’s interfaith marriage, in flawless, British-accented Hebrew she recited the blessings for food and wine…we were all much impressed! The next day was our portrait photography session. I prefer to work from life, but sometimes that’s not possible. When it’s not, a combination of life sittings and photos work well. We got ourselves down to Regina Lansinger’s studio, but when we arrived there it was awfully cold, the furnace having gone on the fritz, to the despair of the tenants. Maree showed true grit standing there in her fabulous white satin wedding gown, strapless, blue with cold…but got into the spirit of things, and posed like a veteran. Regina was focused on her work and Maree was focused on looking good, while I was focused on how best to pose Maree. It was rather a poignant moment to see Maree as a bride - Maree still missed her mother, whom she had lost when she was eight years old and who never saw her daughter get married.My mother had just died and I too missed her.
Regina, the most brilliant of portrait photographers here in Charm City, gave me the photos; Maree and I picked one and then Maree posed again, so that I could draw her from life. We had a good session, and a few more besides, with Maree holding the rather difficult pose and me working at lightning speed, but we also took time to play a little bit, so that Maree’s story about helping me to set up dolls would actually come true and she wouldn’t go home having lied to Bob. Folks who know me know that I favor big dolls. All of mine were living in the doll room, which is small, so while Maree surveyed my living room, and asked me if everything had to stay where it was - the answer was no - I ferried dolls, one at a time, into the living room. It’s large and crowded with my mother’s stuff and ours too, so Maree had some leeway, and went to town, fueled by a really righteous anchovy pizza, and an excellent bottle of Poizon, which is the best red wine ever. The dolls ended up showing to gorgeous advantage, while the room’s contents were shuffled round, the better to complement the dolls. Maree, always queenly in looks and manner, insisted that one sculpture needed to be raised and could she use this nice mahogany box as a plinth? At this point, I, having no head for liquor and ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
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AUGUST 2011
Learning About American-Made Dolls
by Ursula R. Mertz Photos by Christopher Partridge
H
e was on my wish list for a long time. I had first seen an illustration of the Raggedy Man in Coleman’s Encyclopedia, Vol. II. His kind face seemed ready to break into a smile. I definitely liked him. The Coleman’s related that he had been created in the image of a character in a children’s poem by James Whitcomb Riley. I next encountered the Raggedy Man when doing research on early Horsman dolls. He was illustrated and described in a Horsman catalogue from circa 1915. The catalogue copy described him as follows: “The Raggedy Man. The Kind Farm Hand. Made famous by James Whitcomb Riley’s poem, and loved by all children. By License from Mrs. L. P. Tucker. The Raggedy Man is in the rig he wore when he ‘worked for Pa,’ brown overalls and sun hat, and bandana neckerchief. His hands are big and strong and his face kind with a twinkle in his eyes.” A Raggedy Man doll finally joined my collection, and I learned from research that Mr. Riley’s poem dealt with a kindly handyman who took time to play with the children of his employer and tell them stories. Their father was a rich businessman who apparently did not have time to spend with his children. When the little boy is asked if he will be a successful businessman like his father, he replies that he is going
The Raggedy Man is 16” tall and shows no markings. A sleeve tag reads as follows: “The Raggedy Man // Trade Mark // Under License from L. P. Turner // MFGD. By E. I. Horsman. Construction: Flared compo head and compo hands. Cloth body and limbs, jointed with inside disks. Original blouse and pants. Replaced cloth shoes. Hat and kerchief missing. ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
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