Antique DOLL Collector August 2013 Vol. 16, No. 7
August 2013 Vol. 16, No. 7 $595 / $695 Canada www.antiquedollcollector.com
Who Is Chiffonnette? D
By Sylvia Mac Neil
uring the 1860s in Paris, France, there existed a magical world of playthings and amusements, for adults and most especially for children. Large department stores, doll and toy shops, and bazaars catered to their happiness, featuring the most beautiful frivolities and expensive baubles one could imagine. Keeping pace with modern events and extravagant ights of fancy, establishments were virtually bursting with goods, struggling in wild competition with one another. All children derived pleasure from spinning tops from Holland, miniature kitchens from Germany, millinery shops and grocery stores, charming play theaters, and bathing beach cabins with bright, red stripes. To suit the whims of every
In the fashionable world of frippery, much taste and skill are displayed in this exceedingly stylish ensemble. Ruffled and flounced to the last extreme, clouds of white laine mousseline are arranged in matchless taste, garnished in a machine-embroidered border in a chain stitch of red wool and white cotton.
Resplendent with flying skirts and fluttering frills, a dress of white cotton with a print of dainty sprigs of flowers with a tracery of vines, all scalloped in pink, all sewn by hand. ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
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Ebony& Ormolu
French Toy Furniture of the Second Empire by Jan Peterson Photos Elwyn Peterson
This miniature pair of toy tea sets both bear the iconic symbols of the Bonaparte family, an N for Napoleon and the Bonaparte family bee symbol.
A bonheur du jour lady’s writing desk. Writing letters, filling out calling cards, and composing invitations were a pleasant part of milady’s day. Hence the name, Happiness of the Day.
I
This elegant bronze and copper table jardinière illustrates the elaborate stretchers under the table so often found in Napoleon III furniture.
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t was an exciting time to grow up in France between the years 1848 and 1870. In many ways, this period of time was quite unlike any other in previous French history. Prosperity was the hallmark of the age, not just for the aristocracy, but for the first time ever, a growing middle class. The gold rushes of California in the United States and in Australia hugely increased the money supply in Europe and made large amounts of the precious metal available to jewelers and to furniture makers. Industrial expansion was booming, and the baby boom born during the Restoration period was coming of age and providing the workers needed to man the newly developed enterprises. Both working class and merchant class families had, for the first time in French history, disposable income to buy toys for their children. Before this era, only the children of the wealthy owned toys made especially for them by custom order. The children of everyone else were content to play with simple toys usually fashioned of scraps of wood and cloth and made at home. Lucky was the child whose parents could buy him or her a trinket peddled in the local open-air markets. But with the new prosperity, entrepreneurial
In addition to making furniture in ebonized wood, Napoleon III furniture was also often made with glowing fruitwoods. Photo courtesy of Laurie Baker
merchants of Paris (many of them women) saw a huge opportunity to profit from the sale of toys, and dozens of toy stores opened across the city. Shops with iconic names such as Au Nain Bleu, Simonne, and Au Paradis des Enfants offered their wonderful wares to the children of Paris, and toy makers such as Jumeau, Bru, Huret and Gaultier became household names, much as Mattel and Fisher-Price are known by every child and parent today. This was the Golden Age of French Fashion dolls. These lovely dolls, made to look like fashionable ladies and adolescent ingénues, became all the rage. And, just like Barbie today, they were furnished with every accessory and piece of toy furniture that fashionable women of the era enjoyed in real life. The magnificent furniture style of the Second Empire was reproduced in miniature for them, and these small treasures are among the most beautiful toys ever made. The Second Empire was ushered in by the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III. He was the first elected President of the French Republic in 1848, and then became the Emperor of the French in 1852. He ruled until 1870 and holds the distinction of being both
This elegant dollhouse clock is also made in the classic ebony and ormolu style so often found in Second Empire accessories as well as furniture.
This magnificent Second Empire miniature comtoise or tall case clock has an identical twin in the renowned toy furniture collection of the Château de Vendeuvre in France. Photo courtesy of Laurie Baker
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The Sentimental Doll By Susan Foreman
A
The author’s childhood Cissy
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s doll collectors we always thrill at the addition of a near mint example of whatever type of doll we collect…whether it be a Patsy with perfect composition, a French bebe in her original costume, or a rare wooden with unretouched finish. But what about those dolls that come into our lives that may not be valuable monetarily…but are priceless nevertheless….those dolls to which we are asked to be caretakers by their original owners. I have been honored to be the recipient of several such dolls. These dolls carry with them the original owner’s lifetime of memories. Let’s begin with one of my first dolls. Cissy and I met on Christmas morning 1955. As I opened my gift from Santa, there she was. The most beautiful, and eventually most loved, doll I had ever seen. Being a shy child, my dolls really were my best friends. I spent endless childhood hours playing with Cissy, dressing her in the current fashions for day, her nightgown at night, and even a swimsuit for the days spent on the beach of Balboa (she probably still has sand in her joints). I styled and restyled and eventually cut (unfortunately) her hair. And when I received my first Brownie camera, the first picture I took was of Cissy. Cissy and I shared a wonderful 1950s together. In 1962 my mother died suddenly and life changed for Cissy and I, as my childhood came to an abrupt end. Eventually our house was sold and Cissy packed away. Then in 1975 my dad called to tell me he had just come across a box labeled “Susan’s Dolls”. I hurried over to his office to retrieve the box, and as I opened it, the memories poured forth, and Cissy and I were back together again. I could picture our house in Burbank, California. I could see my blue bedroom and the blue and white canopy bed. I remembered (and thankfully still have) the red metal doll trunk that contained all of Cissy’s clothing, her high heeled shoes, and even her Madame Alexander hat boxes. Memories, memories, memories. Since I am the original owner I continue to be the caretaker of this much loved doll.
Then an F&W Goebel character baby came into my life. The late Thelma Nelson was a longtime friend of mine who resided in a fabulous home on the bay of Newport Beach, California with her husband of some 70 years, Russ. Thelma’s husband was an avid watch collector (another area of interest for me) and Thelma loved dolls, especially those she could buy on QVC. Hardly a week went buy that she didn’t receive a QVC shipment. Whenever I went to Newport Beach for the Theriault auctions I would visit the Nelsons. Well, during one visit Thelma said she wanted to give me a special doll. I assumed it would be one of her QVC purchases prominently displayed throughout the house. As we walked down the hallway, however, we headed for her bedroom where no dolls were in sight. She opened the closet door, retrieved an old shoe box, and handed it to me. Imagine my surprise when I opened the box to find this darling bisque baby. This was Thelma’s childhood doll which she recalls receiving in about 1918 or thereabouts. Thelma and I named the doll “Vickie” after her daughter that had died of cancer at an early age. Thus this doll represented not only Thelma’s childhood memories but memories of her daughter as well.
Thelma’s F&W Goebel baby doll
The next doll to which I was honored to be its caretaker belonged to Ina Metcalf, a spinster schoolteacher that resided in our town. If there was a political issue of any kind you can be sure Ina was on one side or another. Most people thought of her as cantankerous. I, on the other hand, knew a different side of her. Her love for dolls brought out a childlike tenderness. We would often spend hours just sharing doll stories with one another. So imagine my surprise upon Ina’s passing to find that I had been included in her will as the recipient of her childhood Armand Marseille baby doll. I had never seen the doll before, but Ina had often mentioned this special doll. Apparently it had been stored in a cardboard box in the garage for many, many years. Over time the doll had lost its eyes, wig and clothing. But having been selected as the caretaker of this special doll inspired me to set eyes, find a wig, and dress her once again. Now, every time I look at her I think of Ina.
Ina’s Armand Marseille character baby ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
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SELL A DOLL IN THE
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Antique BLEUETTES 10-5/8” tall. SFBJ 60 8/0. Marked “2” body and “1” on feet. Original GautierLanguereau dress “Legeres”, and La Semaine De Suzette wardrobe with French trunk. Excellent condition. $1,950
10-5/8” tall. SFBJ 301 Paris 1. Marked “2” body and “1” on feet. “Le Beau Jour” (First Communion) dress. Antique miniature French rosary. Blue eyed beauty. Excellent condition. $1,850
Sliver Sister Pincushion Doll
www.babesfromthewoods.com
Email: Latte303@msn.com or call 480-332-5158 Debra Borrud • Member UFDC
Danny Daddles, 12”, all orig., $425
Beautiful Jules Steiner marked A-13 Paris, 21”, $3995. Laura Turner, Frizellburg Antique Store, specializing in dolls toys and holidays. 410-848-0664 or 410-875-2850. Email: frizellburgantiques@yahoo.com
Quacky Doodle, 8”, all orig. including bonnet, partial label, $465
www.rubylane.com/shop/schoenhutshop
www.frizellburgantiques.com
Andy Yaffee 201-675-8434
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Send us a photo or a digital photo of your doll with a description and your check or credit card information. We do the rest!! Take advantage of this special forum; the cost is only $95 for a 2.4”w x 2.9”h ad space. Antique DOLL Collector, P.O. Box 239, Northport, NY 11768. Phone 1-888-800-2588. Email: antiquedoll@gmail.com
Effanbee’s Musical
HARMONICA JOE By Don Jensen
Black Harmonica Joe emerged from 70 years hiding to join the author’s collection.
Harmonica Joe also came in a white version.
Hugo Baum had an idea. The always thinking “Bee” of the Effanbee brand, Baum was an idea man. Largely, he was responsible for dreaming up many of Fleischaker and Baum’s innovative composition dolls. This time, in 1924, it was Harmonica Joe. The harmonica-playing boy seemed to be a natural, following by a few years, Effanbee’s Whistling Jim, a rather successful doll based on the same facial act: pucker up and blow! Whistling dolls had been around for more than a decade, ever since doll manufacturers realized that children had a special affection for cute character faces with pursed lips. From there it was only a short step to inserting a mechanism that would actually make a round open mouth utter a squeaky whistle. And that was the route Effanbee followed with
A white Harmonica Joe in a blue overall outfit. (Ursula Mertz collection)
Whistling Jim in about 1916. He started out as a typical Baby Grumpy, a popular doll with molded forelock and a pouting look. A minor tweaking of the head mold and the pout became a pucker. But why not have him actually whistle, thought Baum. So a mechanical gizmo was inserted in the cloth torso so the newly named Whistling Jim actually could emit a whistling sound. But by the 1920s, Whistling Jim was no longer a novelty. Children’s favorites change. Every doll has a limited lifespan in the toy market. So Hugo Baum needed a new idea – Harmonica Joe. The harmonica? A rather simple notion: Air blowing across metal reeds causes them to vibrate and create pleasant pitched musical sounds. The ancestor of today’s mouth organ first appeared in China about 5,000 years ago. It was called a sheng. Many centuries passed, but eventually, about the time of the American ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
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