Antique DOLL Collector November 2010 Vol. 13, No. 10
November 2010 Vol. 13, No. 10 95 / $695 95 Canada $595 www.antiquedollcollector.com www.antiquedollcollector.com
Les Poupees by Dominique Pennegues
“The yellow taffeta for his bodice is cut 2 inches longer than his measurement and drawn around with tiny folds, the seam being hidden by his inch-wide jadegreen and Persian-red ribbon panel in front. He has dark brown sateen arms and has bloomers made of taffeta and his sleeves are over crinoline. His turban boasts a yellow Persian-pink and Persian blue ostrich tip. The green wooden beds around his neck and the feather fan tied firmly to his right wrist match the green of his ribbon panel”. 1923 LHJ.
Sarah Bernhardt. She wears white satin, her ruffle skirt is adorned with white camellias. Courtesy Sue Uhlher and Frau Wulf. 18
“Her purple sleeves and the four fringes panel over her flowered taffeta skirt are butterflies of lavender fringes taffeta. Her hair is of white silk embroidery floss sewed on crinoline, loops forming puffs. The pink muslin body is almost a triangular shape. White lace mittens, flesh colored silk stockings and purple taffeta slippers with pasted-on soles of white kid”. 1923 LHJ
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o write an article on Rosalinde dolls is a real challenge as they were, up to now, a mystery. Said to be French by international collectors, French doll experts had never heard of those dolls, nor seen any of them in the French doll market. However, when looking very closely at the 1925 Bottin-Didot (the French Almanach du Commerce) one reads, “Poupées Rosalinde” (les) in the doll making chapter (registered in 1924). No maker’s name is mentioned, only the location: 11 rue Rougemont Paris 9e. We find les Poupées Rosalinde in the Bottin-Didot until 1932, then, the name totally disappears. The advertising is so unusually discrete that it seems that the maker did not need to be known by French distributors. The French magazines from the 20’s never mention Rosalinde dolls either, so one may conclude that those luxurious dolls were only made to be sold on the American market. The Ladies Home Journal gives us an argument for this theory, as we have the pleasure to see photos of a few Rosalinde dolls as early as 1923, then, a December 1924 article in the same magazine shows 6 different Rosalinde dolls, each one having a particular name, although the label Les Poupées Rosalinde is not mentioned; we are only told that the dolls come from Paris. With no maker name and no registration number, one has to turn to Archives de Paris, to try to found who was living at the given address during the 20’s. After extensive research on this unknown production, we had the pleasure to learn a little more about those precious and mysterious dolls. Aristide Mulin was a Parisian born man who married a Parisian born young lady named Augustine. The couple started the making and trading of “fine laces and fine hand embroideries” in January 1907. That same year the couple had a daughter named Raymonde. In 1921, Aristide Mulin registered his company in the Registre du Commerce.
Rosalinde
It seems that they began production of dolls some time between 1921 and 1922, as the 1923 photo in the Ladies Home Journal shows a few already wellachieved Rosalinde dolls. The choice of the name “Rosalinde” as the trademark is typical of sophisticated Parisians who were well aware of entertainment on the Paris stages (the Mulin’s were living only few minutes from Paris’ grands boulevards). There is an indisputable link between William Shakespeare’s story, “As You Like It” and the choice of first name Rosalinde. In this story, the Duke who is exiled in France has a daughter named Rosalinde. The name Rosalinde became highly fashionable in Paris in 1921 after an English movie inspired from “As You Like It” came to the Paris screens.
Vintage photo of a Parisian dressed as a Venetian for evening Bal de l’Opera. “Femina,” 1924. Private collection France.
Oriental Rosalinde. 39 inches. Courtesy Bonnie Groves. Sole of shoes marked Rosalinde. 19
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10” FG Bebe - $6500.
10-1/2” antique paper mache doll - $125.
16” Schoenhut Model 102 with carved hair (braid and blue bow on back) - $1900.
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Antique Louis Vuitton suitcase in an unusual size - $1900.
7” Hertel & Schwab character baby - $350.
Great pair of antique cloth dolls with painted oilcloth faces 28” and 30” - $2950.
Collecting
Shirley by Lorna Erb
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“The Little Colonel,” 1935, 27 inches.
Shirley Temple Doll, “that’s what I want for Christmas.” From 1934 - 1940 that’s what lots of little girls wanted for Christmas. With encouragement from my Mother, I began collecting in the late 1950’s when Shirley Temple movies were first shown on television. Then Mother and I would go to Shupp’s Grove in Adamstown, Pa. We met the late Roberta Roberts, another Shirley collector. She sold me my first mint Shirley, and from that time, I looked for originality in the dolls. In 1934, Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. made the first Shirley Temple Doll. It was rushed to the stores in time for Christmas sales. The founder of the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. was Morris Michtom from Brooklyn, N. Y. The company was started in the very early “Captain January,” 1936, 18 inches.
“Stand Up and Cheer,” 1934, 17 inches.
Sizes given refer to the doll. 29
by Donna C. Kaonis
Rosalie Whyel and her daughter Shelley are standing in front of the “NADDA” case, where in honor of the April NADDA show, they displayed dolls the museum purchased from dealer members.
William and Mary era papier mache, 1680-1702. This lady is similar the wooden “Clapham” dolls in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She wears an elaborate fontage headpiece.
English wooden, William and Mary period, c. 1680. 38
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e wouldn’t dream of going to Seattle and not visiting the Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art! So when the April NADDA show took us to the northwest, we arranged a special day to tour the museum and photograph. As always, we were in awe at the incredible dolls on display, as well as how they were displayed, in thought provoking, artful settings that would appeal not only to the doll collector but to the average tourist of which Seattle gets more than its fair share. Of course, if you’ve been to the museum, you know that there’s more than meets the eye… large pull out drawers below the showcases contain countless treasures.
Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, c. 2010.
George II era wooden (1750) with original wardrobe. French Court doll, anatomically correct, maker unknown, c. 1775.
Peg and hinge joined papier mache, wooden body, possibly from Spain, 27 inches, c. 1775-1800.
German Grodnertal woodens, c. 1830.
German wooden, 20 inches, c. 1800-1820. Her upper torso is carved to accommodate the Empire fashions of the period.
How many dolls can whip up an omelet at a moments notice? A kitchen doll has an early replacement head by Jacob Petit.. Papier mache dolls with Apollo knot hairstyles, c. 1830-40.
English wooden George II era, c. 1750-60.
German composition babies, unknown maker, c. 1930-1940. 39
A Dolls’ Trunk by Kathy Embry
Flat top, paper covered ‘marble’ design trunk with a buckle type lock. These two AM “Just Me” dolls are the original proud owners of this 1922 doll trunk. Inside is a paper covered square design. The tray lifts out for all the room needed to store their dresses, underwear, hats, coats, shoes, socks and roller skates. 11in x 6in x 5in tall.
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The famous ‘Jenny Lind’ shaped trunk. Tooled leather “Western Square Design.” The unique shaped trunk top curves down from both sides towards the center. Metal bands surround the trunk with brass buttons to hold them in place. 14in x 8.5in x 8in tall. Inside is beautiful purple paper lids with gold accent design for compartments both under the lid and over the center tray. A very rare doll trunk. 52
dolls’ trunk was created for all the needs of a doll’s life. Just like a traveling trunk for adults and children, miniature trunks were produced for dolls. Inside the trunk the doll could also be stored along with her toiletry items and wardrobe. Dolls of all sizes had their own trousseau and the toy industry had a whole new creation to manufacture. The French were the first to produce miniature reproductions of everything fashionable for their dolls as early as the beginning of the 19th century. The German toy manufacturers soon followed by the 1870s. The entire industry existed to costume and accessorize dolls which included seamstresses, milliners, shoemakers and jewelers. Magazines provided patterns for making doll clothing. In the mid 1800s dolls’ clothes were a means of teaching a little girl about fashion and the art of sewing. During this period the doll industry was dominated by fashion dolls which were dressed in elaborate reproductions of current fashions for adults and children. A doll’s trunk became very important for storing and taking care of these prized possessions. The fashion doll needed everything besides her wardrobe for all seasons; she had toiletry items such as a hair brush, comb, mirror, soaps and perfumes. Necessities were undergarments, shoes, boots, stockings, jewelry, watch and fob, purses, parasols, hats, bonnets, muffs and collars, gloves, fans, opera glasses, calling cars, stationary, a chatelaine, her own sewing items, her personal tussy mussy, musical instruments (if she played one), books and albums, a beaded cross and missal or games as she chose such as dominoes or playing cards which were the rage, along with other musts such as aprons and handkerchiefs, shoe horn and clothes brush to name just a few. A child doll’s wardrobe included several sets of dresses, underwear, pinafores, headwear, outerwear, footwear and nightwear. By the 1920s wardrobe
Large example of the “Western Square Design” 18in x 10.5in x 12in tall. The wood slats are held down by small studs and metal clamps. There’s plenty of room for the many accessories required for a fashionable lady doll.
trunks were introduced so that clothes could be hung on hangers with a presser bar to hold them in place so the dresses wouldn’t get wrinkled. They usually had one lower drawer for the small items. The child doll can be placed on one side with her wardrobe on the other side. Baby dolls with layettes sometimes came in trunks or in a basket. Babies needed gowns, petticoats, jackets, crochet socks, booties, night caps, bibs, blankets, three button diapers and maybe even a promenette (baby’s first walker with straps). Dolls created in the 19th century that still have their original trunks, trousseau and accessories are very much desired today. There were hundreds of trunk manufacturers around the world with the majority in America and Europe. Doll trunks were made in a variety of shapes and sizes in many materials. They have shapes known as camel or hump back, dome, round and flat tops. They were made of leather, wood, metal
A camel back type doll trunk that has a painted terne metal square design, wood slats with buttons and a metal lock. Beautiful red paper interior decorated with pictures of a fashionable lady and flowers. Notice the paper tape border. 16 x 9.5in x 10in tall 53
Kathy Kruse
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Kathe Kruse Doll I. The distinct profile shows the contour of the head. Author’s collection.
Francois Duquesnoy (1597 - 1643) was a well known he wistful pouty look of the Kathe Kruse dolls Baroque sculptor in Rome. He was called Il Fiammingo brings out a nurturing feeling in many people by the Italians and Francois Flamand by the French since who see them. There is something about the face he came from Flanders. The cast of the child’s head used of Kathe Kruse’s Doll I that makes most of us by Kathe Kruse was only one of many more prominent want to hold and cuddle the child we see in the doll. sculptures that he did. It is highly unlikely that he ever All of us at one time or another have seen the same imagined that this one bust would be the inspiration for expression on a real child. many dolls created for children. When Kathe Kruse created her first doll she Kathe Kruse was not the only doll wanted a facial expression that left the maker who used the bust of Duquesnoy interpretation to the child as to whether for creating dolls. This same head mold her doll was happy, sad or whatever has been attributed to Armand Marseille mood the child felt was appropriate for for his doll “Fany”; Bruno Schmidt’s the moment. Most dolls played with by “Heiz” baby; Koenig & Wernicke’s children at that time were the smiling model 1070; Kammer & Reinhardt’s dolly face dolls. The character face dolls model 115; Baehr & Proeschild mold were just beginning to be introduced to 2048 for the Bruno Schmidt doll factory; the toy market and were not yet widely Hertel Schwab & Co. for the Kley & accepted. So just where did Kathe Kruse Hahn doll factory with doll heads find that perfect expression she wanted? marked K&H banner//166-6 and Erich It was while traveling to Berlin that Klotzer whose dolls are most similar to she passed through Munich where she the Kruse dolls. Even the Uneeda Biscuit saw and purchased the cast of a child’s Boy by Ideal Novelty and Toy Co. used head by the baroque sculptor Francois the Fiamingo head when casting the Duquesnoy (right). The bust was known mold for this doll. I’m sure there are as Fiamingo (the flame). Using wax and other dolls, both marked and unmarked, cloth she cast the head of what was to Bust of the Fiamingo head. that also used this head. become her first doll.
Look-A-Likes By Margo Delaughter
Photos by Cynthia Orgeron
The Fiamingo head mold for dolls was cast in bisque, cloth, celluloid, papier-mache and composition. Some of these dolls were never produced to compete with the Kruse dolls, but other companies did seem to try to cash in on the successful Kathe Kruse dolls. It should be noted that copying a popular design used in children’s toys was quite acceptable at this time. This practice, however, changed when Kathe Kruse sued the Bing Toy Company claiming they had copied her design. Since their dolls’ heads and body construction were very similar to hers, she felt they were making “cheap” copies of her dolls. Her suit proved to be successful and Bing and some smaller companies were eventually forced out of business. This article was written to show examples of dolls that to this writer show a strong resemblance to the Kathe Kruse dolls. Certainly not all dolls that bear that likeness are illustrated here, but just a few that might get you as a reader to look for others if you love Kathe Kruse dolls. Again this article on Kruse look- a- likes is subjective and not everyone will agree to the choices made. With that in mind, I have chosen to show Kruse style dolls with heads made of cloth, papier mache, celluloid and composition. Some of the dolls do bear a strong resemblance to the Kruse dolls while others are more of a “Kruse type” because of their construction. Included also are dolls whose facial features were possibly more influenced by the Fiamingo head than the Kruse dolls. These do, however, show a strong resemblance to the Kathe Kruse Doll I. It seems only appropriate to begin the Kathe Kruse comparison of dolls by viewing her wide hip Doll I that was made from the cast of the Fiamingo head. According to the original owner his factory name was “Seppel” and he was purchased for her when she actually visited the Kathe Kruse factory as a child. He is 17” tall and is redressed in a custom made outfit consisting of a long sleeve cotton white shirt, brown short pants with matching brown shoes, blue silk tie and white socks. His matching school bag completes his outfit. The close-up of his face clearly shows his pouty expression. His brown hair shows the typical Kruse quiff (swirl of hair on the forehead) curling to his left. We find the quiff can be curled in either direction on her dolls. He has blue eyes with radiating iris, red painted nose dots and round mouth. His hands have an applied thumb and he is tab-jointed at the shoulders and disc-jointed at the hips. Remnants of the purple “Kathe Kruse” signature remain on the bottom of his right foot, while the five digit number “44153” is clearly visible. The side view shows that wonderful contour of the 3 seamed head. Now let’s look at other dolls that have that “Kruse” look.
Kruse look-a-like made by Erich Klotzer. Courtesy Turn of the Century Antiques.
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