January 2026

Antique DOLL Collector January 2026 Vol. 29, No. 1

Celebrating American Doll Makers Series Premier Sylvia MacNeil’s Chiffonnette Cloth WPA Dolls Dollhouses in Children’s Literature Lenci Balilla Dolls Layered Paper Dolls

by Samy Odin

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Letter From The Editor

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Eleanor Roosevelt Dear Readers, This quote by former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt seemed appropriate for the start of a new year. After all, the beginning of a new year is a step into the future.

Mrs. Roosevelt, the United States’ longest-running First Lady, had a fondness for dolls. She was a dedicated supporter of her husband’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, and she often visited the WPA projects across the country. In her January 11, 1938 “My Day” column, she described seeing dolls and other crafts produced by women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“I just love dolls,” she was overheard to say.

In this month’s issue of Antique DOLL Collector, Linda Holderbaum continues to share her research on dolls created in the WPA project. A comprehensive reference book on WPA dolls by Linda is scheduled to be published in January 2026.

Our cover story is by our Senior Editor, Linda Edward, who relates the story of Sylvia MacNeil’s Huret, Chiffonnette and her wardrobe.

Frashers will auction Chiffonnette and her extensive wardrobe on February 14. A QR Code at the end of the article leads our dressmakers to an apron pattern from Chiffonnette’s trousseau.

Loretta Nardone gives us a fascinating history lesson on the Lenci Balilla dolls during the days of Fascist Italy. Maria Nikolajeva, Swedish literary critic and academic, specializing in children’s literature, invites us to peer into the miniature world of dollhouses in children’s books.

Samy Odin paints a beautiful story of overlay paper dolls.

In honor of America’s 250th birthday this year, we begin a new series honoring the dolls and dollmakers of the United States. We extend our appreciation to Joy Harrington for suggesting this idea to ADC. We wish each of you a Happy New Year…full of dreams come true.

Laurie McGill Editor-in-Chief

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LAYAW AVAILA AY BLE

18.5” Beautiful Kling? Parian w/ shoulder plate embellished w/ 2 rows blue ruffles & bow, blonde hairdo w/ black bow, pierced ears, small flake on blue ruffle, antique body w/ left leg cracked $650

22” Simon & Halbig Erica 1489 on BJ Toddler body, blue sleep eyes, w/ bear $1950.

15” Bru Jne 7, beautiful painted with brown PW eyes, mohair wig, wonderful clean body w/ replaced arms $6495.

20” Sunburst Gebruder Heubach 7606 8, flocked hair, blue intaglio eyed, beautifully molded features, left forefinger, 2 small chips on his flocked hairline w/ 6” Heubach flocked hair, blue intaglio eyed baby brother, stringing loose $795. Pair

19.5” CM Kestner 13, brown sl eyes, original mohair wig, Clothing? & shoes, stiff wrist body, sm eye chip corner rt eye $995.

25“ Kestner 171 on beautiful lady body, stamped Germany, original mohair wig blue sleyes, antique shoes & clothes $695.

19.5” Heubach SANTA 7 ½ w/ Sunburst Mark, blue sleep eyes, original wig, shoes & socks $1075.

14.5” 1936 Alexander Dr. Dafoe in mint condition, left thumb repaired & 8” all original Dionne Quintuplets wigged toddlers w/ pins $695.

13” Brown eyed Kestner High Brow China 1850-60 on Milliner’s body, fabulous piece w/ antique dress $650 10” Brown eyed covered wagon Kestner China 1850’s $295.

American Character 1950’s w/ high facial coloring Fabulous 18.5” Toni all original in minty mint condition $175.

19” Betsy McCall blue flirty eyes all original wedding gown & veil, replaced shoes $215.

18” Kestner Fashion, br eyes, nice leather body, left ankle banded $425.

16” Dressel & Kister Lady w/ Fancy Hair Do, new body & bisque legs, antique clothing $695.

18” Kestner 160, blue sleep eyes, nice BJ body, antique mohair wig, wool coat & hat, sweet doll $325.

22” 1850’s Covered Wagon A.W. Kister Pink Luster China cloth body w/ papier-mache limbs, antique clothing $525.

26” Beautiful C/M Kley & Hahn 166 15 Boy, brown sleep eyes, wonderfully molded & painted $275.

12” Bahr & Proschild character toddler CB & Co 620, brown sl eyes, mohair wig $295.

20” German ABG Blond Molded Hair, inserted blue glass eyes, 187080’s, newer body & limbs $245.

14” All original COD wax over papier mache 1870’s, bl sl eyes, mohair wig, molded gray boots $295.

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Nelling, Inc.

FINE ANTIQUE DOLLS AND ACCESSORIES BUYING & SELLING QUALITY DOLLS FOR OVER 32 YEARS

Happy New Year!

published by the

www.antiquedollcollector.com Publications Director: Lisa Brannock Editor-in-Chief: Laurie McGill Senior Editor: Linda Edward Production Director: Louann Wilcock Art Director: Lisa Claisse Administrative Manager: Valerie Foley Social Media Director: Brigid McHugh Jones Contributors: Elizabeth Ann Coleman, Bradley Justice, Samy Odin Subscription Manager: Valerie Foley Subscriptions: adcsubs@gmail.com Display Advertising: Lisa Brannock: lbrannock@antiquedollcollector.com phone: 631-261-4100 Louann Wilcock: louannw@antiquedollcollector.com phone: 872-216-8842 Advertising Materials Contact: Louann Wilcock: louannw@antiquedollcollector.com phone: 872-216-8842 Editorial: antiquedoll@gmail.com Laurie McGill: lauriem@antiquedollcollector.com phone: 717-517-9217 Send all catalogs to this address: Antique DOLL Collector, 4800 Hampden Lane, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814 Marketing: Penguin Communications, Inc. Subscriptions: Send to Antique DOLL Collector, P.O. Box 349, Herndon, VA 20172. Phone: 631-261-4100 Subscription Rates: One Year $59.95; Two Years $109.95.

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Antique DOLL Collector (ISSN 1096-8474) is published monthly with a combined issue in July/August (11 times per year) by the Puffin Co., LLC, 4800 Hampden Lane, Suite 200, Bethesda, MD 20814 Phone: 631-261-4100 Periodicals postage paid at Northport, NY and at additional mailing offices. Contents ©2026 Antique DOLL Collector, all rights reserved.

Intoxicating 24” early wooden Oberammergau lady. Many more photos and information on the

Early Dolls page of the website, www.maspinelli.com

Exhibiting: January 16 - 17 - The All American Collectors Show, Glendale CA, Glendale Civic Auditorium January 31 - Verdugo Hills Doll Club Show and Sale. Glendale CA, Glendale Civic Auditorium P.O. Box 4327, Burbank CA 91503 • e-mail: nellingdolls@gmail.com Cell: 818-738-4591 Home: 818-562-7839 • Member NADDA and UFDC

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Antique DOLL Collector is not responsible for any inaccuracies in advertisers’ content. An unsolicited manuscript must be accompanied by SASE. Antique DOLL Collector assumes no responsibility for such material. All rights including translations are reserved by the publisher. Requests for permissions and reprints must be made in writing to Antique DOLL Collector. ©2026 by the Puffin Co., LLC.

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JANUARY 2026

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Valerie Fogel’s

Beautiful Bébés Fine Dolls & Precious Playthings from our Past

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Always Buying!

Trades and Consignments Considered Tel: 425.765.4010 Beautifulbebes@outlook.com

What a beauty! A gorgeous Wood Body Huret with the loveliest face and delightful costume c. 1858-1860 (unmarked). She is on a wooden body with deluxe articulation so sought after once the original Gutta Percha articulated bodies began to fail. She represents the most desirable original face that was the original goal of Adelaide Calixte Huret’s inspired creativity.

Brilliant coloring and exquisite painting of beautiful features. She is wearing an 1860 costume, in a charming cotton-print enfantine styling. $24,800 Free US Shipping

Member UFDC & NADDA

Meet a charming petite 13” Block Letter FG with such a beautiful face, gorgeous pale bisque, large pale blue eyes with sweeping lashes, lovely expressive rosy lips, and tinted cheeks. She is in wonderful condition and one of our favorite little cabinet sizes! $5575 plus S&H

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14” Schmitt Bébé marked 3 with beautiful royal blue eyes! She is wonderful with lovely bisque, stamped on head and body. Mitt style hands & early sheep skin wig is accented with beautiful sapphire blue frock and antique bonnet. This is a great opportunity to acquire a darling & excellent Schmitt at Holiday pricing! $7995 plus S&H

This beauty is 17 ½-inches tall with the most elegant face and brilliant blue spiral threaded eyes. Her bisque is pale and creamy with just the right tints of peaches and cream. Her joints work smoothly and allow her to sit or stand. She’s dressed in an antique sapphire blue frock, a matching chapeau, beautiful Russian style boots, and belted purse, all circa late 1860s-early 1870s. Her face is radiant and her beautiful bisque hands and feet are exceptional. $7900 plus Postage

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The Complete Guide to Antique, Vintage and Collectible Dolls

January 2026 Volume 29, Number 1

On the Cover

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LA MODE ENFANTINE CHIFFONNETTE

by Linda Edward

Antique DOLL Collector is pleased to offer you a complimentary download of a Sylvia MacNeil pattern for a Fanciful Apron from Chiffonnette’s Trousseau which appeared in the January 2015 issue of our magazine. antiquedollcollector.com/articles1.html for the downloadable PDF

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WPA CLOTH

Sylvia MacNeil’s Huret known to the world as Chiffonnette, and her specially made wardrobe will be featured among the many fine dolls that will be part of Frashers Doll Auction on February 14, 2026.

by Linda Holderbaum

PAPER DOLL STORIES: From Mica to Paper… the Fascination for Layers

by Samy Odin

Departments

2 Letter from the Editor 8 Paper Doll Stories

by Samy Odin

46 Emporium

47 Events/Classified Ads

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SIZE, SCALE & THE FASCINATION OF THE MINIATURE

by Maria Nikolajeva

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48 Auction Calendar LENCI

SUBSCRIBE TO ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR, GO TO antiquedollcollector.com Subscription information: subs@antiquedollcollector.com or 631-261-4100 6

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Follow us on...

by Loretta Nardone

facebook.com/antiquedollcollectormagazine pinterest.com/antiquedollcollectormagazine instagram.com/antiquedollcollectormagazine

JANUARY 2026

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1) The Exclusive Bebe Mothereau - A grandiose and very important 1882 bebe with none finer than this 30” model in her luxury size. Original Signed Body & gorgeous Mint Bisque w. dewey sheen, rich smoldering brown PW Eyes shaded mauve lids framed by a long mint Hand Tied Extension Wig beneath Ostrich Feathered Chapeau. Dressed in glistening powder blue w delicate lace overlay plus Matching Antique Silk Parasol and Silk Slippers to match. Only rarely does this elusive bebe present itself. A major coup for the advancing collector. Not $12,500…$9,800 (cat & dog nfs)

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2) Stunning 23” Pierced Ear China Fashion chiseled features plus translucent watery glaze, Intricate Coiffure w many Brush Marks, porcelain arms/legs in stately Couture w Train. $895 3) 18” Feminine 1850’s Sophia Smith Young Lady - so pretty! Mint Pink Tint Pressed Head, Brown Hair plus Original Body, Flat Soled Porcelain Limbs & long fingers. Layers of Antique Clothes includes her Original Frail Silk Gown and 1979 First Place Ribbon. $1250 4) Mint and Signed 1830’s English Pedlar Couple - All Orig w. Labels

by C.H.White, Portsmouth, England.

The 10” Historic Pair features a rare Gentleman complete with Top Hat & staggering array of some 40 colorful wares - as does the Woman.

Both Museum Mint with no add-ons.

Unusually friendly happy faces! A truly remarkable duo for the connoisseur! The finest! $2500

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5) Stunning 27” 1889 Danel ‘Paris Bebe’ - huge round blue PWs, Clo Mo, cork pate. A showpiece in her exquisite Antique Silk Clothes. This lithesome ingénue was made for only 3-years and is mint! $2495 6) Early 6.5” Sophia Smith Miniature - leather Milliner’s body/wood limbs, Period Clothes, tiny Necklace & crisp hang curls/features. So rare a size! $895; A 6” Rare Brown Hair Fancy Parian - w bun & bow, brush marks, orig. Flat Soled Body & Clothes. $550

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Paper Doll Stories by Samy Odin

From Mica to Paper… the Fascination for Layers

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n order to better understand the evolution of paper dolls as artifacts, it is important to realize that the metamorphic process that underpins the appearance of paper dolls dates back to the seventeenth century.

This is when high society enjoyed playing “Jeu de Métamorphoses” (cfr, “Early European Paper Dolls from the Odin Collection” in Antique DOLL Collector June 2024).

These elusive portraits could morph into a great variety of characters, female or male, young or elderly, from a variety of social levels or referring to historical, mythological, folkloric or professional models. To make this game possible, a mineral transparent material, that our ancestors

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called “talc,” was used; its current proper name is “mica.”

Each mica thin transparent sheet was hand painted and could be overlaid onto the oil painted miniature portrait to create a myriad of different characters (Photo 0).

The use of mica for morphemic portraits kept being in use in the upper classes until the mid-nineteenth century, long after paper dolls were distributed to a much larger audience. An interesting example (Photo 1), possibly dating from the 1860s, represents an Indian male figure.

It stands in front of a natural background, contained in a wooden box with sliding top, together with twelve mica overlays reflecting the Indian fashions. The great majority

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of this wardrobe consists of male costumes except for one representing a woman, possibly a nanny which holds a Caucasian child in her arms (Photo 2). I think this adult plaything dates from the early years of the British Empire in India. Each costume appears to pertain to a specific role played by the Indians at the service of the British, which brings to this item a sociological flavor, certainly meaningful for the historians of our day. A thirteenth mica plaque in this set, even though identical in size, looks different from the others and is incompatible to the main character painted in front of the background; in fact, when overlaid, the position of the faces does not match.

It is possible this extra mica sheet belongs to a different set where the sitter was intended to be posed on top of

different backgrounds, in order to show not the variety of the costumes but that of the exotic Indian landscapes (Photo 3).

The concept, originating with the hand-painted “Jeu de Métamorphoses,” evolved into a similar game, no longer based on the use of mica but consisting of hand drawn paper cutout layers. A delicately tempera painted portrait of a lady, drawn in England or Scotland, as a profile during the first decade of the nineteenth century, is surrounded by eleven cardboard sheets, hand cut in an approximative way (Photo 4). They all represent lady figures from the past and each bears a handwritten inscription on the back to describe which character is represented: Mary Queen of Scots (Photo 5) or a gypsy carrying a child on her back (Photo 6), to name only two.

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Another French set dated 1828 is also hand drawn with a very detailed design and kept in a refined embossed ivory paper folder. It consists of a female portrait, the head slightly turned to the left, wearing a simple chemise, together with seven traditional or historical costumes bearing a handwritten inscription to identify their origin. Each costume is carefully cut out so that, once the overlay is positioned on top of the main character, the features appear clearly. The refinement of the crafting is amazing in this set, proper to the talent of a professional miniaturist (Photo 7).

Among the costumes, the one that is clearly dated represents an elegant lady from Paris (Photo 8), and the other one evoking a historical character is, again, Mary Stuart (Photo 9).

One more portrait set dating from the late 1830s represents a very young lady, with an ingénue look, hand painted with a soft watercolor technique, surrounded by eleven thin cardboard overlays, carefully hand cut out to enhance the beauty of the sitter (Photo10). None of the costumes bears any inscription but the subjects are clearly inspired by the history of costume from the Medieval Age to the reign of Louis-Philippe (1830-1848).

This set was possibly created in France; in fact the costume that looks the most recent reflects the fashion and the hair-do inspired by the style of the Queen MarieAmélie de Bourbon-Sicile (Photo11), while another piece of apparel is clearly in the style of the Parisian upper class girls from the 1830s (Photo12).

Today, the collector interested in these early handmade artifacts differs from the majority of the current lovers of commercial paper dolls, yet it is important to consider them as the matrix for a plaything that evolved from an adult entertainment to a child’s toy.

Happy paper doll collecting to all!

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All the paper dolls shown here are featured in the author’s collection. Samy Odin can be reached at galeriesamyodin@gmail.com Photo 11 10

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Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary Honoring American Dollmakers

Ludwig Greiner

A First Day Cover postmarked July 28, 1997, Anaheim, California of the Ludwig Greiner doll stamp, United States Postal Service’s “Classic American Dolls.”

blonds were made, as well. The dolls range in height from 13 inches to 36 inches. Greiner heads have been found on various cloth-body styles. Some researchers believe the heads could be purchased separately with bodies being made at home. While other dolls were sold as finished dolls.

Greiner achieved considerable success. Despite facing competition from European manufacturers, shifting costs, and disruptions from the Civil War, he built a reputation for quality and innovation. His dolls were notable for 33-inch papier-mâché shoulder head, painted features, Greiner Patent their branded labels—some of the earliest in American Head March 30, 1858, photographed for the “Classic American Dolls” toy history. Paper labels glued to the shoulder plates read: stamp sheet. Cloth body, leather arms, red wool dress, white blouse, black leather boots. (Formerly in the Collection of Carol Corson. Currently in “Greiner’s Improved Patent Heads Pat. March 30th ’58.” the Collection of Laurie McGill.)

Ludwig Greiner died in 1874, and his sons continued udwig Greiner was a dollmaker whose creative the business until 1884. vision and craftsmanship helped define early Today, Greiner dolls are prized by collectors for their craftsmanship and historical value. Well-preserved American toy making. examples with original clothing and intact labels are Born in Germany in 1809, Greiner immigrated to especially sought after. the United States in the 1830s, settling in Museums and private collectors Philadelphia—a city known for industry work diligently to preserve these and innovation. Greiner saw an opportunity artifacts, safeguarding a piece of to create toys that would appeal to American childhood for future American children. In 1840 he was listed in generations. a Philadelphia directory as a “Toy Man.” In 1997 the United States In 1858, Greiner patented his Postal Service included the manufacturing method for doll heads. His papier-mâché Greiner doll on Letters Patent No. 19700 called for cloth to its “Classic American Dolls” reinforce the papier-mâché. This innovation stamps. helped make American dolls more Ludwig Greiner’s story is competitive with European imports and a testament to creativity and encouraged a domestic industry. The patent perseverance. As the United was extended in 1872.

States honors its past, it is Greiner dolls have a distinctive fitting to remember craftspeople appearance with oil-painted heads, finished Patent No. US19770, Improvement in Constructing like Greiner. Through his dolls, Doll-Heads, Ludwig Greiner, March 30, 1858. with varnish. Most Greiners have blue he left a legacy of artistry, eyes, but some have been found with brown eyes or glass entrepreneurship, and American ingenuity that continues eyes. The early dolls had dark painted hair in a variety to inspire collectors and historians today. of hairstyles. Later dolls continued to have dark hair, but

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Book Review A Treasury of Zuni Beaded Dolls Written & Photographed by Loretta Nardone

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Treasury of Zuni Beaded Dolls by Loretta Nardone is an exploration of the intricate and culturally significant art of Zuni beadwork. Through this thoughtfully crafted volume, readers are invited to discover the vibrant world of Zuni beaded dolls, where artistic appreciation is interwoven with commentary on the dolls and their creators.

Nardone highlights the exceptional craftsmanship inherent in Zuni beaded dolls, tracing their evolution from simple tourist souvenirs to sophisticated works of folk art. The seventy-page softcover publication reflects the author’s passion for dolls and her respect for cultural artistry. Throughout, Nardone underscores the importance of honoring Zuni traditions and preserving cultural heritage, encouraging readers to regard these dolls not merely as collectibles, but as enduring representations of heritage.

The book’s design is visually appealing, featuring quality photographs that vividly capture the dazzling colors and intricate details of each doll. The images are thoughtfully integrated with the narrative, offering readers a clear understanding of the artistry and skill that define Zuni beadwork.

Copyright 2025 Loretta Nardone All Rights Reserved ISBN: 978-1-63039-142-3 To purchase contact Loretta Nardone: datwmuseum@gmail.com A Treasury of Zuni Beaded Dolls succeeds in both educating and inspiring its audience, making it an essential resource for collectors and scholars of Native American art. Through Nardone’s evident admiration and expertise, readers are afforded a deeper appreciation for both the aesthetic beauty of the dolls and the creative vision of their makers.

In addition to her authorship, Loretta Nardone is recognized for her extensive knowledge of international dolls and serves as the curator of the virtual museum, “Dolls Around the World.” This platform offers further exploration of Zuni beaded dolls alongside a diverse array of dolls from various cultures, reinforcing Nardone’s commitment to celebrating and preserving global doll artistry.

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Anne Demuth

Buying & Selling Fine Antique Dolls New Location: 5134 Hwy NC 33 W, Tarboro, NC 27886

Only 13 miles from Greenville, 30 miles from Rocky Mount and 1 hour from Raleigh

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Experience Pure Doll Joy! New Estates just in! Buy my latest treasures in a charming setting, or buy online in my eBay store: Anniepoojewels Please call or text me to make an appointment or get more information: 336.755.1400 Choose from a large selection of antique and vintage dolls, doll dresses, shoes, pantaloons, chemise, slips, bonnets, ribbons and more including doll furniture, doll kitchenware, and dollhouses.

Email: dollsbearscookies@yahoo.com

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U.S. Museums Compiled by Monica Bessette Doll, toy, miniature, and dollhouse museums ARIZONA

KANSAS

MISSOURI

OKLAHOMA

Arizona Doll & Toy Museum 5847 W Myrtle Avenue Glendale, AZ 85301

Prairie Museum of Art & History at Thomas County Historical Society 1905 S Franklin Avenue Colby, KS 67701

Miniature Museum of Greater St. Louis 4746 Gravois Avenue St. Louis, MO 63116

Eliza Cruce Hall Doll Museum at Ardmore Public Library 320 East Street SE Ardmore, OK 73401

Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures 4455 E Camp Lowell Drive Tucson, AZ 85712 Phoenix Art Museum Thorne Rooms 625 N Central Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85004

CALIFORNIA Grovian Doll Museum 213 Forest Avenue Pacific Grove, CA 93950 Susan Quinlan Doll & Teddy Bear Museum & Library 122 W. Canon Perdido Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101

COLORADO Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls, & Toys 830 Kipling Street Lakewood, CO 80215

IOWA Dyer-Botsford Historical House and Doll Museum 331 1st Avenue E. Dyersville, IA 52040

ILLINOIS American Doll & Toy Museum 3059 30th Street Rock Island, IL 61201 Art Institute of Chicago Thorne Rooms Michigan Avenue Entrance 111 South Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60603

KENTUCKY Great American Dollhouse Museum 344 Swope Drive Danville, KY 40422 Kentucky Doll & Toy Museum 106 W. Main Street Carlisle, KY 40311

House of Broel Dollhouse Museum 2220 Street Charles Avenue New Orleans, LA 70130 Lois Loftin Doll Museum at Beauregard Parish Tourism Comm.

204 W. First Street DeRidder, LA 70634

Wenham Museum 132 Main Street Wenham, MA 01984

MAINE Fawcett’s Maine Antique Toy and Art Museum 3468 Atlantic Highway Waldoboro, ME 04572

Marquis Doll Museum & Restoration 214 N. 5th Street Lafayette, IN 47901 Museum of Miniature Houses and Other Collections 111 E. Main Street Carmel, IN 46032

North Carolina Museum of Dolls, Toys & Miniatures 440 South Salisbury Avenue Spencer, NC 28159

NEW YORK Brooklyn Children’s Museum 200 Eastern Pkwy Brooklyn, NY 11238 Doll and Toy Museum 2nd Floor, Allegany County Historical Society 11 East Greenwood Andover, NY 14806

MASSACHUSETTS

INDIANA

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NORTH CAROLINA

LOUISIANA

Midwest Miniatures Museum 20 S. 5th Street Grand Haven, MI 49417

United Federation of Doll Clubs 10900 N. Pomona Avenue Kansas City, MO 64153 World’s Largest Toy Museum 3609 W. Country Boulevard Branson, MO 65616

KSB Miniatures Collection 215 Sutton Street Maysville, KY 41056

MICHIGAN

National Museum of Toys & Miniatures 5235 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64112

Den of Marbletown Bear & Steiff Museum One Bastien Lane Kingston, NY 12401 Museum of the City of New York 1220 5th Avenue at 103rd Street New York, NY 10029 Strong National Museum of Play One Manhattan Square Rochester, NY 14607

OHIO Children’s Toy & Doll Museum 206 Gilman Avenue Marietta, OH 45750

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg Doll Museum 2004 State Street Harrisburg, PA 17103 Historic Strawberry Mansion 2450 Strawberry Mansion Drive Philadelphia, PA 19132

TENNESSEE Knoxville Museum of Art Thorne Rooms 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive Knoxville, TN 37916

VIRGINIA Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University 1075 W 43rd Street Norfolk, VA 23529

VERMONT Dollhouse and Toy Museum of Vermont 212 Union Street Bennington, VT 05201 Shelburne Museum 6000 Shelburne Road Shelburne, VT 05482

WASHINGTON The Doll House - The Museum 14104 C Street S. Tacoma, WA 98444

WISCONSIN Fennimore Doll & Toy Museum 1135 6th Street Fennimore, WI 53809

Doll Museum at Old Rectory, Worthington Historical Society 50 W New England Avenue Worthington, OH 43085

Is your museum missing from our list?

Please notify Antique DOLL Collector, antiquedoll@gmail.com, subject: Museums.

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If you enjoyed the Chiffonnette article in this issue, look for more in Sylvia Mac Neil’s book on our website!

Need to complete your collection?

Check out Back Issues at antiquedollcollector.com and find the right one!

Serving the doll industry for over 80 years! www. dollspart.com

1-201-444-3655

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La Mode Enfantine and Chiffonnette

By Linda Edward

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he study of fashion of any period is a window into the world of its day. For doll collectors and costumers, the fashions of the nineteenth century are a particularly interesting and exciting area. This is especially true when looking at the realm of haute couture of the 1860s through the 1870s. Elegant and beribboned dolls of the day continue to fascinate and inspire collectors today.

In the realm of doll collecting, from time to time, a doll will achieve notoriety that transcends its original persona. One such doll moved from her original inception to new fame, chronicling one researcher’s journey to learn, to expand her sewing techniques and inspiring a generation of doll costume enthusiasts who still benefit from that researcher’s life’s work. That doll is known as Chiffonnette and that researcher was the multitalented Sylvia MacNeil.

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Following the influencers of the time, the Victorian and Second Empire standards of social etiquette combined with commercial interests and a rising middle class all led to a boom in the French fashion industry.

Women and girls of means were now expected to wear costumes appropriate to every time of day or activity.

Ladies’ magazines and those aimed at young girls were filled with advice on deportment and with fashion plates showing the latest looks. Since dolls consistently mirror the state of their society, the play dolls of the era sported the elegant wardrobes and accessories that make modern collector’s hearts beat fast.

The magazine La Poupée Modèle (LPM) which debuted in December of 1863 was an arbiter of these trends. This magazine was the brainchild of Mademoiselle Jeanne Pérrone (after her marriage her name became Madame Lavelée-Pérrone). Péronne was the proprietor of a doll shop called La Poupée de Nuremberg which was located in Paris on the Rue Choiseul. This shop was located in an area where there was a thriving group of dressmakers. Soon the area would also become home to numerous other doll and doll clothing businesses.

La Poupée Modèle featured instructions for needlework and was aimed at girls aged six through twelve. Mademoiselle Perrone created patterns for doll clothing for the magazine promoting the idea of a fashionable lifestyle for the girls who played with them. These patterns were designed to fit a 45-centimeter (approximately 17 ¾-inches) doll, designated as Size 4 (LPM would later add other sizes of dolls for sale and would have patterns for them as well). The style of clothing presented in the patterns followed the mode enfantine (children’s fashion) which the young readers of the magazine would themselves be wearing (or dreaming of wearing). The magazine was an educational tool used to lead French girls to all they would need to know to navigate their roles in current and future society. To make learning fun the magazine introduced a character named Chiffonnette.

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The concept for the character was that of a lady doll whose experience and breeding placed her in a perfect position to instruct a child doll named Lily in manners, household management, and perhaps to today’s collectors most importantly in the complicated and delightful world of the fashions of the period. In that very first issue of La Poupée Modèle Chiffonnette told Lily and the magazine’s young readers “I will keep you informed about what the elegant dolls of Paris are wearing.”

This was the golden age of the fashionable French doll and that period has always been a favorite play space for

doll collectors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Among the many fans of that past age was a well-known doll world figure named Sylvia MacNeil. It would seem that the world of LPM fired MacNeil’s imagination leading her to find a doll of her own to outfit using the patterns presented in the issues of the magazine.

Combining her knowledge of antique dolls, her artistic talents and her experience with antique fabrics, trims, and sewing techniques she found a perfect partner for this project in the doll she christened with this character’s name. MacNeil’s Chiffonnette would become her toy, her muse, and her model over the years.

ABOVE and BELOW: Fashion periodicals of the second and third quarters of the nineteenth century would become invaluable research sources for later doll collectors and costumers seeking to learn the specific skills, materials and fashion trends required to costume dolls in the mode enfantine.

Colored plates from La Poupée Modèle and Journal des Demoiselles continue to inspire doll costumers.

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A portion of MacNeil’s Chiffonnette’s wardrobe is shared here. The doll’s entire wardrobe was featured in the 2013 publication The Enchanting Trousseau of Chiffonnette. This plaid taffeta in shades of lavender, black and white is trimmed with black velvet ribbons.

It is worn with a white chemisette. The matching outerwear includes her hat and muff.

Any young girl or doll of the 1860s would be delighted to wear this green and white, windowpane summer dress. Her woven hat is trimmed with lace, flowers and ribbons.

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A dreamy ensemble of soft pink silk plaid is finished with embroidered and fringed trim. Her hat is a confection made of silk, fine netting, flowers, ribbons and crystal beading.

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Among Chiffonnette’s many accessories are her elegantly feather trimmed muff and hat and her fringe trimmed parasol. These look lovely with a variety of the doll’s mantelets and capes.

ABOVE: A woolen cape for cooler weather is adorned with red wool braided trim and silk fringe. A jaunty hat and “to die for” purse are perfect accessories.

RIGHT: Her blue taffeta outfit is very effectively trimmed in white soutache, a velvet hat and feather covered muff perfectly pick up the shade of blue which MacNeil described as “Eugenie bleu.”

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Chiffonnette’s black taffeta outfit is trimmed with red silk passementerie trim and cording.

Her black felt hat is trimmed with red velvet and feathers.

An outfit made of sheer silk and wool barège in a most charming combination of tan and magenta is striking in its simplicity. A variety of perfectly scaled accessories including her hat of crimped straw are seen with the outfit.

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A summer dress of printed muslin is finished with a Marie Antoinette fischu of matching fabric and a lacey hat trimmed with ribbons and fruit. Again, these are only a few items from the wardrobe created by MacNeil for this fortunate doll. Collectors can continue to benefit from her research and example by creating their own modes enfantine wardrobe for antique and reproduction dolls.

When MacNeil decided to recreate the wardrobe found in the pages of La Poupée Modèle she chose to use an antique French bisque doll as the focus for her project.

Using a Huret head and shoulder-plate she was able to locate a jointed poupée style wooden and composition body with metal hands to replace the doll head’s long gone gutta-percha body. This pairing brought her doll to the correct measurement of 45-centimeters which was a perfect fit for the patterns contained in issues of LPM. MacNeil combined the patterns and advice presented in LPM with her years of research using contemporary sources such as Godey’s Ladies Journal, Peterson’s Magazine, The Lady’s Friend, the Journal des Demoiselles, as well as the twentieth century resource The Collector’s Book of Dolls’ Clothes by Dorothy S., Elizabeth A., Evelyn J. Coleman.

She expertly brought each pattern to life and spent countless hours obtaining or making perfect accessories to complete each ensemble. Her doll and its trousseau were exhibited at the 2013 convention of the United Federation of Doll Clubs held in Washington, DC before traveling on to the Musée de la Poupée in Paris where it was part of a special exhibit that same year.

MacNeil shared her project with the world through her book The Enchanting Trousseau of Chiffonnette published in 2013 with Forward by Samy Odin. She was also a frequent contributor to Antique DOLL Collector sharing patterns for recreating nineteenth century doll fashions, inspiring legions of doll costumers to this day.

Now as Chiffonnette and her wardrobe stand on the brink of going into the care of a new collector it is our pleasure to be able to share her story and that of the era that inspired her.

Chiffonnette and her wardrobe, along with other dolls from Sylvia MacNeil’s collection will be offered by Frashers Doll Auction on February 14, 2026.

Antique DOLL Collector is pleased to offer you a complimentary download of a Sylvia MacNeil pattern for a Fanciful Apron from Chiffonnette’s Trousseau which appeared in the January 2015 issue of our magazine.

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Cloth Dolls of the W.P.A.

By Linda Holderbaum

Linda Holderbaum’s article on papier-mâché and composition dolls produced by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) between 1938 and 1941 appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of Antique DOLL Collector.

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loth dolls were manufactured in several W.P.A. project areas.

These items may occasionally be mistaken for ordinary handmade cloth dolls; however, careful inspection often reveals distinguishing marks. Most feature a stamp on the torso indicating the specific project from which they originated.

States known to have operated programs producing these cloth dolls include Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

The dolls created through the Birmingham, Alabama project were intended to be visual aids used in social study classes in elementary schools. The dolls were made to represent historical people or people from various cultures. They are approximately 12 inches in height and are made entirely of cloth with painted faces that had a somewhat portrait-like appearance. Their hair is yarn.

Some outfits have a printed label on the front, and some may have writing on the chest under the clothing. Former Alabama Senator Maryon Allen (1925-2018) worked to restore some of the Alabama W.P.A. cloth dolls vary in size and facial decoration based on their project area.

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The basic body shape of the Alabama dolls are pictured here.

They have handwriting on their torsos showing the country they represent. This doll is marked Ireland. The painted detailing on the dolls extends from their heads down onto the neck, while their hands are painted up to the elbows.

The Alabama project made a large series of 13-inch dolls. They are all cloth with portrait-like painted faces. Representing various cultural groups, the front row (left to right) shows Norwegian boy and girl and Dutch boy and girl. The back row includes Sahara Desert boy and girl and the Greek girl and boy.

Each doll has a cloth tag with printing indicating the country they represent sewn onto the front of their outfit.

dolls. Information about her work can be found on the Birmingham History Center, Birmingham, Alabama website.

The dolls produced in Colorado stand about 12 inches tall and are constructed of cloth over muslin with oil-painted faces and muslin bodies.

An article in the June 1937 issue of Toys and Bicycles magazine mentions that cloth “Mammy-type” dolls were created

Spencer Penrose is 13½ inches tall with molded and painted features. He was made in the Colorado Springs, Colorado project. A cloth tag is attached to his torso.

Penrose (1865-1939) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist who made his fortune in mining in Colorado. In 1937 he started the El Pomar Foundation.

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The Michigan W.P.A. project dolls were produced in several varieties. Here are two Little Bo Peeps (left and right) with Jack and Jill in the middle. They are 12 inches tall with yarn hair and their entire faces painted. The Little Bo Peep faces vary slightly, which may have been painted by two different artists.

Jack and Jill have slightly different head shapes than the Bo Peep dolls.

These Michigan dolls are constructed in the same way as the nursery rhyme dolls with the same type of facial painting. They are all marked on the back of their torsos with an ink stamp.

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This Pilgram or Puritan man was also made by the Michigan project. Standing 13 inches tall, he is constructed with a contoured face with center face seam. Only his facial features are painted, not the entire face. He bears the same identifying stamp.

by a Mrs. M.H. Parham, a W.P.A. sewing teacher in Georgia. The dolls with calico dresses, white aprons and caps were offered for sale instead of being used for educational purposes.

The Illinois project, which ran from September 1938 to early 1942, produced dolls portraying children dressed in various period clothing.

Time periods represented included:

This 13-inch Michigan project girl may represent a storybook character but has very different facial painting from the previous dolls.

Dollhouse dolls were also constructed by the Michigan project. This family of five bear the Michigan stamp. The father is the tallest at 8 inches and the baby is 4½ inches. They are stamped on their torsos. Their features are painted and they have yarn hair.

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The Greek lady has an elaborate bun in her hair, also created with floss.

Different molds were used for the dolls’ heads, giving them individual personalities.

These three dolls were produced in the Missouri project. Standing 13 inches tall, they are wearing cultural outfits. The lady in the center is on her wooden base which has a typed tag identifying her as a Greek lady.

Metal discs were attached to the wooden bases found with some of the dolls.

The discs are sewn onto the larger papier-mâché dolls.

1820, 1831, 1838, 1850, 1880, 1908 and 1910. The dolls were made and loaned out by the personnel of the Illinois State Museum.

Employee Virginia Eifert designed the costumes and Monte Lee Zimmerman, a part-time employee, created the actual dolls.

The dolls made through the Michigan State-wide W.P.A. Toy Project, sponsored

by Michigan State College (becoming Michigan State University in 1955), were a wide assortment of cloth dolls, some with completely painted faces and some with only painted features. They 30

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These two Missouri dolls were created with a historical theme, wearing Greek or Roman outfits.

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These two 18½-inch men were made in Youngstown, Ohio.

They have molded and painted features with yarn hair. Their bodies have the same joint construction as the Milwaukee dolls. The man on the left looks like a businessman and the man on the right may be a farmer or factory worker.

varied greatly in size, depicting storybook characters and other historical figures.

All are stamped on the body: Michigan WPA Toy Project Sponsored by Michigan State College.

Projects in Missouri made 12-to-13-inch dolls of painted cloth as well as larger dolls of papier-mâché. Usually mounted on wooden bases, they have a round metal tag nailed to the bases or sewn onto the outfit.

Dolls produced in the Youngtown, Ohio program have stockinette heads and the same joints as the Wisconsin dolls. Standing 18½ inches tall, they are stamped: WPA YOUNGTOWN, OHIO. The Milwaukee Handicraft Project of Wisconsin developed a line of toys in response to the W.P.A. Nursery School project’s request for an unbreakable doll and are probably the most widely known of the W.P.A. cloth dolls. Their series of 22-inch dolls were made as teaching aids to help children learn how to dress themselves. Elsa Ulbricht was the head of the project and Dick Wilken, a local sculptor, carved the head which was used as the mold. The dolls were completely constructed of washable material. They could be purchased for $2.25, which included the doll and a six-piece outfit. The Milwaukee Public Museum has in its collection examples dressed in ethnic outfits representing Norway, Italy, Scotland and the Netherlands. Smaller sizes were also made with flat faces. An interesting book, Women’s Work: The WPA Milwaukee Handicraft Project by Jacqueline M. Schweitzer, now out of print, covers the various project areas of the Milwaukee programs.

Each of these dolls serves as a reflection of a distinct period in American history.

Carefully examine the cloth dolls in your collection to determine whether any may have originated from one of these W.P.A. projects.

A comprehensive reference book on WPA dolls by Linda Holderbaum is scheduled to be published in January 2026.

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Dolls created in the Milwaukee project were available in several sizes, from 11 inches to 22 inches.

The large 22-inch dolls are the ones most found and associated with the W.P.A. They came in three styles: an American series with different outfits, a foreign series and a children’s book series. All are stamped and have interesting joints.

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Sixteen-inch dolls were also made with the same type of very simple embroidered features and yarn hair.

Scraps from the larger dolls were used to make the smallest dolls, standing 11 to 13 inches. The smaller size dolls have a different stamp on their torsos.

This pair shows an original doll and a reproduction. The boy on the left is stamped WPA. The girl on the right is a reproduction. The outfit fabric on the dolls is a close match.

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Size, Scale and the

Fascination of the Miniature

By Maria Nikolajeva

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tories of dolls, toys and miniature people are common in children’s literature. The attraction of such stories is manifold, from psychological to playful to cultural and educational, including understanding of size and scale. Spatial cognition, that is, the ability of our brain to process size and proportion, is not an innate capacity, but one of the many cognitive skills that all human beings need to master, and dollhouse stories offer a perfect opportunity. Children find joy in stories that allow them to recognize proportional incongruence and thus feel superior, knowledgeable, and cognitively confident.

Characters in dollhouse stories are typically portrayed in approximately 1:12 scale, the most commonly preferred scale currently used by dollhouse makers and collectors. This is not a coincidence but reflects spatial cognition. The 1:12 scale is within the cognitive “comfort zone.” It ensures that even though the literal perspective is distorted, the world is still recognizable and comprehensible either through the presence of a full-size character, or the miniature world existing within or on the edge of the full-size world, or both. It has been argued that the attraction of dollhouse stories lies in control that the child protagonist has over the dolls. However, while real-life engagement with dollhouses may provide such control, dollhouse narratives effectively subvert it. Fictional miniatures gain agency that real-life dolls obviously can never have. In turn, the child, whether the fictional child, or the child reader, does not necessarily have control, since the miniatures may live a life of their own, pursuing The Dolls’ House, Rumer Godden, First Edition, UK. Michael Joseph Ltd., their own goals and setting up social and moral 1947. “This is a novel written about dolls in a dolls’ house. The chief person in it is Tottie, a small Dutch doll.” rules for their behaviour.

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Rumer Godden’s The Dolls’ House (Michael Joseph, 1947) demonstrates an intricate play with point of view.

It is not specified how tall the dolls are, but they are in proportion with the dollhouse they eventually inhabit.

The only concrete measurement provided is the size of the windows, “six inches long,” which suggests the 1:12 scale. Tottie, the main character, is a farthing Dutch doll, the smallest of the available sizes from the nineteenth century, when Dutch dolls (also known as peg dolls) were produced. She fits nicely as a child to the larger dolls acting as her parents. Mr. Plantagenet, a china doll, is “rather larger than Tottie,” while Apple, Tottie’s little brother is “as big as [a girl’s] thumb.” The dolls are within the proportional comfort zone.

The point of view shifts between the dolls and the children who own them. The much-quoted reflection at the beginning of the novel can be a narrator’s statement, but equally Tottie’s thoughts, which positions the reader at the same level and scale as Tottie and her doll family. However, perspective constantly zooms out to the girls as they discuss the dolls, the dollhouse and the means to obtain the coveted furniture for it. The dolls have little agency. While they talk, move and interact among themselves, they cannot clean the house or rearrange the objects, and more importantly, cannot communicate with the humans.

Five Dolls in a House (Bodley Head, 1953), by Helen Clare, presents a different challenge, since the child can shrink and enter her dollhouse. Elizabeth’s transformation is undramatic and requires no explanation. It is, therefore, easy for the reader to understand the scale. It is only mentioned once how tall Elizabeth is when she shrinks, which, notably, reveals the author’s lack of precision in proportional scaling: carrying heavy blankets is difficult “if you were only six inches high.” Assuming that the dollhouse is 1:12 scale, it would make full-size Elizabeth six feet tall.

The only other indicator of scale is that a mouse is proportionally correct to be employed as a horse.

Elizabeth’s adventures are harmonious and devoid of anxieties. There are no conflicts or threats, neither within the miniature world itself, nor interferences from the full-size surroundings. Only once does the outside world intrude, and Elizabeth has a clear advantage over the dolls since she knows that the giant hand belongs to her brother. Elizabeth is thus privileged with dual identity: at any given moment she is both an active participant in the miniature world and retains her full-scale consciousness, without getting confused.

Inside the dollhouse, Elizabeth encounters dollhouse-size objects as well as everyday items she previously put into the house, such as a painting brush that becomes a soft broom, or a book of cloth patterns serving as dusters. The dolls complain about lack of carpets and blankets, and Elizabeth is happy to provide as much as she can: a velvet ribbon for a carpet or tiny birthday-cake candles. She is learning to use her scaling skills to turn everyday objects into useful dollhouse inventory.

Unlike Godden’s dolls who “can only be done by,” Clare’s dolls have agency if Elizabeth is among them, but possibly also when she is not, that is, when the dollhouse front is closed. The child interacts with the dolls, while in The Dolls’ House children and dolls exist in separate

The Dolls’ House, Rumer Godden, Viking, New York, 1962, U.S. Edition; Tasha Tudor, Illustrator. “It is an anxious, sometimes a dangerous thing to be a doll. Dolls cannot choose; they can only be chosen; they cannot ‘do’; they can only be done by.”

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ABOVE: The Borrowers room box, created by the author. Author’s Collection.

RIGHT: The Borrowers, Mary Norton, Brace and Company, 1953. First U.S. Edition; Beth and Joe Krush, Illustrators. The storyline features miniature people who live under floorboards and borrow everything they need from the big people upstairs.

worlds. Further, most of the action takes place within the miniature world, the full-size world only conveyed in glimpses. Elizabeth brings various objects to the dollhouse, but she does so when she is herself of a dollhouse size. It is never suggested that she could easily be, for instance, put in the bathtub when she is full-size rather than making huge efforts of hauling it through the window. Once shrunk, she exists on the dolls’ premises and only returns to her normal size when the current adventure is over. In this way, while she does have some control over the miniature world, she is out of control when becoming part of that world herself.

Mary Norton’s The Borrowers (Dent, 1952) features miniature people who live under floorboards and “borrow”

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everything they need from the big people upstairs. The Borrowers are not dolls, and their environment is not a dollhouse; moreover, the premise is the opposite of The Doll’s House or Five Dolls in a House. In these, the characters are in proportion with their environment: the dollhouse itself, the rooms, the furniture and the objects. In The Borrowers, the characters are surrounded by the full-size objects they have “borrowed.” These objects are in scale with the reader, but out of scale with the characters. For instance, there is a lengthy description of Pod opening a protective gate in the underground passages, where he uses a safety pin as a bar and needs all his strength to unfasten it. The story shows the ingenuity of the Borrowers in their employment of everyday objects to meet their needs. (It also reflects—or perhaps inspires—

LEFT: Tilly’s House, Faith Jaques, Heinemann, 1979.

BELOW: An illustration from Tilly’s House, Faith Jaques (1923–1997), Heinemann, 1979. The story of a Dutch doll, was the artist’s first picture book as author and illustrator. Courtesy Anderson & Garland Auctioneers.

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The Children of Green Knowe, L. M. Boston, Faber and Faber, London, 1954. The protagonist comes across a dollhouse that is a replica of his new home.

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The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton, Picador, London, 2013. An adult novel, far removed from the idyllic adventures of children and their dolls in children’s books.

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the ingenuity of miniature-makers). The Borrowers are effectively recyclers, long before the concept entered the consciousness of Western societies.

Further, the Borrowers also experience the world outside their own microcosm. They are dependent on what they can “borrow,” both for household and food; therefore, their lives imply constant ventures into the fullsize environment where dangers wait, not only dangers of climbing steep stairs or hauling themselves up curtains with the help of a hatpin, but also the threat of being “seen.” When Arrietty is allowed to accompany Pod on a borrowing expedition for the first time, the perspective of the full-size world is reverse of the dollhouse stories.

Rather than entering a miniature world and adjusting their scaling accordingly, the reader is invited to consider their own familiar world from a different angle and scale.

Friendship with a human child is a frequent plot element in miniature and dollhouse narratives. However, the Borrowers’ relationship with the boy is complicated.

He is not friendly, and in his first encounter with Arrietty he is explicitly rude and aggressive. Although he helps Pod to carry a doll’s teacup, he does not seem interested in befriending the Borrowers. He intrudes into their privacy as he opens the floorboards—the Borrowers’ ceiling. Moreover, he is exercising his power to attain his goal, since all he wants is for Arrietty to read to him.

The Borrowers’ agency is not dependent on human interference in the way dolls’ agency frequently is.

However, the boy can provide assets that the Borrowers would never be able to obtain on their own. Yet the gifts are ambivalent since they put the Borrowers in dependence of the boy’s generosity. They lose their identity as borrowers. It also brings the inevitable disaster, as the adult humans notice missing ornaments and invite a ratcatcher to get rid of the pest.

A later echo of The Borrowers appears in Faith Jaques’s Tilly’s House (Heinemann, 1979). Tilly is a Dutch doll that serves as a kitchen maid and has to take orders

Dutch dolls often appeared in children’s books such as Rumer Godden’s The Dolls’ House, which is discussed in this article. The dolls came in a variety of sizes as pictured here. Courtesy Val Gardena Museum, Ortisei, Italy.

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from the cook. She gets tired of this life and wishes for a home of her own. Getting out of the dollhouse, she finds herself, much like the Borrowers, out of scale with the environment. The images support the perception of proportion, showing Tilly against the background of the stairs and the furniture. Eventually Tilly ventures outside the house and into the garden shed where she finds a suitable wooden crate, which she cleans and designs to her liking. Unlike the Borrowers, she does not steal but uses rubbish from the dustbin. For instance, she makes a bed from a spectacle case and bedding from scraps of fabric; she uses discarded wrapping paper as wallpaper and thus creates a cozy home. The perspective, both in words and images, shifts, zooming into Tilly’s scale, at the same time, like in The Borrowers, retaining the proportional size of the everyday objects surrounding her.

On closer consideration, while dollhouse stories can be viewed as harmonious and idyllic, their spatiality is ambiguous and disturbing, and The Borrowers in

particular is laden with scale-related conflicts. I have deliberately excluded more sophisticated narratives where a dollhouse is featured as a miniature duplicate of the real world, often with sinister undertones.

For example, in Lucy Boston’s The Children of Green Knowe (Faber, 1954), the protagonist comes across a dollhouse that is a replica of his new home. At some point Tolly dreams that he is inside the dollhouse. The protagonist’s friendship with the elusive children from the past happens on two spatial levels. In this doubling, Green Knowe pre-dates the recent mainstream novel The Miniaturist (Picador, 2014), by Jessie Burton, with its enigmatic and ominous atmosphere, far removed from the idyllic adventures of children and their dolls in children’s books. Yet, whatever the purpose or the audience, dollhouses and other miniature scenes are fascinating precisely because they are disruptive, and while some children’s books may be viewed as purely entertaining, they offer a valuable training field for readers’ spatial perception.

Dutch dolls are frequently cast as servants in children’s literature. In the author’s Victorian dollhouse, they are guests of honor. Author’s Collection.

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The Lenci Balilla Dolls Childhood and Propaganda in Fascist Italy

By Loretta Nardone

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loyalty to the regime, with his article examines gifts now said to come how Fascist from il Duce himself. This policies shaped the reimagining of Epiphany operations and products was more than symbolic. of the Lenci Company, Companies such as Lenci a leading Italian toy were called upon to supply manufacturer, within toys that reflected Fascist the broader context of ideals—dolls dressed Mussolini’s regime. in youth organization Discovering Diana Garvin’s uniforms or designed to 2022 article, “Dollies for promote national pride. the Duce: The Politics of Public gift distributions Playtime in Fascist Italy,” A 300 series boy in the Balilla uniform from the 1929 Lenci catalogue. became opportunities for published in the Journal of propaganda, with children receiving Lenci’s Balilla and Modern Italian Studies, further heightened my fascination Piccole Italiane dolls at mass events, reinforcing their with how childhood, play, and political ideology intersect. connection to the state from a young age.

This research underscored the extent to which the Italian By weaving state messaging into domestic rituals and toy industry, and Lenci in particular, became a vehicle for childhood pleasures, the Fascist regime ensured that even the dissemination of Fascist ideals—using toys as both the world of toys was not outside its sphere of influence. commercial objects and instruments of propaganda.

The following sections will explore, through the lens of Benito Mussolini, who led the National Fascist Party the Lenci Company, how Italian toys became both creative from 1919 until his death in 1945, set out to reshape expressions and tools for indoctrination under fascism.

Italian society through authoritarian methods and an Elena König di Scavini and her husband Enrico di Scavini emphasis on nationalism and autarky—the drive for founded the Lenci Company after World War I, around 1918. economic self-sufficiency. Central to his project was the They established their factory in Turin, a city in northern regulation of social and family life, most notably through Italy. In 1919, after securing a pattern efforts to increase birthrates and to for pressing doll heads, the company raise future generations imbued with began refining their manufacturing Fascist values. These strategies directly methods. They produced high-quality influenced companies like Lenci, which dolls, ceramics, toys, and furniture. Lenci adapted their products to align with state offered a product range of over 10,000 initiatives and the regime’s emphasis on items, available in markets throughout the molding children into loyal citizens.

United States, Europe, and Japan.

A vivid example of this intersection The “Early Lenci Period” refers between politics and play is found in the to the time when Elena served as the transformation of the traditional Catholic creative director for the company. She celebration of the Epiphany. On January consistently aimed for excellence, going 6, Italian children once awaited gifts to great lengths and investing generously from the benevolent figure of La Befana, to ensure every product featured an distributed with the help of charitable exceptional design. Ceramicist Lino contributions from local women and Berzoni began his career at Lenci by businesses. In 1928, Mussolini rebranded painting doll faces. He eventually this event as La Befana Fascista, framing Boys in the Balilla costume 1936. accepted commissions from the Fascist the holiday as a public demonstration of Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

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A &B Fascist Elementary school book with Lenci doll insert.

party, designing decorative plates and bowls that were given as awards to mothers with many children. During this period, the Fascist regime in Italy promoted pronatalist policies that encouraged women to have more children.

These policies shaped cultural and artistic production, influencing commissions like those awarded to Berzoni.

Graphic designer Marcello Dudovich also made significant contributions to the company’s legacy. Between 1923 and 1931, Dudovich created sixty sketches for Lenci, which helped define the visual style of their felt dolls. His illustrations brought a sense of whimsy and artistry that set

Lenci’s products apart from competitors. After his time with Lenci, Dudovich designed posters for the new holidays established by the Fascist regime.

As Diana Garvin notes, these artists consistently centered childhood as a theme, both in their private and public commissions. Their work interwove the Fascist regime’s focus on self-sufficiency (autarky) and pronatalist productivity into the world of toys and household objects, reflecting the pervasive influence of state policies on creative expression during this era.

The success of the Lenci Company aligned closely with ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR

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Lenci Girl series 300 dressed in the Piccolo Italiano uniform worn by girls.

Lenci Boy Balilla series 300 doll 1930s.

A Lucia face 14-inch boy dressed in his Fascist uniform.

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the Fascist party’s ambitions for increased domestic production of Italian toys and children. Lenci used Italian-made wool from the Bassoli Company and other domestic materials to create their products. Mussolini praised Lenci for being an autarkic toy factory, producing high-quality Italian dolls that could compete with German and French dolls in international markets.

At the third Biennale di Monza in 1927, Mussolini personally complimented Elena “Lenci” Scavini for the ‘Italic valore’—the Italian value—of her Turinese doll production. He purchased special one-of-a-kind dolls as gifts to foreign leaders. Mussolini requested that Elena set up displays of Lenci dolls in Rome and Venice. As a gesture of respect toward Il Duce, she wore the Fascist uniform as required. Though not a Fascist sympathizer, she, like many Italian businesspeople, recognized the need to cooperate with the government to stay operational. At these Fascists events, toys helped create the appearance of mass consent.

Elementary school books promoted Fascism with cover illustrations showing boys dressed in Balilla uniforms. Inside, color photos depicted Lenci dolls, reflecting national pride in Italian culture and heritage as part of the regime’s propaganda. One magazine photo called a Lenci Series 109 doll the new Mussolini doll. Il Duce had dictated that all Italian dolls have long hair.

There is historical evidence that a Lenci doll was found in one of Mussolini’s seized villas near Gargnano, Italy in 1945.

On January 6, 1937, major trade shows showcased Fascistthemed baby dolls, such as Lenci’s Giovane Italiana and Balilla

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set, which was promoted as the “national toy.” These Giovane Italiana and Balilla dolls represented the Italian youth organization. Founded between 1926 and 1937, the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB) was a prominent organization that aimed to indoctrinate young Italian children with Fascist ideology. Balilla was designed for boys aged 8 to 14, and Piccole Italiane was the equivalent organization for girls within that age group. The Giovane Italiana and Avanguardisti organizations were composed of male and female members between the ages of 14 and 18. The National Education administration oversaw these groups and joining them was mandatory. In 1936, a pre-Balilla kindergarten was established for children younger than six years old.

The Balilla and Piccole Italiane dolls debuted in Lenci’s 1929 catalogue as part of the 300 series, featuring youth uniforms: Balilla dolls wore black caps, blue ties, black jackets with insignia, grey shorts, black socks, and brown shoes; Piccola Italiana dolls wore white blouses with insignia, navy ties, navy skirts, and berets, often carrying Italian flags. These dolls, produced from 1929 through the 1930s, came in various sizes and included both Mascots and those with the Lucia face.

The Fascist regime supported Lenci’s Balilla dolls, which reflected traditional gender roles, but disapproved of their provocative dolls like Josephine Baker, an African American performer who did not meet Fascist norms and the long-limbed boudoir dolls wearing men’s attire with cigarettes dangling from their mouths depicting modern women. The government sought to halt these productions.

Lenci reached a compromise, allowing exports of provocative dolls and boosting production of Balilla dolls at home.

Elena did not manage the Lenci Company’s finances; Enrico Scavini oversaw business matters and shielded her from its financial troubles. Due to recession and poor United States sales, the company faced difficulties and sold interests in 1933 to Bassoli Felt Manufactor and Pilade and Flavio Garella, who became managing directors. Elena remained the chief designer, maintaining creative control over doll production.

In 1936, as Enrico’s health declined, the Scavinis sold their stake in the company to the Garellas. Elena stayed under contract until January 1941, living in a small apartment above the factory. When Enrico passed away in December 1938, Elena used his insurance money to buy a home in Turin’s hills, where she and her two children took refuge during World War II raids.

The Garellas’ were now in a difficult position. The factory was manufacturing and storing war goods. They were only making dolls, and these were of poor quality.

Elena saw no reason to stay and asked the brothers to

This doll is a rare floppy leg Mascot boy dressed in his Fascist uniform.

release her from her contract. Sadly, Elena left the factory and business she had founded to return to her home in the Turin hills. Here she stayed safely during the war years.

During wartime, the Lenci Company, led by the Garella family, provided supplies to Italian troops, and sold dolls through Kimport Dolls in America (1939–1941). The factory suffered heavy bombings and lost sample dolls and historical records. In 1942, Pilade’s son, Beppe Garella joined the company and learned the business. Despite rumors of Fascist ties, Beppe refuted these claims, sharing evidence of his father helping Allied soldiers. After World War II, the company rebuilt but never regained its former artistic prestige; it operated under Beppe and his children until closing in 2002.

Bibliography Garvin, Diane, “Dollies for the Duce: the politics of playtime in Fascist Italy,” Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 2022.

Lazenby, Nancy, Lenci Dolls: The History and the Dolls, Reverie Publishing Company, 2007.

The Lenci Collector, The Historical Context Part 1: The Lenci Balilla. www.lencidolls.com 2007.

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Send in your Free Calendar Listing to: Antique DOLL Collector, c/o Calendar, P.O. Box 349, Herndon, VA 20172 or events@antiquedollcollector.com If you plan on attending a show, please call the number to verify the date and location as they may change. Auctions in Blue.

Many events have additional information online. Check antiquedollcollector.com > events. $6; 12 & under: FREE. Anthony Bennett, c/t LONG TERM FEBRUARY 2026 Please check online for Long Term listings.

JANUARY 2026 3 ~ Brookline NH. Doll, Bear & Toy Show and Sale. 9:30 AM - 2 PM. Rainbow Bazaar Gifts.

Brookline Event Center, 32 Proctor Hill Rd. Handicap Accessible, admission at the door (Cash Only): $4; under 12: FREE; Parking: FREE. Cindy Amburgey, c/t 978-857-9576. rainbowbaz@aol.com.

17 ~ Sarasota, FL. Venice Doll Club - FX Doll & Toy Show & Sale. 9 AM - 2 PM. VFW Sunshine Post 3233, 124 South Tuttle Ave. Admission at the door: Early Bird: 8 AM: $10; After 9 AM: FREE; Parking: FREE. Bruce Zalkin, c/t 941-302-0572, fxtoyshows@gmail.com. fxtoyshows.com.

24 ~ San Diego, CA. Teddy Bear Show & Sale.

10 AM - 3 PM. Bears with a Mission. Courtyard San Diego Airport/Liberty Station, 2592 Laning Rd. Admission: FREE w/donation; Parking: FREE; Handicap Accessible. Cindy Malchoff, c/t 518-578-0006, bearswithamission@gmail.com. bearswithamission.com.

25 ~ Naperville, IL. Naperville Doll & Teddy Bear Show. 9:30 AM - 3 PM. Early Bird ~ 8:30 - 9:30 AM. Karla Moreland Presents. Naperville Marriott Hotel, 1801 North Naper Blvd. Handicap Accessible. Admission at the door (Cash/Check): Early Bird (8-9:30 AM): $15; General $7; 12 & under: FREE; Parking: FREE. Karla Moreland, c/t 815-621-3255, kmorela@ais.net.

NapervilleDollShow.com.

31 ~ Glendale, CA. Verdugo Hills Doll Club Doll Show. 10 AM-3 PM. Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 N. Verdugo Rd. Admission $10 (cash only); children under 12 free. Info: Janie Olds. 562-818-2501. j.l.olds@ca.rr.com.

31 ~ Naples, FL. Naples Doll Club Annual Doll Show & Sale. 9 AM - 3 PM. Moorings Presbyterian Church, 791 Harbour Dr. Handicap Accessible. Admission at the Door: Adults: $10; Children under 10: FREE; Parking: FREE. Karen McLean, c/t 239-571-5082, kmclean@comcast.net.

MAR 15 ~ MAQUOKETA, IA. Fourth All Iowa Doll Show. Americinn 1910 Nairn Dr. Holiday Items & Teddy Bears will be appraised by Scott Tagliapietra as seen on Antiques Roadshow. Nancy McCray. nancylmccray@gmail.com. 319-651-6440.

JAN 31 ~ GLENDALE, CA. Verdugo Hills Doll Club Doll Show. Sat., 10 AM-3 PM. Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 N. Verdugo Rd. Admission $10 (cash only); children under 12 free. Pink Book listing of Southern CA doll shows and events will be available. Premier California doll show with over 100 dealer tables. Dealers from across the US. Excellent food available Info: Janie Olds. 562-818-2501. j.l.olds@ca.rr.com.

6-9 ~ Online. Bear Blitz + Santa’s Surprise Teddy Bear Online Show. Valerie Rogers, 502-423-7827, brtstar1@aol.com.bright-star-promotions.com.

7 ~ Leesburg, FL. Orange Blossom & Hills and Lakes Doll Club Annual Doll Show & Sale. 9 AM - 3 PM. Morrison United Methodist Church, 1005 W Main St. Admission at the Door (Cash Only): $5; 12 and under: FREE. Parking: FREE. Richard Ziller, 703-627-7763, rjziller@hotmail.com.

7-8 ~ SAN DIEGO, CA. Miniatures Convention.

University of San Diego. sd.minishow@gmail.com.

14 ~ Carmichael, CA. Dollhouse & Miniatures Convention. Elks Lodge. NEZYTWO@msn.com.

21 ~ Schertz, TX. 34th Bi-Annual Hill Country Doll Show & Sale, 9am-4pm, Schertz Civic Center, 1400 Schertz Pkwy. Free parking.

Adults $7, kids $2. Info: Dorothy. 830-606-5868. dmeredith@dolldr.com.

21-22 ~ Dallas, TX. DollCon Dallas 2026.

Westin Central Park Dallas 12720 Merit Dr, Two-day 16+ convention for all types of dolls.

(No Children/infants allowed.) Handicap Accessible. Early Bird: 8/1/25 - 11/30/25 ~$35; 12/1/25 - 2/16/26 ~ $50. Kellyann Herrington, c/t 469-630-2205, admin@dollcondallas.com. www.dollcondallas.com/.

22 ~ Strongsville (Cleveland), OH. Northern Ohio Doll & Bear Show. Strongsville Best Western, 15471 Royalton Rd. Handicap Accessible. Admission at the door: Early Bird 9 AM: $15; Adults: $6; Children: FREE; Parking: FREE. Eileen Green. c/t 440-283-5839. phdofdolls@yahoo.com.

28-Mar 1 ~ Ontario, CA. West Coast Doll Show.

Welcome to Wonderland “Where Art Comes to Life”. DoubleTree by Hilton Ontario Airport, 222 N Vineyard Ave, Handicap Accessible.

Admission at the door (Cash): $20 each day.

Parking: FREE. Janie Scott, c/t 661-472-9874.

Westcoastdollshow@gmail.com.

Westcoastdollshow.com.

707-687 6321, abennett.ufdc.rd2n@gmail.com.

7~ Escondido, CA. Cameo Doll Club Show and Sale. 10 AM- 2:30 PM. Escondido Elks Club, 2430 S. Escondido. Show info- Mandy Hicks, 760-500-3087.

Dealer info- Patti Morley, 760-443-6799.

14 ~ Phoenix, AZ. Doll, Bear, Miniature Show & Sale. World Doll Day Shows. Celebrating the World of Dolls. Shrine Auditorium, 552 N. 40th St. Special rate ~ Hilton Garden Inn, 3838 E. Van Buren St., 85008. Admission at the door: General (13 and up): $10; Parking: FREE. Mary Senko, c/t 425-330-1770, mary.senko@comcast.net.

WorldDollDayShows.com.

SARA BERNSTEIN’S DOLLS

MARCH 2026

1 ~ Buena Park, CA. Sherri’s Doll Show Featuring Barbie Dolls. 9 AM - 2:30 PM. Early Bird: 8:30 AM. Double Tree Hotel, 7000 Beach Blvd. Admission at the Door: Early bird 8:30 AM: $15; Adults: $7; Children: $3; Free Parking. Sherri Gore, c/t 424-394-7612, sherribean7@aol.com.

6-8 ~ Pleasanton, CA. Doll Conference.

Independent Spirits Doll Club “Dolly’s Getaway.” Fri. 3 PM - Sun. 3 PM. Marriott Pleasanton, 11950 Dublin Canyon Rd. 3 day event. Handicap Accessible. Conference $175 Registration Required. Sales Room - Sunday, 10 AM - 3 PM. Admission at the Door (Cash):

Ph. 732‑536‑4101 Email: santiqbebe@aol.com www.rubylane.com/shops/sarabernsteindolls ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR

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MARCH 2026 CONT’D FROM PAGE47 21 ~ Sarasota, FL. Venice Doll Club - FX Doll & Toy Show & Sale. 9 AM - 2 PM. VFW Sunshine Post 3233, 124 South Tuttle Ave. Handicap Accessible. Admission at the door: Early Bird: 8 AM: $10; After 9 AM: FREE; Parking: FREE. Bruce Zalkin, c/t 941-302-0572, fxtoyshows@gmail.com. fxtoyshows.com.

28 ~ Jonesborough, TN. Doll Show & Sale. The Dollhouse. Jonesborough Visitor Center, 117 Boone St. FREE Admission. Free Parking; Handicap Accessible. Ellen Stafford, c/t 423-753-0022, ellen@jonesdollhouse.com. Jonesdollhouse.com.

NEW LOCATION! 29 ~ Jackson, MI. Lansing Antique & Collectible Doll Show & Sale. 10 AM - 3 PM. American 1 Credit Union Event Center, 128 W Ganson St. Handicap Accessible.

Admission at the Door: Adults: $5; Children under 12: $1. Free Parking. Sandy Johnson Barts. 269-599-1511. SJBbetsys@comcast.net.

Lansing Doll Show.com.

Officers’ Club, 3410 Westover St. Handicap Accessible. Cost $155-$460. Registration RequiredRegistration Form Parking: FREE. Mary Senko, c/t 425-330-1770. mary.senko@comcast.net. worlddolldayshows.com/WDDS-CDAE-2026.html.

11 ~ McClellan (Sacramento), CA. Doll, Bear, Miniature Show & Sale. World Doll Day Shows & Events. 10 AM-3 PM. Celebrating the World of Dolls. The Officers’ Club, 3410 Westover St. Handicap Accessible, Admission at the door: General (13 and up): $10; Parking: FREE. Mary Senko, c/t 425-330-1770. Mary.Senko@comcast.net. worlddolldayshows.com.

11 ~ Madison, WI. Madison Area Doll Club “Carnival of Dolls!” 54th Annual Doll Show and Sale. 9 AM-3 PM. Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center. 1919 Alliant Energy Way. Admission: $10, 12 and under FREE. Parking $8.

Vicki, 608-279-5298, vickijkutz@gmail.com.

APRIL 2026

18 ~ Cincinnati, OH. Queen City Beautiful Doll Club Spring Fashion Doll Show & Sale. Eastgate Holiday Inn, 4501 Eastgate Blvd. Handicap Accessible. Admission at the Door (Cash Only): $10; Under 12: FREE w/ paid adult; Parking: FREE. Susan Stewart Steelerdoll@aol.com.

Margie Schultz 513-207-8409.

19 ~ St. Charles, IL. Kane County Doll & Dollhouse Show. 9 AM - 3 PM. Early Bird 8-9 AM. Karla Moreland Presents. Kane County Fairgrounds, 525 S Randall Rd. Handicap Accessible. Admission at the Door (Cash/ Check): Early Bird (8-9 AM): $15; General $9; 12 & under: FREE. Parking: FREE. Karla Moreland. c/t 815-621-3255. kmorela@ais.net.

KaneCountyDollShow.com 25 ~ Grapevine, TX. Metroplex Doll Club 38th Annual Doll Show & Sale. 10 AM - 4 PM. Grapevine Convention Center, 1209 S. Main St. Admission at the door (cash/card): Adults: $7; Children 2-12: $3; Parking: FREE. Deborah Beahm, 972-691-2537, mdcdollshow@gmail.com.

25 ~ Rossford (Toledo), OH. Toledo Doll Show.

9:30 AM - 3 PM, Early Bird: 8 AM. TOCA Toledo Sports, 10020 S Compass Dr. Admission at the Door: Early Bird Admission $20 (8 AM), Adults: $8; Children 12 & under: FREE; Parking: FREE. Karen Kosies. toledo@dollshows.net.

C/t 520-270-0179 (AZ). ToledoDollShow.NET.

6-12 ~ Chicago, IL. Miniatures Convention. Marriott Chicago. 772-252-4772. BishopShow@aol.com.

11 ~ Hebron, KY. Triple Crown Doll Show. 10 AM - 3 PM. Hebron Lutheran Church, 3140 Limaburg Rd. Admission $7, under 12 free. Deanna Parobeck.

Parobeck.d@twc.com. 513-404-8181.

TripleCrowndollclub.org.

10 ~ McClellan (Sacramento), CA. California Doll Artist Expo. World Doll Day Shows & Events.

8 AM-4 PM. Celebrating the World of Dolls. The

More doll events & info at

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World Doll Day Shows

Contemporary, Vintage, Artist and Antique Dolls, Bears, and Toys

2026 World Doll Day Shows & Events Schedule PHOENIX: MARCH 14TH, 2026, 10am-3pm Shrine Auditorium, 552 N. 40th St., Phoenix, AZ 85008

THE CALIFORNIA DOLL ARTIST EXPO FRIDAY, APRIL 10TH, 2026, 8am-4pm

Mark Officer’s Club, 3410 Westover St, McClellan, CA 95652 Your ar! SACRAMENTO: SATURDAY, APRIL 11TH, 2026, 10am-3pm d n e l a C Officer’s Club, 3410 Westover St., McClellan, CA 95652

Dea Inqu ler i Wel ries come

PLEASANTON: MAY 2ND, 2026, 10am-3pm

Pleasanton Marriott, 11950 Dublin Canyon Rd., Pleasanton, CA 94588

KANSAS CITY/OVERLAND PARK: SUNDAY, MAY 17TH, 2026 10am-3pm Doubletree by Hilton KC-Overland Park, 10100 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS 66210

BUENA PARK: SUNDAY, JUNE 28TH, 2026 10am-3pm

Doubletree by Hilton Buena Park, 7000 Beach Bvd., Buena Park, CA 90620

“NEW SHOW” DOLL DREAMERS MARKET: JULY 27TH - 30TH, 2026 Monday - 3pm-9pm, Tuesday/Wednesday - 10am-5pm, Thursday - 11am-3pm Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel, 739 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

CONCORD: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2026

Member of UFDC

NEW LOCATION: Hilton Concord, 1970 Diamond Blvd, Concord, CA 94520

ARCADIA: OCTOBER 31ST, 2025, 10am-3pm

Arcadia Masonic Lodge, 50 W. Duarte Rd., Arcadia, CA 91007 Door Prizes, Raffles (Benefits local charities) • Identification/Valuation • Restringing • Food for Purchase Admission - $10, Children 12 and under free • Like/Follow/Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WDDShowsEvents Mary Senko: mary.senko@worlddolldayshows.com or mary.senko@comcast.net cell: 425-330-1770 www.worlddolldayshows.com for contracts and schedule Visit www.everythingdollsandtoys.com Register to attend special events, or contracts and payment on-line for Vendors.

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