Antique DOLL Collector March 2018 Vol. 21, No. 2
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Izannah Dreaming by Monica Bessette
year ago last month, February 15 to be exact, I searched the web for “Izannah Walker” and discovered something amazing—a unique Walker-style cat doll. This anthropomorphic fantasy cat was beautifully crafted and painted, and she was dressed as a young girl of the 1860s Civil War period. Her complete outfit was handsewn with embroidered details. She had all the sweetness and quiet confidence of Izannah’s dolls, and was perfect in every way. She really spoke to me, or should I say, “meowed.” I instantly felt the need to connect with the seller to let them know how much I appreciated this charming doll, not really expecting a response. Within a few days, however, I received an email from the seller, who was also the doll’s creator. This one-of-a-kind cat doll was designed and made by doll artist, Svetlana Lukina in Moscow, Russia! She was an inspiration created for a MAIDA contest to recognize the 200th anniversary of Izannah Walker’s birth on September 25, 2017. This was the first I heard of the wave of Russian interest in creating reproduction Walker dolls. Svetlana was enchanted by Izannah’s classic 19th century folk art dolls and, in 2013, set out to learn how to recreate them. Her able instructors and mentors were Dixie Redmond, founder of the amazing Izannah Walker Chronicles blog, and Paula Walton, of A Sweet Remembrance. Both Dixie and Paula have helped so many realize their dream of owning an Izannah with their authentic reproductions.
One-of-a-kind cat doll was designed and made by doll artist, Svetlana Lukina. Photos by Svetlana
Svetlana at show with her cat doll. 20
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Svetlana & Monica with Paula’s unfinished “hands-on” dolls.
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Svetlana & Dimitri, 1st time in America.
Monica begins her journey at Little Compton Historical Society, Little Compton, RI. Photo by Marjorie O’Toole
Svetlana & Monica’s 1860s Joy.
Svetlana read my Doll News articles, thanks to their availability on Dixie’s Chronicles, and knew all about my years of research and intentions to write a book. She and I were kindred spirits, both deeply touched by the Walker doll’s presence. I was honored my articles helped her understand Izannah. Before the month was out, this sweet little kitty came to live with me. I never dreamed she would be the cat-alyst in bringing Svetlana to America. In June I learned the Jenny Lind Doll Club of Connecticut, Paula’s club, would be celebrating their 30th Anniversary with their annual show and sale the last weekend of October. Best of all, the show would include an exhibit of over 15 original Izannah Walker dolls. I had to find a way to attend, and to have my own doll, Joy, be part of the exhibit. Paula and I corresponded over the next few months, and I formulated a plan. My husband and I were traveling to Rhode Island for a family wedding the week before, so I convinced him to rent a car and travel home alone; to let me spend the following week in Rhode Island. I needed to touch base with and visit a few museums and
Left: Sarah Hunt Snow, b. 1860, New Bedford, MA. Right: Mary Philbrick Godfrey, b. 1842, Seabrook, NH. Sarah Snow’s granddaughter, Deborah Snow, married Mary Godfrey’s grandson, Clarke Simonds. LCHS Antique DOLL Collector
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An 18 th Century History Lesson
The French Royal Dolls
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LOUIS XVI - This 14’’ figure resembles Louis XVI. On the left side of his chest he wears the remains of a miniature St Louis cross. His chubby face has piercing blue eyes, an aquiline nose and a fine mouth, which has lost some of its color. His wig is un-powdered, it has two curls on each side ending in a fine tail held by a catogan. His magnificent costume is an embroidered silk brocade ‘justaucorps’ jacket without pockets, edged with a dark green border, lined in ivory satin, with cloth-covered buttons. He wears a straight matching waistcoat also with cloth-covered buttons. His has pink velvet brocade trousers with geometric designs.He wears black shoes with rectangular gold buckles and heels over midnight blue stockings. NOTE: The two extremely rare Royal Dolls shown here are part of the Theimer Auction in Paris, Saturday, March 10th 2018. Estimated price, 7500-15000 each. See announcement on page 17 in this issue 36
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istorian and doll expert Francois Theimer is the author of “The French Royal Court Dolls of Louis XVI”, a fascinating book on his county’s Royal Dolls. He says: “The Royal Dolls of the late 18th century provide an insight into a unique period of European history. I think they reflect the frivolity, the lack of constraint, the naive irresponsibility and excesses of the era. They are extraordinarily touching and emotive objects; artifacts of a lost world inviting us to reflect upon history, as such they provide a general view of the reign of Louis XVI and his consort, Marie Antoinette. No queen since Catherine of Medici has inspired such a degree of fascination as the tragic Marie Antionette. She epitomizes at once pleasure, beauty, extravagance, elegance, excess and sensuality, in a word, art.” Theimer’s Royal Dolls shown here portray these French royals, providing not only information concerning their social status as evidenced by their clothing, but also their most intimate details, thus making them ‘curiosities,’ less innocent and much stranger than ordinary dolls or figurines.The individualization of the dolls implies that the doll-maker knew the physical form and features of each person portrayed. He speculates that the producers of these Royal Dolls were probably part of Louis XVI circle of courtiers - as were those who started the anti-monarch smear campaigns. Theimer’s book covers historical events, including the infamous Diamond Necklace Affair, which so shook the monarchy in 1785. The affair was preceded by a procession of events, some tragic, that were the talk of the town, weakening the monarchy’s credibility and leading towards the French Revolution: which would otherwise not have arrived so quickly: For example, The Guemene Affair was the biggest aristocracy bankruptcy case of the century (the RohanGuemene family). It took place in 1782 and left debts of 32 million pounds. Guemene’s wife was Marie Antoinette’s personal friend and governess to the Royal Children...There were the Pamphlet Campaigns attacking the aristocracy and leading to expensive libel battles between seditious newspapers and the Royal Treasury. Then there was an insolent play written in 1784 by Caron de Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro, which was banned from being performed in public until Marie Antionette was manipulated into obtaining royal approval for the public to see it. The Diamond Necklace Affair ** lead to the publication of a large number of pamphlets criticising the Queen, encouraged and supported by her most ferocious opponents. Some of her opponents were part of her close entourage, some even family members, who stopped at nothing to have her condemned by the public. The Affair was a major episode in the 18-year reign reign of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. It represents the prevailing atmosphere. The years 1785 and 1786 were a difficult and painful period for the weakened monarchy. The position of the Queen was directly challenged. Conscious of imminent danger, she altered her behaviour following the affair. She gave up her frequent visits to the fashion merchants and, wary of the reactions of the Parisian populace, she increasingly sought refuge in the Trianon, trying to forget the world that attacked her - to her mind without reason - and finding consolation in her children.
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MARIE ANTOINETTE - Her face has suffered the ravages of time, but she still has charm. Her blonde wig has two rolls on each side, curls rising towards the nape and a rolled loop that hangs between them. She wears a large, English-style hat decorated with a ribbon embroidered with flowers in the form of a bow at the front held by a rosette of fine white pearls; at the back is the same bow ending in two tails which fall in points. The perimeter is adorned with little cushions. The hat is lined in green ruched silk. The hat and the two points are edged with a row of white pearls. She wears a long string of white pearls around her neck and her left wrist has a bracelet of matching pearls.Her a dress is “à l’anglaise” in pink silk with a pleated border along the hem, the cuffs and the sides of the skirt. The brocade under-dress is trimmed with a row of braid tassels. It is worn over two petticoats of printed fabric and a fine petticoat. A lace shawl hides her chest. On her feet she wears blue shoes with little square gold buckles on pink stockings. ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
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The highly-stylized facial expressions of Leo Moss dolls are so evident here, ranging from the larger 27” lad who is licking his lips to the smiling “teethy” girl to the young child with classic Leo Moss tears. Note the variations in their smile on the three dolls.
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Far Left: Brown glass-eyed 20” “Thelma” is notable for her intelligent expression and neatly formed double cornrows which extend thickly at the back of her head. “Mina” was the first Leo Moss doll ever entered into national competition at the 1973 UFDC competition in Louisville, where he won a blue ribbon. He is incised “Mina” on the front shoulderplate and Leo Moss 1903 on the back of his head.
Collectors of American folk art — be it dolls, toys, whirligigs or weathervanes— are often confronted with the vexing dilemma of attribution.
Over and over, collectors ponder, who made this extraordinary object? When? Where? What was the motivation? But exactly because folk art was mostly made for personal pleasure or purpose or as a token to a beloved friend or family member, it is difficult to determine the answer. The Appalachian mountaineer chip-carving a simple wooden toy, the thrifty New England mother creating a doll from left-over scraps of cloth, and the poor Southern black man who turned his handyman skills into the creation of black dolls depicting his children did not bother to document their works or seek patents for their designs. So how is the collector to learn the life histories of these rare and wonderful objects? Clues lie in following the trails of oral histories or rare scraps of hand written notes, or in seeking documentation in birth records, tax or census recordings and other official documents. And so we come to the story of the extraordinary black dolls of the early 1900s attributed to a certain Leo Moss of Macon, Georgia. The Leo Moss dolls first came to the attention of collectors about 1970 when Betty Formaz,
a Michigan doll collector, learned of their existence in the Macon, Georgia home of Ruby Moss, the last known surviving daughter of Leo Moss, who was then in her 80s. According to Formaz, Ruby Moss “lived in an old shanty” surrounded by the dolls. Formaz was able to acquire a number of the dolls, but, sadly, did not document her find with photographs of Ruby Moss and her dolls. Ruby died a year or two later, and the possibility of finding further documents about Leo Moss seemed fruitless. Except that Ruby Moss had told Betty Formaz of a woman named Mary Kane, a lifelong resident of Macon. Leo Moss had worked as a handyman for Mary Kane’s father during the early 1900s. Upon learning of his handyman’s talent, Mary Kane’s father commissioned Leo Moss to make portrait dolls of his three daughters, Elaine, Mary and Lilly, with costumes to be created for the dolls by Mr. Moss’ wife, Lee Ann, who was the seamstress for the three little girls. The girls cherished their dolls throughout their lifetime, and when Elaine died in 1955 she willed her doll to Mary. It was this doll, one of only three whiteAntique DOLL Collector
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