Antique DOLL Collector January 2014 Vol. 16, No. 12
The Complete Guide to Antique, Vintage and Collectible Dolls
January 2014 Volume 16, Number 12
26
HAT, TIPPET AND MUFF FOR TWELVE INCH LADY DOLLS
By Susan Sirkis The author advises how to easily change a pattern size and shares easy to follow instructions for a delightful hat, muff and tippet.
18
A FACE IN THE CROWD
12 News 14 Auction Gallery 48 Emporium
49 Mystery 60 Calendar 63 Classified
THE PINTEL SAGA (1887-1976)
By Samy Odin A close look at the company’s products from their earliest Bebes Mignons to their later years producing cloth dolls and teddy bears.
By Michael Canadas The fascinating history of the Dehors firm and a look at the rare portrait dolls they produced.
44
THE COLEMAN COLLECTION
By Donna Kaonis A rare peek at the legendary Coleman doll collection.
39
About The Cover
THE VANITY FAIR
Toilette table fancies from the Strong Collection and the Vicki Lee collection will be offered January 12, 2014 by Theriault’s. 6
32
ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
JANUARY 2014
52
2013 UFDC MODERN COMPETITIVE EXHIBIT BLUE RIBBON WINNERS WASHINGTON, D.C. PART 2
Our cover features an extraordinary fashion doll by Auguste Dehors. The article that accompanies it, written by Michael Canadas, discusses these regal poupées with their imperial portrait faces, which he admits to being his favorite among the countless fashions that he has handled over the years. Photo courtesy Carmel Doll Shop
1. Victorian Paper Fashion Doll– 8” tall die cut with stylish crepe and pierced silver tinsel construction. Mint! $125.
(212) 787-7279 P.O. Box 1410 NY, NY 10023
2
2. Handsome 17” Wax Officer – scarce portrait of a gentleman with great color, artwork and manners! $450. All original 16” Wax Aristocrat in richly detailed silk fashion layers w/ nobel graceful aspect and luxurious golden ringlets! $395
Quality Antique Dolls by Mail Return Privilege • Layaways Member UFDC & NADDA matrixbymail@gmail.com
3. Mint Victorian Ornament – 8” tall featuring outstanding cotton batting dress with a hood and muff! $150.
1
Happy New Year!
4
7
5
8. All Original Poupée with her Wardrobe – radiant quality – has it all! Factory fancy wig, jewelry, original silk dress w/ the fancy underlayers and great stockings, leather boots, plus her other two colorful original silk ensembles plus velvet coat/hat coat/hat, now all contained within an antique trunk including some miniature accessories as well! $3750
8
9
4. 7” Victorian Wax Enfant Jesus – in orig. diarama, silk robe and wig reclining on a bed of fabric flowers under his delicate oval glass dome, shelf size! $395.
6
5. Very rare 9-1/2” Size ‘1” Block Letter F.G. – you may have some other tiny bebes but probably not this rare gem w/original stiff wrist jt. body, factory chemise included, and some flaws which are nearly impossible to see in her size, making her well worth the catch at just $3250 6. Fabulous Deco Heubach Googly – rare mold ‘10790’ in a striking 10” size w/ 8” circ. head and dashing factory original Pierrot costume over chubby toddler body! $1250 7. Large Early Halbig ‘886’ – 7-1/2” tall model with coveted 5-strap bootines! The 1880’s mignonette is all original w/ factory hip length wig, 2 square teeth, original tailored, button back textured frock and what a face on an all bisque!! $1995
9. Elegant 7” Miniature Officer – molded elder man with mustache, stunning uniform with die-cut buttons, medals, etc., metal sword, detachable helmet and leather boots. $550 10. 11” 1840’s Cabinet China – doll house scale, side paneled waves loop into a coiled bun, mint leather body and vintage silk gown, so romantic! $1495 11. 2-1/4” Bohemian Crystal table top Xmas tree, c. 1935. Precious! $295 12. Jumeau ‘221’ Portrait Doll – all original 10” portrait of Empress Josephine, flawless quality in full factory gown w/wig, stand and swing tag! $895
3
10
10 11
12
A Face in M
y partner, David, and I are “savers.” By this I mean that like our dearly departed friend John Darcy Noble who had his black belt in saving, we prefer not to dispose of anything old. John saved seashells, scraps of foil paper no bigger than a postage stamp, hazy mirror, broken dollhouse furniture, and so on, and on, and on. From him we learned that a sheet of water stained and yellowed paper could prove to be invaluable in mending an antique paper doll or what have you. We also save photographs and slides, and we maintain a collection of images that includes practically every doll that we have ever owned, or handled. Recently, our Carmel Doll Shop web designer has been kept busy transferring all of our two-dimensional images over to a digital format. Storing the photos digitally is so much easier, and even better, we have access to the images so much faster. The designer tells us that our doll photo archive contains well over 20,000 images, so the chances are good that if you mention a particular type of doll, we have handled it. This exercise in scanning has been somewhat like watching your nearly 30-year career in dolls pass before your eyes. As a doll collector, I am sure that you have been asked that inevitable question while sharing your dolls with the uninitiated. “What kind of doll is your favorite?” For me, that particular query is a close second to the number one question I am asked as not only a dealer, but also as a male collector of dolls, “How exactly did you get into this? It must be a very interesting story.” I usually reply that it actually isn’t a very interesting story and quickly change the subject back to the interests of the customer. But now that I think about it, that first question is a difficult one to answer, and liken it to asking a father to pick his favorite child. The answer to the second question remains not that interesting. I collect antique dolls, but am interested in many different kinds of dolls, from antique to modern, but in each category I have to admit that I definitely have my favorites. Most of the time I keep this sort of information to myself, or share it with just a small circle of friends and suppliers. I learned early on that the collector who broadcasts to everyone they know exactly what types of dolls they are looking for, ends up competing with themselves in the long run. To explain, a special doll could change hands multiple times before it gets to the hands of the customer who planted the seed of desire in the first place, because each dealer thinks that they have “the customer” for the doll. Left: Following the designs of Dehors’ 1866 patent, this bisque head is able to turn not only left and right, but also up and down, while the doll shown above her bears the earlier cup and saucer swivel neck mechanism. Right: Note the exquisite modeling details upon the breastplate. Dehors ladies have been found dressed in some of the finest clothing of the era, and the attire given this elegant example is no exception. She is costumed in a shade of tulle referred to as “Eugénie blue.” 18
ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
JANUARY 2014
the Crowd
By Michael Canadas
There are doll examples that are considered among the super rare by collectors and I am proud to state that we have been fortunate enough to have handled more than one of any of them. These could be the dolls that remain in a class all to themselves and we collectors might only see one of them every few years, if that. Those dolls are the ones that I want too, but please don’t tell anyone. At the beginning of our career in antique dolls, at a time when it seemed most collectors were not interested in French fashion dolls, fashions became the focus of our collection. We have bought and sold thousands of fashions over the years and I confess that we enjoyed them all. In their passing through our hands, we learned about them and then we sprinkled them all over the world into the doll cabinets of other collectors. Having the opportunity to handle countless fashion dolls, combined with this recent trip down memory lane via the photo scanner, I am ready to claim my most favorite fashion dolls, and they would be those masterworks created by Auguste Dehors. A very limited number of these dolls, so regal with their imperial portrait faces, have survived. This phenomenon can easily be chalked up to the fact that not very many existed in the first place. I suppose that I have always been fascinated by the “different” face, and am more attracted by a stunning face, or elegant face, than the pretty face. Some dolls, and people for that matter, look the same in every photo, from every angle, and don’t exhibit a “bad” side. I am more attracted to the face that owns the camera when you peer through the viewfinder. In my opinion, a Dehors doll not only owns the camera, but also
ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
JANUARY 2014
19
The Coleman Collection by Donna Kaonis
I
n our collective consciousness the name Coleman looms large. Dorothy, and her daughters Evelyn Jane and Elizabeth Ann, are considered the first ladies of the antique doll world for their 1968 landmark publication The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Dolls, Volume I, shortly followed by Volume II. These massive books remain the go to books for researching dolls. Attendees to the 2013 UFDC national convention in Washington, D. C. were invited to a fundraiser at the Coleman house, built in 1939 by Dorothy’s father, Harold Clinton Smith, a leading architect and builder. Remarkably other than updating a few appliances, little in the house has ever been changed. Much of the furnishings and paintings were commissioned by prominent furniture makers and due to the home’s historical significance it eventually will be gifted to the city. A few years ago Ann wrote an article in this magazine about the family’s history with dolls. After a normal childhood interest in dolls Dorothy moved on and it was only after daughters Evelyn Jane and Elizabeth Ann began to collect 44
ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
JANUARY 2014
antique dolls that their mother put her prodigious talents as a statistical analyst and genealogist to work in the doll field. Aiding their endeavors were several books and pamphlets on dolls left to them by an “aunt” of Dorothy’s. While still in college Ann wrote her first book, Dolls, Makers and Marks. Crown Publishers asked them for an encyclopedia and the rest is history. In between Volumes I and II they also authored The Collector’s Book of Doll Clothes, Fashions in Miniature, 1700-1929. Ann’s career trajectory is impressive to say the least. She is the former Curator of Costumes and Textiles at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Museums of Fine Arts in Houston and Boston. She is an avid traveler and has been virtually everywhere, even to exotic destinations that most of us never imagine visiting. Currently Ann serves as the Chair of the UFDC Museum Committee, committed to fundraising and growing the museum’s collections. Ann graciously allowed us to photograph during our visit and we are thrilled to bring you this brief glimpse. This was the second time we had been invited to the Coleman house. Many years ago when Dorothy was still alive we had occasion to visit. I remember dolls in suitcases under beds, in drawers and closets! This time Ann ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
JANUARY 2014
45