Antique DOLL Collector March 2010 Vol. 13, No. 2
March 2010 Vol. 13, No. 2 $595 / $695 Canada www.antiquedollcollector.com
Lilas
The Exemplary Life of a Rohmer Lady Doll
by Samy Odin ertain dolls happen to have such a presence that their destiny becomes extraordinary, for the people who get a chance to own them suddenly feel such a responsibility in taking good care of them that they end up enjoying a very sheltered life, passing down from each generation to the next, keeping their beauty and appeal almost intact. Lilas is one of them. This doll comes with a very unusual provenance. This is her story, or at least a brief summary of it.1 At present, this lady doll has entered the author’s collection and will soon be on display at the Musée de la Poupée in Paris. During the spring of 2009, a lady by the name of Madame France Marie Vichard attended the public appraisals that the museum offers monthly. She wanted to get
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Roberta's DOLL HOUSE Roberta and Ziggy Zygarlowski, 475 17th Ave., Paterson, N.J. 07504 (973) 684-4945 • Fax (973) 523-7585 • CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-569-9739 31
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32. Another truly lovely Belton child w/ such a beautiful French face - soft as butter bisque w/ first out of the mold quality - wondrous hand painted facial features w/ soft arched feathered brows over early dark outlined chestnut brown paperweight eyes - closed pouty mouth w/soft amber shading - original fully jointed compo body w/ early straight wrist - original mohair wig - 12” tall $1,995. 33. Two rare & wonderful “Door of Hope Mission” dolls - superior quality - all original - exceptional clean faces: A) Male mourner - 12” - $1,995. B) Table boy - 11” - 1,495. 34. Always rare & always wonderful - Wax Over with the most amazing character face - extremely pensive w/ that very pointy nose - she is just so lovely - beautiful condition w/ heather blue glass eyes & her original mohair center parted wig that is pulled back into its original snood - lovely lady arms & legs - exceptional antique clothing - 14” tall - $1,495. 35. Three - that’s right count them three rare & wonderful “Princess Elizabeth’s” by Madame Alexander - each one is a different size - each has tagged clothes - all are amazingly beautiful: A - In peach -13” - $795. B - In blue - 18” - 995. C Extremely rare 24” - $1,295. 36. Absolutely wonderful very early “Baby land Rag” excellent hand painted facial features w/ lovely brown upturned eyes & that hint of eye shadow - sweet rose shaded puckered lips - never to be found all original condition - 14” tall - $995.
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37. Extremely rare 1840’s - China lady w/ that always desirable pink luster tint - to add to her wonderment she has that hair swept back into a bun hairstyle that is just breathtaking - beautiful round face w/ blue Icelandic eyes - closed pouty mouth w/ soft rose shading - lovely old body - 22” tall $4,995. 38. Another rare & wonderful little character - this little gentleman of the French court is actually another Sonneberg child made for the French market - even his head has a French cut to the bisque - excellent high quality bisque w/ lovely hand painted facial features - soft arched feathered brows over exceptionally beautiful heather blue paperweight eyes - slightly open mouth w/ soft amber shading 11” tall - $1,495. 39. Wonderful & always desirable super size life size solid dome baby by Kestner - wondrous bisque w/ fist out if the mold quality - lovely hand painted facial features w/ heather blue sleep eyes & an open laughing mouth w/ two lower teeth - original Kestner body - 23” tall - $1,495. 40. Two exceptionally wonderful dolls by Effanbee - all original - excellent condition - rare to find: A - “Candy Kid - super desirable little boy - so cute - 14” tall - $695. B - Extremely rare “Majorette” - just grand as she can be - 18” tall - $995. 41. Two very beautiful & rare to find “Monica’s” - exceptional compo w/ that rare rooted hair - both have original clothes: A) Pristine bride - 17” tall - $995. B) “Poppy flowered” frock w/ cape & hat - 19” tall - $995.
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42. Rare & wonderful isn’t even close to describing this wonderful pair - “George & Martha Washington” by Effanbee - superior all original condition w/ -excellent compo & factory original clothes - dolls are both marked “Suzette” - beautiful original wigs & clothes - 12” tall - $995. for the pair 43. This is Pearl - we found her with those pearls - hence her name - lovely brown bisque child by Handwerck - mold #69 - superior brown bisque w/ lovely hand painted facial features - soft arched feather brows over chestnut brown sleep eyes - slightly open mouth w/ dark amber shading - original fully jointed compo body 25” tall - $1,995. 44. Extremely rare & always desirable is this amazing Jackson-Parsons baby - hand molded biskoline head (they often advertised their dolls as being carved from real life models & these dolls were guaranteed to float in water) great detail w/ wondrous chestnut brown eyes - rare open/closed mouth - original five piece compo baby body - 14” tall - $795. 45. Two rare & wonderful wood segmented characters - both are in excellent condition - both have original labels on bodies - both are extremely rare to find: A - “Mr. Peanut” - 9” tall - $595. B - “Gabby” - from the first full length cartoon of “Gulliver’s Travels” - 10” tall - $895.
by Marina Tagger
I
was born to be a collector. Ever since I can remember, I have shown tremendous appreciation for dolls. Barbies and older dolls shared the same cabinet space, while artist dolls stood proudly in various locations allotted to them around my house. But it wasn’t until I became an adult, that my passion for antique dolls took flight! I think the obsession of a true collector begins in childhood. One must posses that “soul” spark that drives each and every one of us to live for our passions.
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A Look at the Gebruder Bing Toy Company M
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by Margo Delaughter • Photos by Cynthia Orgeron
etal kitchen utensils, teddy bears, model trains and dolls were all products produced by the Gebruder Bing Toy Company in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded in 1863 by brothers Ignaz and Adolf Bing, it began as a producer of kitchen utensils and later added toys to its production line. By the early 20th century Bing was the largest toy factory in the world. The company is best remembered today for its toy trains. In the 1880’s Bing’s first trains were brought into production. Bing competed with Marklin and other companies for the toy train market and were quite successful. Many of their toy trains were exported and due to cheap German labor and low shipping and duty costs, they were often able to undercut the prices of competitors. World War I however, forced Bing out of the export business and the company began to decline. By 1927 the company was in serious financial trouble and it went out of business for good in 1933. Although Bing may be best remembered for its toy trains, doll collectors are more familiar with the company for its art dolls. Bing began its doll making around 1921. The doll section of the company was called Bing Werke and the Bing Wolfe Corporation. Their fabric art dolls competed with Kathe Kruse and the Lenci dolls. Bing used the trademark of Bing Art Dolls or Bing Beauty Baby, among others. By 1928 the Bing Brothers Art Doll Company had become a large corporation that included
31 subsidiaries including Kammer & Reinhardt, Louis Wolf, Max Oscar Arnold, Welsch & Co, and Waltershauser Puppenfabrik. The dolls referred to as Art Dolls were produced during the Bing Werke period. They were the design of Professor Vogt of Nuremberg and Emil Wagner of Sonneberg. Toy makers at this time very often copied each others ideas, varying the design slightly. Bing did with its toy trains as well as its teddy bears. Originally Bing copied Steiff’s overall design with very small differences. At first Bing attached a metal arrow to the right ear of its bears. When Steiff objected, Bing placed a metal button on the left side of the bear. The button was later moved to the right arm. Steiff did not object to this as long as the word “button” was not used since Steiff’s trademark was the metal “button” in each animal’s ear. Bing’s Art Dolls were also made to resemble dolls popular at that time. Bing’s dolls have a cloth molded mask face with painted features. Dolls came with painted hair or mohair wigs. The body is cloth with mitt-like hands. Most of the dolls have stitching to define the fingers and do not have an applied thumb. Their necks were jointed as well as the arms and legs. Because of the heavy painting of the heads, the dolls are sometimes thought to be made of composition. The painted hair dolls in this article display a straight line stroke of paint behind the back of the ear. It is also interesting to notice
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the different styles of painting of the hair as seen in the close-ups of the faces. The dolls range in size from 5-3/4 inches to 17-1/2 inches. Please note that Bing also made dolls of composition, bisque, rubber and felt. These last dolls were probably made by one of the subsidiaries and sold under the Bing Werke name. The dolls described in this article have cloth heads. Most of the dolls were dressed as children of that time period. The dolls were not marked, except on the sole of the shoes which are marked “Bing,” so one must go by the “look” and construction if the original clothes are missing. One doll in this article is stamped “Made in Germany” on its back. In 1925 Bing, along with several other doll makers, lost a suit filed by Kathe Kruse who felt her dolls were being copied in a “cheap” manner. Much to the surprise of the other toy companies who borrowed freely from others, Kathe Kruse was successful. She won the final process of copyrights for her dolls. The suit against Bing was pressed by Kruse because Bing was so large it was feared that it presented a danger to the Kruse doll production. The company was in serious financial trouble by 1927. The president, Stephen Bing and his son, left the company supposedly to work with another Nuremberg toy firm, but since the Bings were Jewish, they fled to England as Adolf Hitler was on the rise. By 1932 Bing was in liquidation and it went out of business in 1933. The Bing Toy Company is not forgotten however. In October, 2009 a museum opened in the heart of the old town of Freinsheim. The museum will devote itself to the history of toys and metal goods. The aim of the museum is to remind us of the toys and products of “Bing Works Nuremberg”, for a time the largest toy manufacturer in the world. The blonde boy in illustration 1 is 14 inches tall. He has a cloth head and a short human hair wig. Many of the wigged dolls that I have seen have very curly mohair wigs so I am not certain that his wig is original. It does, however, suit him. His painted brown eyebrows are quite short. His blue eyes have a white highlight dot and painted upper lashes. He has a rosebud mouth and his cheeks are quite rosy. A seam line runs across the top of his head and behind each molded ear. A second seam runs from the top of his head and down the back of his head. Two short seams are on either side 39