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Antique DOLL Collector May 2010 Vol. 13, No. 4

May 2010 Vol. 13, No. 4 $595 / $695 Canada www.antiquedollcollector.com

TO SERVE WITH HONOR by Michael Canadas

e have all heard it said that we live in “a man’s have fought hard for it and it will only be achieved when world” and unfortunately, there may be some our younger generation will have always known a woman truth to that old saying. Consider that women in this secretary of state, state representative or CEO. country only received the right to vote in 1919 after bravely Anyone reading this magazine is quite aware that there and steadfastly fighting for it since the 1840s. However, is still a world in which out and out discrimination and with that said, it seems that we favoritism exists towards the fairer sex, and that my friends, is indeed have come a long way. the world of dolls. The ladies reign What would Elizabeth Cady supreme in their miniature world, Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, with men just occasionally found two women who fought hard to in the doll cabinet. Let’s face it, the make the vote for women happen, men are really only there to supply think of the fact that in the United a little arm candy for the females, States of America we have now and those poor adult male or boy experienced two serious female dolls usually have to be shared by candidates running for president many members of the fairer sex. and vice president? Today, women Considering all of the époques serve with honor in all branches of of dolls that we are familiar with, our armed forces, and in the highest it seems that the German character courts of the land we listen to their doll movement, which occurred in voices of reason. Let’s not forget, the first decades of the twentieth there is a woman who is second in century, created the widest variety of line to the presidency this very day, Although the female reigns supreme in the doll world, male dolls. Kammer and Reinhardt’s so could it be that we finally live in Peter, Hans, Karl and Phillip are all there is no denying the attraction of the rare male as seen in this catalog from Au Paradis des Enfants. a world of equality? So many people familiar names to doll collectors.

Patricia A. Vaillancourt

Directions to shop: PA Turnpike Rte 272 at exit 286 turn right go a mile to Stoudtburg Village and visit all the doll shops.

PO Box 326, Adamstown, PA 19501 • CELL (561) 512-7193

Come visit my shop in Adamstown, PA! I offer a full array of dolls and accessories. Find me at www.dollsantique.com and www.rubylane.com or e-mail: vaillsdoll@aol.com 1. Mint Lenci 12 inches tagged with both the silver Lenci tag and a heart shaped tag. The top of the barrel is marked Barbara in red. She has been stored in a box which has kept her clean and so mint. She has the two fingers sewn together (a Lenci trademark) has two fingers and beautiful two-toned lips. She has lovely Shirley Temple 1 like hair and a hat with long blue tassel. $650 2. A Pair of cuties! 8 inch totally all original 101 Marie with her sailor dress even the wig is perfect, wonderful molding, incredible quality. $1300. The cutest 8 inch AM 253 Googlie with a watermelon mouth, topknot, intaglio eyes $995 3. 23 Inch SFBJ 301, an amazing Paper Mache. This is a wonderfully 6 different French doll in lovely silk dress. $395 4. 35 by 28 Inch “Merrie Marie” this was in Marge Darrow’s personal collection. I love to frame these pieces, c. early 1900’s. $395 5. I know we all need doll clothes for our beautiful babies. Here is an example of the unique clothes I can have made for you out of old fabrics. Clothes for fancy French dolls, boy dolls, German dolls, hats, etc. Many one of a kind (working on an unusual Fashion dress now). Price varies based on material, size, and uniqueness of outfit. Please call to discuss your needs.

7 6. This is an outfit including hat for a 25 Inch Jumeau. 7. An adorable outfit perfect for 15 to 15- 1/2 inch doll. 8. 3 Inch rare jointed Grodnertal wooden wearing plaid slip with the teeniest tiniest of wooden bodies. Her nose has smallest boo boo, but she has an unusual hairdo and her own tiny baby wooden in perfect condition. $650 9. 13” Bleuette Sister - Unis Franc 301 71 on one side 149 on the other. She has all original clothes, even has nailed on shoes which so many of them did.

This one is from 1926 “La Jolie Saison” pictured on page 94 of the Bleuette Book. Perfect factory mint. $950 10. 24” Rare Boudoir Doll - Ki Ki known from the numerous photos taken by Mann Ray. She was a famous French girl and posed for many artists (see article in April issue of this magazine). There is a book called “Ki Ki’s Paris. Artist & Lovers 1900-1930.” She was an omniscient presence with Mann Ray. $1200.

by Janet Gula

here is a theory that some individuals are born with a collector’s gene. Many collectors of dolls are collectors of other antiques as well. Some of these “other” collections can complement a doll collection from miniature furniture to doll houses. Artworks can also be decorative accessories to accentuate a collection. From original paintings to old prints, dolls are often to be found in the arms of a young child in a work of art. These works can be found in all mediums and in all price points for the enthusiastic collector to own. As well they also can show how the dolls appeared in their original state and also show the original children who owned and played with them. They can give invaluable visual representation of original clothing and a glimpse of the society they were made for.

A charming watercolor painted in 1882 by Emily Farmer shows a happy child in modest dress with an equally modest jointed peg doll. A typical Victorian image, Farmer specialized in these types of sentimental and natural images of childhood.

This pristine portrait miniature watercolor painted on vellum is signed on the reverse Maria Anne Ernestina Vollin, nata die 5th decembris 1711 (born December 5th 1711).

Loir’s depictions of life among the upper French classes give a picture into daily life during the “Belle Epoque”. Two little elegantly dressed Parisian girls share a French Bebe whose costuming flatters their own. The gouache and watercolor painting is titled “La Visite” (the visit). 29

A pristine pair of Volland Raggedies. Volland had these dolls made in the 1920’s. Throughout the Volland years, Raggedy Ann always had a red nose outlined in black. Andy had the red nose, but with no black outline.

A Doll with a Heart by Maureen Herrod

ohn B. Gruelle created the Raggedy Ann doll, and later the Raggedy Andy doll (and the Beloved Belindy doll) among many other sweet characters that populated his many books. “Johnny,” as he was soon called after the first flush of his success, patented the design for the Raggedy Ann doll in September of 1915. However, Johnny had spent several years before 1915 illustrating both his own, and other people’s children’s books. His first book illustrations were for an edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales in 1914. Before he issued the first of his Raggedy Ann dolls, he had created designs for the duck family of Quacky Doodles and Danny Daddles, characters written about by Rose Strong Hubbel. These charming ducks were soon being produced by the Schoenhut Company. But even before the creation of the Raggedies and the duck family, back in 1911, Johnny created a character called Mr. Twee Deedle, a helpful and cheerful fairy, that wound up on the front page of the of the “New York Herald” newspaper. Mr. Twee Deedle was a popular cartoon in this newspaper and was featured until 1918. When speaking of the Raggedy Ann creation, Andrew Tabbat stated in his book The Collector’s World of Raggedy Ann and Andy, Volume One, “Raggedy Ann’s outlook on the world is defined by just two things: a candy heart that says ‘I love you,’ and a painted on smile.” She has a sunny disposition and a caring of others that helps teach compassion in children. Adversity does not get her down. She meets every crisis with optimism that all will work out well in the end.

Sioux Dolls – Left: 11 ¼” Buckskin Maiden with beaded face, long human hair braids, and simple dress with small square beaded patches and fringe. She has a wide beaded belt in yellow ochre with a white star, and more colorfully beaded calf-high boots. Her body is hand sewn cloth. Ca. 1875-1890. Middle: 12 ¾” doll with provenance… made by Rebecca Blue Cloud, the granddaughter of Chief Little Crow (the leader of the Sioux Rebellion of 1862). Her hair is black thread and the body appears to be made from heavy old knit long johns. Ca. 1920. Right: 12” doll with cloth body and human hair braids. He has fringing and beading on his shirt and pants, a quill breastplate, and beautifully beaded moccasins. Ca. 1910. Some Sioux dolls have been found with beading on the soles of the moccasins, as have real moccasins of beloved children, made during the 1880-1910 period on the Sioux reservations.

Crow – This 12 ½” doll has a body of dark red cotton with black polka dots! Her dress of heavy navy blue wool was probably made from a Union soldier’s coat. The cuffs, hem and leggings are of red trade wool. The white beads on her dress represent elk teeth that would decorate a woman’s dress. She wears strands of glass beads, earrings, and a beaded floral wreath around her head. Her hair is heavy cotton thread, sewn through her leather scalp and braided. The bands of beading on her leggings and moccasins are typical of Crow bead work. Ca 1880-90.

am not going to attempt to discuss all types of Indian dolls from every tribal group, but rather would like to use the dolls in my collection to give a feel for the variety of dolls that were made and to show how they were produced using the traditions and materials at hand. There are many types of dolls, such as the wooden Kachina and pottery dolls of the southwest, and bone and ivory Inuit dolls from the arctic, that I have not included. I have had many of these in the past, but they are no longer in my collection. Indian dolls tell the story of the white man’s inﬂuence on Indian culture. The ﬁrst European expeditions to America brought dolls for trade with the Indians. In 1585, on Roanoke Island, it was recorded that the Indians were “greatlye diligted with puppets, and babes which were brought oute of England”. By the 19th century, Indian women were incorporating ribbons and calico into their own clothing, as well as into doll making. Indians in all parts of the country gradually adapted many of the white man’s customs, and by the 20th

Two Cradleboards – Left: A Sioux or Cheyenne baby is tucked into a beaded hood with a prop-up flap. The bottom portion is red trade wool lined in cotton. This is folded around the baby and tied closed with a leather thong. The top is beaded with typical bold designs and the flap is fringed as well. The baby wears a lace trimmed bonnet and has a sweet inked cotton face. Right: A 7 ½” Apache toy cradleboard with a cloth infant. This has a twig frame with a wood splint bottom, padded and covered with cloth. It is decorated with appliquéd pieces and “tinklers” (small pieces of tin curled into tubes, these were used to decorate children’s clothes as well). In general, the full size cradleboards were made of soft doeskin, and padded with dry moss or shredded bark. The babies were laced into the cradleboard during the day and taken out at night. As children grew they learned to free their arms and unlace themselves from the cradle. Ca. 1880-1890.

by Penny Hadﬁeld

century, Indian dolls reﬂected both cultures. Indian children, like children everywhere, wanted dolls and toys to play with, and their parents and grandparents responded with miniature replicas of themselves. Since each tribe’s mode of dress reﬂected where they lived, and what materials were available to them, Indian dolls are as varied as the tribes themselves. By displaying a tribe’s use of ornament, accessories and clothing, the dolls accurately record Indian life. For most Native American children, toys and dolls were meant to educate. With the help of parents, grandparents and tribal elders, children learned about life in their various cultures, and their proper roles in their tribe’s society. Boys had toys representing the tools of hunting and war - canoes, bows and arrows and horses. By playing with an accurately built canoe they would learn how to construct one when the time came. Girls practiced the skills they

Northern Woodlands Dolls – These 3 dolls are from the north central part of the country, with perhaps the exception of the middle doll. Left: 10 ¾” doll with head and clothing of buckskin and a torso of old cotton sateen. The face is embroidered and there is no sign of the doll ever having hair. She wears a long tunic with very simple beading, leggings and low beaded moccasins. She carries a beaded papoose with a harness around the shoulders, tied in front, very secure for someone traveling on foot through woodlands. Ca. 1890-1900. Middle: This little gal is only 6 ½” tall, probably a doll for tourist trade. She has a leather face and clothing and a muslin body. Her face and clothing are decorated with paint. She wears high boots which would lead to belief in her northern origins. She is probably from the 1940’s. On the right is a 7” Winnebago brave from Wisconsin or Minnesota. He has an unusual beaded face, 2 layers of jackets and black velvet leggings, all with beading and fringe. He is probably from the 1930s.

by Judith Armitstead

Figure 2. William S. Tower incised mark.

Figure 1. Two miniature tubs by William S. Tower (Armitstead Collection).

Figure 3. Early teddy bears playing with William S. Tower toy tubs (Armitstead Collection).

has long had the distinction of being recognized for the production of very early wooden toys. As wood was abundant and readily available in the Northeast, early craftsmen inherently turned toward the direction of woodworking. Two of the most prominent early wooden toy manufacturers were Samuel Hersey and the Tower Toy Company established by William S. Tower in Hingham, Massachusetts, during the mid-1800’s. Besides Mr. Hersey and Mr. Tower, numerous other Hingham craftsmen also made wooden miniatures intended for play. This article is being presented in three parts, each being anchored by a major craftsman in the Hingham toy industry. Part I concentrates on the very inﬂuential doll furniture and toy maker, William S. Tower, along with his brother, Charles, and their nephew, Ezra Wilder. Part II focuses on the important early craftsmen, Samuel Hersey, his brother, Edmund Hersey, their uncle, Cotton Hersey, and other less recognized Hingham toy makers. Part III features the large quantity of doll furniture produced by Loring H. Cushing, who apprenticed under William S. Tower, and also discusses the work of George W. Fearing, and Marita Otis Lincoln. Miniature furniture made by these craftsmen was comprised of doll’s furniture in several scales, including dollhouse sizes, such as dressers, chairs, tables, desks, sideboards, cradles, beds, stools and other doll furnishings. Hingham craftsmen also produced accessories to go along with dolls, which included small ﬁrkins (small wooden keg-type containers with a cover and handle), tubs, buckets, laundry sets containing washboards, ironing

boards, and drying racks and small containers meant as toys. They worked in pine, maple, birch and other local woods. The majority of the surfaces were finely sanded to a smooth finish and remained either unvarnished, leaving the wood a natural color, or were varnished, stained or painted. Some Hingham furniture had designs hand painted on the surface. Most construction methods were either peg joined or nail assembled and, at times, both methods were used on one piece. Hand-made, square-cut nails were used on the early items. Several of the Hingham toy makers incorporated tin within their construction designs, such as the strappings to hold together miniature buckets and wash tubs, or they added tin accessories like tin wash bowls to wash stands. All of the toys made by the early Hingham craftsmen are extremely scarce and very desirable. Hersey, Tower, Cushing, Wilder, Fearing, and Lincoln are prominent Hingham family names. Hingham has honored some of its past distinguished residents by naming numerous streets and landmarks after them. Studying genealogy records has revealed that many of the early families in Hingham intermarried and were related to each other including William S. Tower, Loring H. Cushing, Samuel Hersey, Cotton Hersey and Ezra Wilder. Ancestors of some these and other important families came from Hingham, England, and settled Hingham, Massachusetts, in the early 1600’s. As Hingham was a seaside town, fishing was an important industry for the early families, which lead to another important trade in the town—the production of containers to haul and transport fish. By the early 1800’s, small cottage industries and larger facilities, making fullsized wooden containers and products such as buckets, barrels, pails, boxes and other utilitarian objects, had been well established in Hingham. Because of the vast quantity produced, Hingham had been dubbed and known throughout the country as “Bucket Town.” A downturn in the fishing and coopering industries lead some full-size container producers to make miniature versions of their

Figure 4. Wash tub and wringer made by William S. Tower (Armitstead Collection).

wares as a way to continue their businesses. From studying original documents such as the 1855 and 1865 Massachusetts State Census for Hingham and genealogy records, both of which designate occupations for a majority of those persons listed, it is quite evident that many of the Hingham toy craftsmen had other skilled vocations either prior to or during the times they were producing toys and doll furniture. Almost any full-sized wooden ware item being made in Hingham could have been adapted to miniature replicas for children. These simplistic toys are true craftsman products for they had been made unpretentiously but with great skill. Perhaps this is the appeal of these diminutive doll’s furniture and accessories for, today, they are highly sought after by collectors of early doll items and miniatures and also by collectors of Americana. Many of the Hingham pieces were marked either with a paper label, an incised brand or mark bearing the name Figure 5. William S. Tower wash stand and dresser (Bonnie Hanson Collection).