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Antique DOLL Collector June 2010 Vol. 13, No. 5

June 2010 Vol. 13, No. 5 $595 / $695 Canada www.antiquedollcollector.com

A Visit With Julie Blewis by Donna C. Kaonis

Julie with the family’s pet French bulldog Oscar who has nearly as many toys as Julie has dolls.

Munich Art Dolls by Marion Kaulitz, the inspiration for the Kammer and Reinhardt dolls that would soon follow.

Julie’s favorite doll is this world exposition model by Jumeau, one of several dolls made by the company to represent indigenous peoples of the French colonies.

Munich Art Dolls were first shown in 1908 – their objective to create a movement against the artificiality of factory made dolls. Photos Andy Ourant 18

ome claim that they were born collectors, but for most of us there is a defining moment that triggers the collecting passion within us. Julie Blewis remembers that moment well – she was at an estate sale and there were a group of eight-inch Madame Alexanders being offered. Her bid was successful and she was off and running. This happened about eighteen years ago and since then what she has accomplished is nothing short of amazing, deserving of a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for collecting. The large, nearly 100-year old home that she shares with her husband Gordon, her daughter Jenna, son Brian, French bulldog Oscar and cats Nikki and Dusty, is a virtual museum, a testament to her studious pursuit of the rarest antique dolls, with a focus on unusual characters. The couple’s home is a monument to collecting: carousel animals, cigar store figures – one a ten foot Punch – automatons, Black Forest carvings, an

It doesn’t get more character-like than this! An unusual pair with terra cotta-type heads and cloth bodies.

France produced their fair share of character dolls, some even earlier than the German puppen reform movement. Two examples of the two-faced Bru are shown here along with a painted eye character by Louis Aimee Lejune, c. 1910, a two-faced series 200 crying Jumeau, and on the right an unusual unmarked painted eye character. Left: This rare shoulderhead doll with a cloth body is virtually identical to the portrait bust. Right: One of the 100 or fewer models of the Albert Marque doll known to exist.

enormous ship’s figurehead, and of course dolls, and more dolls, displayed in a multitude of showcases throughout the house. Julie grew up in New York City, earning her law degree and eventually becoming a city judge for parking enforcement and the environmental control board. The commute to the city from the suburbs as well as baby sitting fees for her daughter were taking a big chunk out of her paycheck and she made the decision to be a stay at home mom. For a time Julie continued collecting Madame Alexanders, quickly learning that they were better examples to be had such as the Me and My Shadow series and the Glamour Girls. One day her husband looked at her dolls and asked, “Why do all your dolls have the same face?” Gordon, who Julie admits has little interest in her dolls, was instrumental in changing her collecting. “He was right,” she said. “I immediately sold all of them.” 19

Left to right: A tiny example clearly shows where the candle or lamp oil “drawer” goes to illuminate the night light and keep the beverage warm. This chubby pot would allow two dolls to share their evening bedtime drink. Another lovely piece is the perfect scale for a small French fashion doll. What mignonnette wouldn’t adore sipping her evening chocolate from this tiny gem?

La Veilleuse by Jan Peterson Photos by Elwyn Peterson

n modern day France, a veilleuse (vay-uhz), is simply a child’s nightlight. However, in centuries past, a veilleuse was just as comforting, but far more elegant. Veiller means to watch over and protect. Originally, a veilleuse was a very special sort of teapot designed especially to be used in the bedroom. Its contents could be tea, or une tisane (an herbal tea), warm milk sweetened with honey, or hot chocolate. French children seldom drink milk at the table. They receive their daily requirement of calcium by munching little fruit flavored cream cheeses, eating yogurt, and consuming other dairy products that taste more like treats than something healthy. Milk is saved for bedtime, to be sipped, flavored or not, while papa reads a bedtime story. Of course, the first veilleuses were created for grown-ups. Very simple pottery examples were found in the homes of the working class,

Delicate pink roses adorn these ﬁnely hand-painted toy veilleuses made especially for dolls.

This elegant doll’s veilleuse must have belonged to the child of a very wealthy family. It is hand gilted in 24K gold.

but beautifully hand-painted examples made of the finest china where to be found in the bedrooms of the affluent. It is easy to imagine a fine lady tucked into her feather bed, sipping a cup of almond tea while reading herself to sleep by candlelight. A veilleuse comes in three parts: the bottom covers the heat source (usually a small porcelain “drawer” to hold oil and a specially made wick, or a small candle), then comes the teapot and the lid. Most veilleuses do resemble elegant teapots, but some are in other, far more surprising forms: beautiful ladies, birds, circus animals, religious figures, anything the imagination could create. They were commonly made in England and France from the 17th into the 20th Century. Fine examples are collected today (by those lucky enough to find them) for their charming forms and artistic beauty. Spoiled and coddled little French dolls of the 19th century could not have been expected to forgo such little luxuries in their lives, so veilleuses were made for them, too! Tiny teapots just the perfect scale for a mignonette were produced as well as sizes perfect to adorn the chambre à coucher of the most elegant French fashion doll. Special veilleuses were produced for bébés of all sizes and some were appropriate for both real children and life size dolls. Major collections of these lovely treasures can be seen in only two museums in the world especially created to display Mlle Claire, dressed for bed, gets ready to pour herself a bedtime tisane and settle down with a good book. This is the smallest size of the toy veilleuses, them. Smaller collections make up part of appropriate for a 12” poupee or an 8” mignonnette. museum collections of pottery and porcelain

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31. Just as precious as she can be is this ever so sweet shelf size Belton w/ the most adorable French face - soft as butter bisque w/ artist quality hand painted facial features - soft arched feathered brows over early dark outlined heather blue paperweight eyes - closed pert pouty mouth w/ soft rose shading original fully jointed compo body w/ straight wrist - 12” tall - $1,995. 32. Two wonderful & ever so rare “Beloved Belindy” from Raggedy Ann fame - A) extremely rare Volland w/ hand painted face - what a treasure - 15” tall - $3,995. B) Georgene - all original - hand painted features - great condition - 19” tall - $1,995. 33. Two more all original Dewees Cochran’s children - each one having a very uniquely different face - all original - exceptional condition - wonderful faces - pristine clothing - original shoes - girl on left is 16” - girl on right is 14” tall - $1,995. each 34. Wonderful open mouth “Dep” by Jumeau in a rarely found large size pristine hand poured French bisque with just a hint of dewey patina - lovely hand painted facial features with soft arched feathered brows over enormous heather blue sleep eyes w/human hair upper lashes - slightly open mouth w/ soft amber shading - original Jumeau body - 28” tall $2,295. 35. Just as rare & wonderful as he can be is this cute as a button compo character boy - notice how he looks exactly like the Kammer & Reinhardt mold #100 - the little Kaiser boy - very early compo on cotton stuffed body w/ compo hands - 16” tall - $795.

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36. Extremely rare & ever so wonderful Portrait Jumeau from the second series - delightful soft to the touch bisque with artist quality hand painted facial features - soft arched feathered brows over soft wistful lashes surrounding early dark outlined spiral threaded heather blue paperweight eyes - closed slightly pouty mouth w/ soft rose shading - original eight ball body - we found her in her original clothing - what an amazing treasure - 18” tall - $14,500. 37. Tell me he doesn’t look like the kid from the Dutch Boy paint ads - just a precious as he can be is this wonderful kid from Armand Marseille (AM) - mold #259 - exceptional high quality bisque w/ wondrous hand painted facial features - arched feathered brows over wistful lashes surrounding enormous baby blue sleep eyes - open laughing mouth w/ two lower teeth outlined soft amber shaded lips - five piece toddler body - 22” tall - $995. 38. Lovely large size “Bridesmaid” by Madame Alexander - excellent condition - all original - gorgeous eyes - 21” tall - $1,295. 39-40. Rare & wonderful lovely round faced Jumeau Poupeé Fashion from the mid-period - wondrous hand poured pale French bisque w/ artist quality hand painted facial features - soft arched feathered brows over wistful lashes surrounding enormous heather blue paperweight eyes - outlined closed pert pouty mouth w/ soft amber shading - wonderful early original firm erect body - 16” tall - $4,295. 41. Talk about cute - this one really adorable kid - rare to find & always desirable happy character child by Orsini - designed and specifically made

from the Orsini design this very unique kid is made of biscaloid with wonderful hand painted facial features - happy somewhat comical uplifted eyebrows over enormous baby blue sleep eyes (note the eye shadow typical Orsini touch) happy laughing mouth w/ two upper teeth - original cloth & compo body - 23” tall - $1,495. 42. Truly lovely doll sized French armoire - wonderful carved mahogany w/ exterior beveling & arched top - three interior shelves & one lower drawer original brass fixtures - original rich color & patina - 25”tx16”wx8”d - $995. 43. Well - we have done it again - a truly rare & wonderful little boy by Kling - rarely found mold #182 w/ solid dome mold & brushstroke hair - soft as butter bisque w/ first out of the mold quality - wondrous hand painted facial features w/ soft fawn shaded brows over deep intaglio blue eyes - closed slightly pouty mouth w/ just a hint of a smile - note the tiny dimples - to make him even more rare & wondrous he’ only 7” tall - $1,295. 44. Just as sweet & adorable as they can be are these two all original “Just Me” googlies by Armand Marseille - we all love that sweet little face w/ that pert little mouth - both are in excellent all original condition. A - bisque w/ blue eyes - 8” tall - $1,995. B - painted bisque w/ blue eyes - 8” tall - $1,495. 45. Here’s even more cuteness - all original set of Dionne Quints by Alexander - original tagged clothes - excellent compo - original pins in a factor original very rare to find scooter with the Quints’ names - each Quint is 7” - entire scooter is 17” long - $2,995.

by Judy Fisher

Photographs by Rick Fisher

he leading manufacturer of quality felt cloth dolls was the Lenci Company in Torino, Italy between the early 1920s and well into the 1940s. However, there were many companies that soon copied the success of Lenci with their own cloth dolls. They are often referred to as Lenci look-alikes. As a background, here is a list of the lesser known Italian companies that manufactured what are often called Lenci types and some common characteristics to help you identify the dolls. Alma - these were usually 11 inches and had quality bodies and their costumes were excellent. They had socket heads strung with elastic, side glancing eyes and jointed arms which moved together. They are often seen with mohair wigs. Alma dolls were usually marked with a cloth label sewn into the clothes or a mark on one foot. Eros – these are either 7-1/2 - 8 or 11 inches dressed in provincial-costumed outﬁts or storybook/Italian legends. The costumes are of cheaper quality but quite well designed and sewn. They have felt shoes with cardboard soles. There is only a slight indication of twotone lips, if any. They have heavier brown eyebrows and

thicker eyelashes than Magis (described below), little or no eye shadow. Fiore – these little 8 inch dolls have a red dot in corner of each eye. They have a glossy dark red oval mouth with only one color on the lips; applied ears if hair doesn’t cover head, but it is a single piece of felt for the ear. A printed cotton ribbon “Made in Italy” usually is attached to their shoes, which are stitched around the sole for a decorative effect. Their feet seem a bit large for the doll. You’ll see them usually in pairs. Magis (sometimes spelled Magit) – these little dolls are approximately 9 to 10 inches. They have a Campbell Kids type of round face; painted left side-glancing eyes with a white dot in right corner of pupil; eyebrows have a single painted line that is smaller than Eros as well as the eyelashes are smaller and thinner paint. There was an attempt to paint two-toned lips, but they are not well deﬁned; the color is more wine-colored than Lenci. Shoes most often are made of an embossed oilcloth type of material. The labels on Magis (Magit) are very distinct – one has an outline of Italy reading made in Italy and the second one is gold and silver foil reading Magis. Messina-VAT – they have an all felt body, a pressed mask 33

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by Ursula Mertz photos Otto Mertz

ometimes, when we see an illustration of an old toy store, don’t we wish we could enter and browse among our favorite dolls? We would have been part of that time. Yet, by studying books about old dolls, old catalogs and advertisements etc., we can occasionally come pretty close to understanding the time of a favorite doll. This became evident when studying the period of 1918-1922. At that time, many American toy makers seemed to be preoccupied with the production of walking dolls. Eventually, the cause and inter- connectedness of their efforts became clear. In 1918, Georgene Averill, of Averill Manufacturing in New York had introduced her mama dolls. They were advertised as dolls that walked. The walking mechanism consisted very simply of stitched hip joints. The doll’s legs swung back and forth easily. Mrs. Averill was an excellent promoter and the toy trade took notice. Fellow toy sellers were impressed as well. In response, they invented their own walking mechanisms and promoted them heavily. Mrs. Katherine A. Rauser of Chicago, was one of the firms involved in the effort of marketing a successful walker. Mrs. Rauser was primarily a doll outfitter who supplied doll clothes to all the big names in the industry, such as the Albert Schoenhut Company, E. I. Horsman, Effanbee etc. She also sold dressed dolls to the trade. However, in her ad of March 1920, she had included a dolly walker, a metal contraption with long handle and grippers for waist and ankles that a doll could be fitted into. The ad stated: “The ‘Doddy Walker’ Makes Every Doll a Walking 37

28” Wonder mama doll with stitched hip joints, marked P.A. (Paul Averill).

Full page ad in “Toys and Novelties” dated February 1921. Georgene’s second mama doll, called Wonder Doll, was distributed under Paul Averill’s name (Georgene’s husband).

Doll.” The word “Doddy” was a registered trade mark. (For extensive information on the Rauser Company, see Coleman, Vol. I and II.) In the accompanying illustration, a 17” cloth body Baby Georgene has been inserted into the actual walker. It took some doing to get her in there. Not a job for a small child. The ad does not indicate that the walker was available in different sizes, which would have been necessary to accommodate larger dolls. In the same ad, Mrs. Rauser also advertised a doll with bisque head. It is doubtful that the 37

by Judith Armitstead

Figure 1. Samuel Hersey doll bedroom ensemble accompanied by German allbisque doll and various accessories (Armitstead Collection).

Figure 2. Close-up of Samuel Hersey label (Armitstead Collection).

arting in the mid-1800’s, the production of wooden doll furniture, miniature containers and toys became a major trade in Hingham, Massachusetts, after the decline of numerous other industries. Whereas fishing and wooden ware production, such as buckets and barrels to store and transport fish and other products, were major industries during the early 1800’s in Hingham, by the mid- to late 1800’s, those businesses greatly diminished. The bucket and barrel production early on was so significant that Hingham was known throughout the country as “Bucket Town.” But, after the decline of those industries, many Hingham citizens were compelled to find different ways of earning a living. Young men, including those returning from the Civil War, relied on their older relatives and neighbors, those who they grew up with, to guide and teach them what the older generation learned through experience. Part I discussed the accomplishments of William S. Tower, along with his brother Charles, who shifted from producing full-size buckets and barrels to miniature versions for the toy trade. The Tower Toy 42

Company also produced not only diminutive wooden ware toys, such as laundry sets, but also wooden doll and dollhouse furniture. Another important craftsman, the Towers’ nephew, Ezra Wilder, was also discussed in Part I. Part II further explores the history and work of signiﬁcant Hingham toy and doll furniture makers including Samuel Hersey, his brother Edmund, their uncle, Cotton Hersey, William B. Luce and others lesser known. Samuel Hersey, born on April 25, 1820, was a prominent Hingham craftsman who resided at 184 Hersey Street. He made doll furniture in several scales and miniatures for dolls and children such as small ﬁrkins with exceptional

finger joining. Besides producing toys, he was also distinguished for producing fine, small boxes from wood also with finger joining. Samuel Hersey’s mother, Persis, was related to the Cushings (Loring H. Cushing will be discussed in Part III). His wife, Ciseline, died after 5 years of marriage in 1860 when she was only 34 years old. In the 1855 and 1865 Massachusetts State Census for Hingham, he is listed on both at age 35 and 45, as a “Toy Manufacturer;” and in the 1865 listing, he is shown as living alone. An interesting observation from the 1855 and 1865 census is that Samuel Hersey was the only person in the town of Hingham listed as a “Toy Manufacturer.” All the other known toy craftsmen on those particular lists were indicated as having different occupations other than the toy making field concluding that the others were either making toys on a part-time basis or had not began, as of those dates, producing toys. Several different labels, but all very similar, with Samuel Hersey’s name have been found. One is pictured here, in Figure 2 with “Hersey Street” imprinted and another example discussed later in this article which has the

additional notation of “ Wholesale and Retail, Toy Ware and Box Manufacturer” but no street address. Some labels just have a different decorative border, but with the same written information. An exceptional Samuel Hersey labeled bedroom suite made from light colored, unvarnished wood with superbly smooth ﬁnish is pictured in Figure 1 accompanied by a 7” early all-bisque German doll and some early accessories. One of the Samuel Hersey paper labels afﬁxed to the pieces is pictured in Figure 2. The master bed, shown separately in Figure 3, has a splendidly carved footboard and headboard anchored by prominent posts. Removable slats hold in place the mattress and linens. The bed is 10” long by 7” wide and 6-1/2” high. The original, custom-made bedding is comprised of a mattress covered by a sheet over which is a thin light wool blanket and a second sheet trimmed with hand-made tatting. The spread is custom made to the size of the bed cut in a manner to hang below the footboard and for the top portion to wrap around a long pillow. All the bedding is hand made with extremely tiny stitches and the spread is outlined on the edges with the same hand-made tatting as is utilized to decorate the sheet. The handwork Figure 3. Close-up of Samuel Hersey bed with original linens from bedroom ensemble with German all-bisque doll (Armitstead Collection).

Figure 4. Close-up of Samuel Hersey wash stand and dresser from the bedroom ensemble with German all-bisque doll (Armitstead Collection).

Figure 5. Two miniature Samuel Hersey chairs (Armitstead Collection).

Debris at the Stone Bridge as men work from above to clear it away. The bridge is still standing in Johnstown today. The Story of Johnstown by McLaurin

Left at the Altar? A Story of the Johnstown Flood by Kate Reed

ucked away in Western Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountains, just east of Pittsburgh, lies the city of Johnstown. In the 1880s wealthy Pittsburghers, hoping to escape the city’s hot summers would retreat to the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, an exclusive private retreat fourteen miles upriver from Johnstown. The club counted Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick among its esteemed members. Most attractive was the large lake offering a variety of recreational activities and around which impressive summer cottages were built. Supporting this delightful setting was an earthen dam. Several days of heavy rains left water in the downtown streets of Johnstown causing people to move their possessions to upper ﬂoors in their homes. Residents of the town suffered through frequent ﬂoods during spring thaws in the 1800s and Friday, May

31, 1889 was no exception. This time it would be a catastrophe. At about 4:00 P.M. on this last day of May, the torrential rains compromised the dam and it broke. Twenty million tons of water was released at speeds up to 40 miles per hour sending waves 35 to 40 feet high crashing down into the valley. The initial wave of water rushing into Johnstown was over in 10 minutes. After it slammed into the hillside, it was forced back through town again. The Stone Bridge snagged a tremendous amount of debris which caught fire and caused more devastation, filling the air with black smoke and a horrible stench. When it was all over 2,209 people would be dead including 99 complete families and 396 children. 750 bodies were never identified. Some were found as far away as Cincinnati, Ohio as late as 1911. One of my relatives was from Johnstown

Jack, a 29” wax over dressed as a groom. Cloth body, leather hands stitched to indicate ﬁngers.

The front and reverse of the calling card pinned on Jack when I bought him.

A doll representing the minister is in a private collection now. He also had a calling card pinned to his suit, the handwriting being identical to Jack’s card.