Antique DOLL Collector June 2015 Vol. 18, No. 5
The Complete Guide to Antique, Vintage and Collectible Dolls
June 2015 Volume 18, Number 5
About The Cover
Alf Ertsland and his partner Svein Hellberg share a collection of round-face Steiner bebes that captured their hearts. Discovering each doll in turn as they traveled to fairs, shows and auctions over the years, we see the subtle distinctions in each clearly evidenced in these exquisite photographs. Photo by Alf Ertsland
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OUR LITTLE FAMILY OF STEINER DOLLS by Alf Ertsland This engaging collector from Norway shares a precious collection of Steiner bébés.
14 Auction Gallery 52 Mystery 58 Emporium
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by Ginger Strain 6
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by François Theimer Expert and Historian on French doll and toys.
An haute couture antique gown has many of the accoutrements contemporary French brides would have enjoyed.
60 Calendar 63 Classified
45 UNBREAKABLE AND UNMISTAKABLE: THE INCASSABLE LITTLE CHILDREN OF FRANCE
A BARROIS BRIDE: A FASHION DOLL’S TROUSSEAU “TOUT MON COEUR POUR TOUT MA VIE.” by Laurie Baker
AN EXTRAORDINARY ONE-OF-A-KIND HISTORICAL DOLL IN THE IMAGE OF MARGUERITE DE VALOIS
SEASONS: A VINTAGE WORK OF ART IN FELT by Nancy Lazenby A 21-foot banner, depicting children playing various games as the seasons progress, was undoubtedly influenced by the Lenci dolls of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
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DOLLS IN PRINT
by Melanie Luther Pictorial broadsheets, also known as epinal prints, narrated a colorful story for French children of the 1800’s.
(212) 787-7279 P.O. Box 1410 NY, NY 10023
Quality Antique Dolls by Mail Return Privilege • Layaways Member UFDC & NADDA
matrixbymail@gmail.com
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1) 20” Princess Elizabeth Jumeau Rare and gorgeous French character ‘Name Doll‘, fully signed, with unusual PW eyes and Closed Mouth, original Jumeau body and her mint vintage coronation gown and so much personality! $2250
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2) 22” Rare JDK 220 Toddler more rare than Hilda and on its original chunky Kestner Fully Jointed Toddler body, with mint plaster pate. A tender soul in tip to toe luxurious antique clothes and kid leather boots. What a magnificent prize to crown the collection! $3900
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3) 17” Stunning Gesland Poupée never have we seen a Gesland more graceful and as captivating as is this thoroughly pristine model immaculate in her beautifully fitted antique ivory silk gown with original gauze underlayers and heeled leather boots. Perfect posture, early mint bisque limbs and facial articulation like none other completes this picture perfect vision! $4250
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4) 13” ‘Portrait‘ Style Bebe - how unique is this very early closed mouth mysterious beauty with her PW eyes, swivel neck w/ original coil, as well as orig silk taffeta dress with matching chapeau, undies, antique wig and shoes! $1600
5) 12.5 Henri Delcroix Lady - a rare, vibrant French Lady w. PW eyes, Closed Mouth in a smile, and brilliant artwork on her original, slender stiff wrist French body in elegant Edwardian style vintage attire ready to have lunch with your Gibson! $1495 7
6) 9” Miniature Kestner 169 - a dulcet creature in every way, big dreamy blue eyes, pouty blush, Closed Mouth, choice quality, original wig, precious body and clothes! In a scarce size too! What a delectable piece of cake. $1500
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7) All Original SFBJ Bebe - a scarce delight in her Factory Silk Couture, over fully jointed body, with lovely long platinum curls and quality bisque - rarely so important she is a cabinet plus! $1200
8) Precious 14” Cabinet ‘Mein Liebling’ - How did they contain all the perfection of the legendary K*R 117 A to such a diminutive size! From her luscious mint factory ringlet wig to her original shoes she’s a jewel maker’s delight with chiseled features and radiant blue eyes! $2500 8
Our Little Family of Steiner Dolls by Alf Ertsland
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POISSY, 13-3/4” Bisque hip doll. 1870’s. She has a very soft, endearing look and reminds us of the “original” Poissy we once saw. She even has the same kind of curled, auburn colored wig. Her eyes are quite narrow with heavy mauve shading above. Her little mouth is symmetric, and does not reveal much of her teeth. She does not have a bald head like Liisa with the closed mouth, but has a small opening at the back of her head covered by a cork. Her head swivels on a shoulder plate. Like all bisque hip Steiner dolls she has beautiful detailed hands and feet. The eyebrows are finely painted and under washed. Eyes are outlined in black. 18
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ur curiosity and interest in Steiner dolls started a long time ago. Compared to the classical French bébés, they looked a bit different, not so ambitious or extravagant, but a little bit primitive and rather stereotypical. They were created in a time full of changes and creativity and were more related to toys in an amusing way. It was this primitive aspect we were attracted to. Our interest began with the mechanical dolls and developed into the early, round-faced, unmarked dolls from the late 1860’s through the 1870’s and the first marked dolls in the early 80’s. They all seem like happy dolls, some with a hint of a smile on their faces. In this article I have focused on the round face dolls, to show their beauty and expressions, the individual and special look of each doll and compared with each other. In 1988 we enjoyed a lengthy stay in France and really got acquainted with Paris. We visited the flea markets, the brocantes, the auction houses, the museums and galleries in and around Paris. This was also the start of our annual trips to Paris and Chartres to attend doll auctions. Doll auctions at Chartres, a town located 50 miles southwest of Paris and known for its Gothic Cathedral, is an experience LIISA , 12,5” Bisque hip of a lifetime. Auctions take doll. Early 1870’s. She has a different place in an old church with mouth painting than a special atmosphere. You Poissy, and also has a walk among dolls and vague, slanted mouth. She is not clearly doll’s accessories, music smiling, but has a more automata and more, while stereotypical look like some of the fashion dolls the sunbeams are trickling from the period. Her in through the tall, narrow most prominent feature gothic windows. Suddenly is her very almondshaped, bright, cobalt an automaton starts to blue eyes, a feature of play, filling the room with an early date. Eyes are deafening sounds. You feel outlined in black, and her ears are more vaguely like you have stepped back indicated than later dolls. in time, the centuries-old Head and shoulder is in one piece. Even though antiquity of the church the bisque parts of Liisa adding to the ambience. and Poissy are the same The auctioneer is very size, Poissy has a longer mid section, making Liisa kind, welcoming you to more child-like.
NANA, 10”, incised 3/0, on an early composition Steiner body, late 1870’s. She is on an early articulated six ball body. Her dress and hat, with a label, is a product of Au Nain Bleu, Paris. The tiny mouth is painted almost more detailed than she can bear. The bisque is very white with soft roses on her cheeks. She also has a very modest blushing above her eyes. Her eyes are intensive blue, and she is indeed a pert little girl. Perhaps not “yet” smiling, but not far from it. Her tiny ears are pierced, like the Sie A dolls.
CANUTTA , 18-1/2”, incised “3”, on an early composition Steiner body. Late 1870’s. She has an almost ecstatic look with her intense, staring, blue eyes. Her very detailed open mouth, and the pronounced teeth, gives her a happy, exalted look. Body is the typical body used for unmarked dolls around 1880, and similar to the body of Tilla. She seems to have her original sheep skin wig.
the auction. You can walk around looking at each object over and over, saying hello to other collectors and dealers, while listening to the different languages being spoken. When the auction starts, it is warm and vibrant event. It is indeed a French live performance, with numerous assistants running around bringing items for the auction. It is a performance not to be missed, even if you end up buying nothing. Looking back at this period, it is almost impossible to distinguish different events from each other, but some events stand out more clearly than others. As we all know, the experiences from auctions and doll shows may vary from time to time. We did not always get what we wanted in the first place, but the memories from these trips still give us much joy. During our travels from time to time we noticed a few early Steiner dolls, but our first real meeting was actually in the “Musee du Jouet”, located in Ville de Poissy, a small town outside Paris. Here we found a very charming Motschmann, or bisque hip, Steiner doll. This was an open mouth version with a swivel neck and a typical curly, early, auburn Steiner wig. She was displayed with other French and German dolls, and we immediately felt a strong attraction to this type of doll. In between we went to London, another El Dorado for doll lovers at that time. It was actually at a fair in London that we bought our first Steiner. It was a large gigoteur, and is still one of the more beautiful kicking crying dolls we have ever seen. Our new doll was named Kiki, and very soon we realized that we were on the right track. ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
Canutta and Nana
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An Extraordinary One-of-a-Kind Historical by François Theimer
Expert and Historian on French doll and toys.
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ometimes an “artifact” from an earlier period can remind us of our rich cultural history. France has witnessed many events…wars, invasions and sometimes internal struggles such as that seen during the 16th century with strife between Catholics (the Catholic religion was at this time the state religion) and the new Reformist religion, coming from Germany, which contested the Catholic religion. France was divided at this time into two parts: the south including what is now part of Spain and known as Navarre, ruled by the Reformists and the North, being primarily Catholic. The famous Regency Queen of France, Catherine de Medici and her son Henri III, wanted peace between 32
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the Catholics and Reformists, but found it very difficult to accomplish as another conflict existed between the monarchy and the nobility, the latter who wanted to share power. These frictions caused insecurity in the entire kingdom. In 1672 Queen Catherine de Medici, desiring peace in the French kingdom, proposed the marriage of the young “reformist” King of Navarre (who later became Henry IV) with her Catholic daughter Marguerite de Valois. On this occasion the young King became Catholic (a few years later he would change his mind and only became a real Catholic only after the death of King Henry III). As king of France and Navarre he became one of our most beloved kings of France and the first of the Bourbon line.
Doll in the Image of Marguerite de Valois
Marguerite was a renowned beauty admired in all the French and foreign courts and also one of the most educated women of the time, speaking several languages. She had a large sense of diplomacy and was involved in many political aspects with her mother and brothers. She became the promoter of the new French language and one of the first of the “Precieuse”, a group of French aristocratic women who transformed the French language into one which was admired all over the world. Later, as she could not provide a successor to her husband, the couple had to divorce so that Henry could marry another who might produce children. And so her husband married her cousin, Marie de Medici. This union produced children and so the new royal Bourbon
line of French Kings was saved (Henry was succeeded by Louis XIII, the famous Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Louis XIX). During the “war” between the monarchy and nobility, Marguerite de Valois was exiled to Auvergne for twenty years. When she returned to Paris one of her more important projects was to protect the Bourbon line and the son of Henry IV (the new young King Louis XIII) from attacks by the nobility who tried to assume more and more power. This is a very short synopsis of this incredible Queen of France, respected by the people. In 1844 French writer Alexandre Dumas authored the romance “La Reine Margot” (the Queen Margot) using her family nickname. Unfortunately the book gave a false and hurtful image ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR
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