Happy Thanksgiving from the Austin Doll Collectors Society!

Thanks to member Sylvia McDonald for this festive Thanksgiving display. The Native American man in the beautifully beaded leather clothing represents a Plains Indian and dates from the 1930s. His clothing is beaded on the back as well and trimmed in real fur. He is hand carved of wood. The woman next to him dressed in bright velvet is Navajo. She also wears a concho belt and detailed moccasins. Sylvia says that this doll is very special because her brothers bought her for Sylvia in the summer of 1954 or 1955 when they visited Taos, New Mexico. The smaller female doll in front of her is Apache and purchased in 1972. She carries a papoose on her back. The two singing “pilgrims” are Byers Choice pieces Sylvia bought in Lexington-Concord, Massachusetts in 2001. She says that the final figurine of a

pilgrim mother is "nothing special," but she does complete the scene!

 

Hey, Good Lookin' . . .

Whatcha got cookin'? 

How's about cookin' somethin' up with me? 

Hey, sweet baby 

Don't you think maybe

We could find us a brand new recipe?

Hank Williams, 1951

This Cissy by Madame Alexander is certainly cooking up some trouble for Halloween. She wears an elegant coat and gown made by member and talented seamstress Jan Irsfeld. Jan says that this hauntingly beautiful outfit was inspired by an ensemble from Paris luxury fashion house Balenciaga, originally founded in founded in 1917 by designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in Spain. Cissy certainly seems to have her rival in a stew.

Fresh From the Pumpkin Patch. . .

Halloween is just a few days away, so it is time to carve a festive Jack-o'-lantern. This posse of precious peddlers is prepared to provide you the necessary pumpkins. They belong to member Sylvia McDonald and were all designed by German doll artist Annette Himstedt in 2004. Sylvia explains that the boy, Anton, has on his cat hat that he may use for Halloween, but that the girls are still deciding what to wear! (Isn’t that just like girls?) Miki is the long-tressed blond dressed in blue and Liri is the big sister in the family. The littlest sibling is Lottchen. Sylvia says that the three larger dolls were made for collectors, but Lottchen was designed as a play doll.

 

Fire Burn and Caldron Bubble

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

William Shakespeare, Macbeth

This wicked witch, her grinning green-eyed black cat, and her rapacious raven are no doubt boiling up a big batch of toil and trouble for Halloween. The 9-inch tall witch is Hexe from the German company of Simon and Halbig. Her fiendish feline familiar is by Gebruder Heubach and their foul feathered friend was made by Hertwig and Company. They are all from the collection of member Sharon Weintraub.

Devilishly Bewitching

This darling devil and wonderful witch are ready for an evening of trick or treating. The pair belong to member Bette Birdsong. The 26-inch tall witch is a Jumeau and the 24-inch tall devil is by Simon and Halbig. Bette says that her mother made the devil costume and that she rigged the witch one out of an antique doll skirt. The Jumeau was Bette's first and she admits that she refused to leave a woman’s kitchen until she sold her the Jumeau! The adorable devil was purchased in Galveston and someone had made her earrings by threading tiny seashells on string.

 

Trick or Treat, Me Matey

With Halloween just around the corner, it is time to start searching the closets for costumes. Pirates are always a favorite disguise for dress up. This sweet swashbuckler is Riley, "The Tiny Pirate," who belongs to member Jenell Howell. By doll artist Helen Kish, this 7.5-inch tall petite privateer is a limited edition made for the Kish Luncheon at the 2011 United Federation of Dolls Clubs cConvention in Anaheim, California. All she needs is a Trick or Treat bag for her Halloween booty. 

These stunning Madame Alexander Cissy dolls belong to member Jan Irsfeld. In the center is Captivating Swashbuckler, a 2007 limited edition. The two lovely ladies being escorted by the buxom buccaneer were dressed by the talented Jan. She explained that she loved Alexander's version of Morgan LeFay, but did not care for the colors, so she created her own beautiful versions.

 

Going (Pennsylvania) Dutch

Member Gail Simpler shared an exciting serendipity. Gail explained that a couple of years after she moved to Boerne, Texas, she stopped at a yard sale. She spotted a hatbox she wanted to purchase. Inside were a miniature rocking chair, matching bed, and a doll dressed in traditional Amish clothing.  Gail bought them as well because she thought they were interesting. She had just received Fall 2020 edition of Doll News, the publication of the United Federation of Doll Clubs, and discovered an article by Kari Gluski on Pennsylvania Dutch doll furniture produced in the 1950s and 60s. Gail had no idea there was an extensive line of furniture made and now will be on the lookout for more pieces. 

 

Labor Day Dolls; Buy Braw Troggin

Buy braw troggin 

Frae the banks o' Dee!

Wha wants troggin 

Let him come to me!

(Buy fine wares

From the banks of Dee!

Who wants fine ware

Let him come to me!)

Robert Burns, 1795

Although street venders hawking their wares were long familiar to the streets of London, the rebuilding following the Great Fire displaced many small shop owners and stall holders. Some turned to peddling and street vending. By the Victorian period, peddlers and street vendors carrying an array of inexpensive goods and notions in a basket or displayed on a tray in the city streets were a common sight. Many labored long hours in every sort of weather trying to earn enough to keep themselves and their families fed and sheltered. It became a popular pastime for well-off ladies and girls to dress a doll as a peddler or "notion nanny" and fill her little basket or tray with all sorts of tiny treasures, some homemade and others purchased. The dolls were made from a wide variety of materials, such as wood, papier mache, china, or bisque. When completed, the notion nanny was typically displayed in a glass dome.

This pretty peddler stands in a stall offering a wide variety of goods.  Her dome is handblown.

Removing the dome allows a closer look at the doll and her wee wares.  The doll has a papier mache shoulder head and cloth body.  All her offerings are antique.

She offers several tiny toys for sale, including these delightful diminutive dolls.  

Labor Day Dolls; Sailor Bold

Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be,

Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea,

While up aloft, in storm or gale, from me his absence mourn,

And firmly pray, arrive the day, he home will safe return.

. . . . 

My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,

There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold.

Real Sailor-Songs by John Ashton, 1891

Labor Day recognizes the contributions of workers to the achievements and prosperity of the United States, both on land and at sea. This handsome sailor lad has appeared before on this blog, but in the dress of his German homeland. By doll artisan Käthe Kruse, he belongs to Member Sylvia McDonald.  This doll was a childhood toy of Sylvia's great-aunt, who was born in 1902 and may have received the doll around 1912. He has a wardrobe of clothes carefully crafted by his original owner, including this dashing sailor suit. Certainly any doll collector would love this sailor bold!

Labor Day Dolls

To celebrate this coming Labor Day, over the next week this blog will feature dolls in the holiday's theme. These scintillating Cissy dolls from Madame Alexander represent a labor of love by Member Jan Irsfeld. A talented fashion designer and seamstress, Jan says that she loves the vintage Madame Alexander "torso gown" so much that she has made 15 variations.  Here her bevy of beautiful Cissy fashion ladies, each modeling a different (but equally lovely) version of the elegant gown, gracefully descend the stairs on their way to the ball. 

International Travelers

Member Sylvia McDonald, who has appeared a number of times on this blog sharing some of her extensive collection of international dolls, has made the difficult decision that many of us collectors will have to face someday--what to do with our beloved doll collections that have given us so many hours of joy?  She has made the generous decision to spread that joy by donating many of her dolls.  As reported earlier on this blog, Sylvia donated a set of beautiful hand-crafted Polish dolls  to the Polish Heritage Center.  What follows is her story telling how 102 of her international dolls traveled to Birmingham, Alabama:

How do you go from having 4 little plastic dolls that you and your mom dressed as international “foreign” dolls to a collection of about 150 international dolls? (If the truth be told, there would have been more if I hadn’t used restraint!)

As a young girl and on into high school, I was a part of the Girls’ Auxiliary (G.A.), an organization under the Woman’s Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist Convention (WMC).  Scripture memorization and missions around the world are the focuses of G.A.

One activity I chose to do was dress four dolls in international costumes. I’m sure my mom did more of the “dressing” than I did, but they are wonderful to have! Along with these dolls and learning about the lives of missionaries around the world, I grew to love international dolls and the people of these countries.

Through the years my family and I have had friends who have visited countries around the world, and I would ask them to bring me dolls or they would just bring me dolls from those trips. A college student on a summer mission trip brought me back five dolls from Russian areas with the $25 I had sent with him! 

Being a part of the Austin Doll Collector’s Society I have had opportunity to acquire many international dolls that are unique. It has been so nice to learn about the history and culture of various areas because of these dolls. I’ve displayed different groups of the dolls once or twice a year at events at our church where missions and international countries are involved. I’ve had Girl Scouts and other groups into my home to see the dolls over the years. Everyone has loved them.

These international dolls are just a part of my overall collection of dolls, and as I have gotten older I realize that my kids can’t manage all of the dolls. Thus the search of what to do with the dolls began. I was hoping to keep them in Texas at a university or a seminary, but had no luck there. I thought of WMU and G.A.! They began this craziness, so why not check with them? My son’s former Baylor roommate had some connections, and voila, the WMU wanted the dolls . . . and they wanted as many as I would send! 

It took me over a month to go through the dolls and decide which ones to send because there were some of the “first” ones and some from family, etc., that I wanted to keep. I also pulled out ones that had been given to me to send to family members of those who had given the doll to me. One of my first international dolls was a geisha from a young bride and groom serving in the military in Japan in whose wedding I was a candle lighter! They are no longer living, but I sent the doll to their daughter. An Australian swagman went back to the one who sent him to me. Peruvian dolls went to family members who had married Peruvians, etc.

This has been a labor of love, and yes, it has been hard to part with them. I have so many memories connected to the dolls and the people who gave them to me. I am thankful that the dolls will be displayed from time to time in the National WMU Building in Birmingham, Alabama, and when not displayed, they will be stored as a group so that they will be well cared for.

Now you may ask, do my shelves look empty? Absolutely not, unfortunately, but less crowded! Do I miss them? Yes, but hopefully the dolls will continue to bring joy to others who realize we are one big happy family of peoples the world over.

Boudoir Belles

This lovely lady belongs to member Michele Thelen.  She is known as a boudoir doll. This gorgeous gal has a composition head and was probably made in the United States.  Her colorful ruffled gown is original and her composition complexion is in excellent condition.

These elongated long-limbed lasses were not made as children's playthings, but for fashionable women to display in their bedrooms and salons, hence the name "boudoir dolls." The boudoir doll was grew out of the art doll movement of the 1910s. Artist Stefania Lazarka moved from her native Poland to Paris prior to WWI. The coming of the war stranded many Polish citizens in France, leaving some without any source of income. Lazarka created the Ateliers Artistiques Polonais, hiring Polish artists to handcraft artistic cloth dolls, with the proceeds going to support their community.  Fashion designer Paul Poiret saw some of the dolls on exhibit and soon his fashion salon was producing similar dolls for his atelier.  He had his models stroll down the runways with with cloth dolls dressed in miniatures of his most recent creations draped over their arms.  Soon boudoir dolls became the "must have" fashion accessory of the season.  Not only did they adorn boudoirs and sofas, women carried them around as mascots and upper-scale night clubs even offered them to their female patrons.  Some dolls doubled as lingerie bags or purses, but the vast majority were purely decorative.  Soon boudoir dolls were being produced not only in Paris, but throughout Europe and the United States.  The dolls were produced in a wide variety of materials, with heads of silk, felt, muslin, or composition.  They varied in size, some a petite 14 inches or so while others stretched to 30 inches or more. Throughout the 1920s and 30s the dolls' dresses became more creative, not reflecting fashion as much as some designer's imagination.  The dolls ranged from expensive artistic creations to inexpensive gaudily-gowned ladies offered as carnival prizes.   By the 1940s the fad had faded.

This example is a petite 14-inches long and has a papier mache head that is stamped Made in Germany. She wears her original clown costume and is "puffing" a little wooden cigarette.  These dolls with a cigarette dangling insouciantly from their rouged lips are known to collectors as "smokers" and are highly sought after.  Sadly, so sought after that some less-honest dealers are cutting holes in the face of more ordinary boudoir ladies and adding often oversized cigarettes.

A close up of her face shows her very daring and detailed eye makeup.

This serene señorita is the creation of Lenci, founded by Elena König in Italy and renown for its artistic felt dolls.  She is 27 inches tall and lavishly dressed in the traditional Charro folk costume of Salamanca, Spain.  She is all original except for her necklaces, rosary and slippers.

The doll as pictured in the 1930 Lenci catalogue.

This boudoir doll head from the German firm of Hermann Steiner is very unusual, not only because she is made from bisque, but also because she is a "living eye" doll.  “Living eyes” were advertised by Steiner in 1926, and consisted of a loose glass disk iris under clear dome; when the doll is tilted, the iris slides back and forth. Most living eye dolls by Steiner  are child-like googlies.  She is incised on back of the neck with an intertwined H and S over Germany 395 0.

Polish Pride

Member Sylvia McDonald has appeared a number of times on this blog, sharing some of her extensive collection of international dolls. Recently, Sylvia generously donated this set of beautiful Polish historical dolls to the Polish Heritage Center in Panna Maria, Texas, the site of the first Polish settlement in the United States, dating from 1854. The dolls themselves were handmade in Krakow, Poland.

This doll represents Jan III Sobieski. He was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.

This is his queen consort Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien, known in Poland as Maria Kazimiera d’Arquien. She was the daughter of a French nobleman and had come to Poland as a child to serve as a lady in waiting to Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga. The royal couple were deeply in love and are famous for their intimate letters. The king referred to her by the pet name "Marysieńka".

This doll portrays King Stanislaw August Poniatowski dressed for his coronation, which took place on November 25, 1764. He introduced reforms that would have converted the throne into a constitutional monarchy, but was forced to abdicate by Russia, Prussia, and Austria before the reforms could be implemented. The last king of Poland, he died in 1798.

This figure represents King Stephen Báthory, who became king of Poland in 1576.

This lovely lady is Queen Barbara Radziwill, who was considered one of the most beautiful women in Europe.  She married King Sigismund II August in 1547, but there was substantial opposition to the marriage by many in the Polish nobility and she was not crowned queen until December 7, 1550.  She died on May 8, 1551.

Beautiful Baby

You must have been a beautiful baby

You must have been a wonderful child

When you were only startin'

To go to kindergarten

I'll bet you drove the little boys wild

Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, 1938

Continuing our virtual doll meeting, member Jenell Howell shares this delightful diminutive doll. Dating from the early 1950s, this curly haired cutie is part of the Vogue Ginny family known as the Crib Crowd.  Jennie Adler Graves opened the Ye Olde Vogue Doll Shoppe in 1922. An exceptional seamstress and designer, she began by creating outfits and trousseaus for imported German dolls. In 1948, Graves introduced an 8-inch hard plastic doll. The doll was so popular that Graves designed her own version, christening her creation "Ginny," after her own daughter, Virginia.  Ginny and her extensive wardrobe were a huge hit and inspired a new generation of 8-inch tall play dolls.  The Crib Crowd dolls have the standard Ginny head, but curved baby legs.

Her bright brown eyes have painted lashes and she has a caracul wig

Devotion

The Florence Nightengale pledge is a statement of the ethics and principles of the nursing profession and a version is often recited at nursing graduation ceremonies. In the final line of the original 1893 oath, the nurse pledges that, "I shall be loyal to my work and devoted towards the welfare of those committed to my care." In these days of the coronavirus pandemic, nurses all over the world have proven their extraordinary loyalty and devotion to the high tenets of their calling. As part of our club's virtual doll meeting, this blog hopes in some small way to acknowledge and honor the the nurses on the front lines of the epidemic, working long hours, often scrounging for necessary supplies, and even putting themselves at risk in order to care for their patients.

This lovely lady of the lamp belongs to member Bette Birdsong. She is Gene Marshall, 15.5-inch tall fashion doll introduced by Mel Odom in 1995.  Gene's backstory is that she is an actress during Hollywood's golden age, and she comes with meticulously-created outfits, costumes, and accessories based on fashions from the 1930s through the 1950s.  This Gene doll is wearing a nursing outfit based on a picture featured in 1943 Coca-Cola calendar.

This trio of nurse dolls is from the collection of member Sylvia McDonald. The little girl in red is "Doll Hospital Nurse" by the famed company of Madame Alexander. The 8-inch tall doll was introduced in 2002 and holds her own tiny patient. The center nurse doll is from Poland and is made from wood. The final doll is "Gift of Life" Ginny introduced in 2001 by Vogue Dolls. Vogue made a donation for each doll purchased to the Gift of Life, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to bring children to the United States for heart surgery

Another Alexander doll, this "Nurse Wendy" belongs to member Ann Meier. In 1953, the company introduced an 8-inch tall hard plastic little girl doll called Wendy-Ann, named after Madame Alexander's granddaughter. This doll was renamed Wendy in 1954 and became a beloved staple of the Madame Alexander line.

If the Shoe Fits. . . .

Continuing our virtual doll meeting, one member shared this story regarding how she acquired both this beautiful Bru and her fancy footwear.  Several years ago at a National Doll Convention, she said that she discovered that if you wish hard enough it sometimes can come true. One hour into the three-day event, she had already spent several hundred dollars on doll shoes when her roommate (knowing her weakness for doll shoes) ran over and excitedly told her about some she’d seen that our member had to buy. Although our member demurred that she already spent too much on shoes, the roommate responded with the magic word, “rosettes!"

That evening in their room, our member mused as she held the recently purchased rosette-adorned doll shoes,“You know what would look really good with these - a little Bru Brevete.” After which they both threw themselves onto the beds in hysterical laughter knowing the chances of getting a doll that pricey were slim to none. The next morning, our member headed over to a different salesroom at a satellite show and there purchased a doll that was half off due to a practically invisible crack near the wig -- a Bru Brevete!

She returned to their room and when she heard the door to the room open, she hid the doll (now clad with the perfectly fitting rosette shoes) behind her back. As soon as the roommate appeared, our member whisked the shoe-clad Bru out and exclaimed, “Look what I found!” Her roommate, a speech and language pathologist, was rendered speechless as she bounced up and down screaming! 

Gimme Shelter

With Austin under shelter-in-place because of the coronavirus, we are using our blog to hold a virtual doll meeting.  Although the shelter-in-place rule does not apply to member Michele Thelen, who is considered essential personnel, she still had found time to organize her doll displays and is sharing this picture of two of her six cabinets.

Member Sharon Weintraub has used her time sheltering in place to organize her doll room in her new home. She turned the entire front room (no doubt meant to be a formal living/dining room) into a setting where she is finally able to display all her dolls, bathing beauty collection, and ephemera in one place.