A Breath of Spring

With Austin just emerging from a week of unusual ice, snow, and freezing weather, we all need a reminder that spring really is coming. This beautiful Margaret O'Brien doll from member Michele Thelen, so pretty in pink, is dressed for a bright spring day. The doll, which Michele purchased at her first United Federation of Doll Clubs convention in 2019, is by Madame Alexander. The composition doll is 20 inches tall and all original, except for her shoes. Alexander introduced the composition O'Brien dolls beginning in 1946, but in 1948, in an attempt to create a more durable doll, produced a version entirely out of hard plastic. This new medium proved so successful that by the mid-1950s hard plastic dolls had replaced composition.

Born Angela Maxine O'Brien in 1937, O'Brien began her career as a famed child actress at the age of four in the 1941 movie "Babes on Broadway." It was the following year that her role in "Journey for Margaret" won her fame and acclaim. Her name was changed to reflect the success of the movie. She would appear in a number of films, including "Jayne Eyre," "The Canterville Ghost," and "Meet Me in St Louis." In 1944, O'Brien was honored with the Juvenile Academy Award. O'Brien continued

to work in television and film throughout her life.

Happy Birthday to Susan B. Anthony!

Today is the birthday of Susan B. Anthony (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906), an American social reformer who fought for the abolition of slavery, universal suffrage, and women's rights. In 1878, Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leader in the women's rights movement, supported the introduction of legislation to the United States Congress amending the United States Constitution to grant women the right to vote. The amendment, later known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, was ratified in 1920 as the Nineteenth Amendment.

The Nineteenth Amendment prohibits the states and the federal government from denying United States citizens the right to vote the basis of sex. In commemoration of Anthony's birthday and the long battle for women's suffrage, this Gebruder Heubach lady is dressed in the role of an Edwardian suffragette preparing to march for the right of women to vote. Wearing her original mohair wig, this 12.25 inch high lady doll has a bisque shoulder head on a cloth body with composition lower limbs. Her antique silk outfit, with its hobble skirt, would have been the height of fashion in the early 1910s.

 

First Love. . . .

"Will you be my valentine?" this young lad sweetly asks as he offers a rose to a shy little girl. The boy is a mold called “American schoolboy” and is attributed to J.D. Kestner. The object of his innocent affection is a Kammer and Reinhardt 101, also know as “Marie.” Both dolls are on ball-jointed bodies and are 9 inches tall. Marie’s tiny doll is by Simon and Halbig. 

新年快乐 (Happy New Year!)

As noted previously on this blog, the Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, falls on Friday, February 12th. This 18-inch tall Simon and Halbig character doll by Simon and Halbig is mold 1329 and doll wears an antique costume typical of an upper class Manchu woman of the Chinese Qing dynasty. The bisque head has a soft olive complexion and brown almond-shaped sleep eyes. Her ball-jointed composition body matches her head's skin tone. This mold can be found dressed various Asian costumes, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Burmese. The original outfits are often detailed and of silk and other fine materials. Many of these dolls were sent to France, where they were dressed in authentic costumes for exhibit. The Manchu, a Chinese ethnic minority originating from Manchuria, established the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China from 1644 through 1911. They retained elements of their original culture, including the style of dress. Her long loose gown is called a qipao. The elaborate embroidery would indicate a woman's rank and status. The headdress is a replacement, but is made of antique materials.

Manchu women did not bind their feet. Upper class women wore tall platform shoes with a base shaped like a flower pot or horse’s hoof, so the shoes are sometimes referred to as “pot-bottom” or “horse-hoofed."  The upper part of the shoe was adorned with embroidery and, for the wealthy or noble ranks, jade and other precious stones. The shoes were considered to gave Manchu women a tall and regal stance.

 

Another Adorable Dollikin

 Another example of the Uneeda Dollikin, belonging to member Michele Thelen. She wears a sweetly demure and romantic dress for her Valentine's Day date. Dollikins came with a variety of hairstyles and makeup, from the previous doll's dark hair with a pronounced widow's peak and dramatic makeup to softer styles and subtler facial coloring, as in this example. This doll's lovely face resembles that of Madame Alexander's popular Cissy.    

Twofer. . .

. . . as this lovely lady wears an outfit suitable for two approaching holidays. Her stylish ensemble would be certainly be appropriate for celebrating the Chinese New Year or for that special Valentine's Day date. The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, begins with the new moon that appears between January 21st and February 20th. This year it falls on Friday, February 12th.  Each year of the 12-year cycle is named after an animal in the Chinese zodiac. This year is the Year of the Ox.

This beautiful belle is a Dollikin. The popularity of Madame Alexander's Cissy doll inspired other doll companies to create their own fashion ladies. Introduced in 1958 by the Uneeda Doll Company, Dollikin was advertised as the “Original Doll Mannikin.”  Her 16 joints (neck, shoulders, upper arms, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles) allow her to assume a wide variety of poses. This large version, similar is size to Cissy, was produced until 1962. Her richly-colored Asian-inspired outfit is original. According to this page from a Uneeda trade catalog, she is "Mandarin Dollikin" The page carries the handwritten date "1963," suggesting that Miss Mandarin may have been among the last of the larger Dollikin line. 

 

Pajama Party!

Preparing for Valentine's Day, Jan Irsfeld's collection of sophisticated Cissy dolls by Madame Alexander model the latest in lacy lingerie and sheer sleepwear.  Jan says that the world of nightgowns, teddies, peignoir sets, and lingerie will never be the same. These lovely ladies will certainly keep Cupid busy!