Friday, December 28, 2012
Doll Museum: Nativity Sets and St. Francis
Doll Museum: Nativity Sets and St. Francis: When I was in grade school, my parents used to drive me past the Fist Baptist Church on Xmas Even to view the Live Nativity, which intrig...
Nativity Sets and St. Francis
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Happy New Year and Photos from Cinicnatti; Long Aw...
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Happy New Year and Photos from Cinicnatti; Long Aw...: I was at an estate sale today, and ran into an old friend. She used to have a shop called De Kleine Winkle, or Little Store. Oh the dolls ...
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
An Apologia for Countess Erzebet Bathory: Merry Christmas
An Apologia for Countess Erzebet Bathory: Merry Christmas: Please read below, and note that Erzebet's legal problems began at the end of the Christmas Season as celebrated in her time. Merry Christm...
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Bad Barbies
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Bad Barbies: I first heard this on the morning news. It is interesting that the gang has chosen the name of a doll. They are also called "New York's D...
Friday, December 7, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Treasured collections; an exhibition
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Treasured collections; an exhibition: For those who can visit the Museum of Childhood: A Treasured Collection 22 December 2012 – 1 September 2013 Museums collect, cherish ...
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Goddesses and Venus Figures an Update
Here is a great site with history of these oldest of dolls or human figures: http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/venusfigures.htm titled Ancient Wisdom. Here, also, is information of the oldest ceramic figure, which makes one think. Ceramics were not used for figurines in the West until the 17th c; these were decorative objects, and many theorize the head molds, at least, for these figurines, were later used for china head dolls.
Yet, this is a 25,000 year old figure which is ceramic, clay, perhaps glazed. Pottery fragments and figures are found in The Americas and in the Orient long before the 17th c., but it wasn't unitl the 1840s or thereabouts, according to John Noble and others, that china/ceramics were used for china heads. There were the 13th-14th c. Nuremburg clay dolls with an imprint for a baptismal coin before then. Something to ponder, what happened between the 25,000 year old figure and the 15th, 17th, centuries?
"Extract - 'Archaeologically they are known from the earliest horizons of the Aurignacian and extend to the end of the Magdalenian. Venus figurines have been found in Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, the Ukraine, and as far east as Lake Baikal... In appearance most are plump little creatures with exaggerated female characteristics: large breasts, thighs and buttocks. Many are carved from mammoth tusks, but one of the best known is made of limestone and generally known as the Venus of Willendorf' (1)"
"Dolni Věstonice: (Gravettian Site)
The site is unique in that it has been a particularly abundant source of prehistoric artefacts (especially art) dating from roughly 28,000 to 24,000 B.C (4). In addition to functional tools, the artefacts found at Dolni Věstonice include carved representations of animals, men, women, personal ornaments, enigmatic engravings. The remains of two dwellings were unearthed: an oval one (15 x 9m), with five hearths, and a round one (6m in diameter) with one hearth in the centre in which clay figurines were fired.
The remains of two kilns have been uncovered and more than 700 figurines-nearly all depicting Ice Age animals (1) such as lions, rhinos, and mammoths-were fired in the oval earthen kilns of Dolni Vestonice. At nearby sites of similar age, thousands more terracotta figurines and clay pellets have been excavated. Almost all the Vestonice figurines exhibit breaks and cracks-the shattering shock of the flames that baked them. One hypothesis is that these figurines had magical significance, and were intentionally fashioned from wet clay so that they would explode when fired. The clay would have been mixed either with ash from certain plants or a different equivalent
The ceramic figurines and fragments recovered from Dolni Vestonice have been identified as representing the earliest known ceramic technology (Vandiver et al., 1989). The Moravian site “cluster” has yielded more than 10,000 ceramic fragments. The figurines recovered from Dolni Vestonice have been dated to 26,000 BP, while the world’s earliest known pottery vessels until this time appear 14,000 years later. (3)
The early origin of ceramic technology at Dolni Vestonice suggests that the local population were familiar with their surroundings and have demonstrated an ability to manipulate and control their environment. If the ceramics were being produced simply to be shattered via thermal shock, it can be concluded that the process of making the objects was more important than the final product (4).
.
The Venus of Dolní Věstonice.
The Venus of Dolní Věstonice is one of the earliest examples of fired clay sculptures in the world (c. 28,000–24,000 BC (4)). It has four holes in the head, the function of which is unknown. A Tomograph scan in 2004 found a fingerprint of a child estimated at between 7 and 15 years of age (1)
(More about Venus Figurines)"http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/venusfigures
Memoir; Writing your Life Story: Lincoln's Proclamation of Thanksgiving
Memoir; Writing your Life Story: Lincoln's Proclamation of Thanksgiving: Happy Thanksgiving from Dr. E and all her Blogs! Proclamation of Thanksgiving Washington, D.C. October 3, 1863 This is the proclamati...
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: To the Muses of my Blogs
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: To the Muses of my Blogs: Our beloved Anne Rice has her People of the Page, and I have my readres/viewers, my extended family which I call The Muses of my Blogs. For...
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Where else can you find Dr. E's Doll Museum?
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Where else can you find Dr. E's Doll Museum?: You can find us on Twitter, hashtag "Dr. E's Doll Museum." Facebook: Dr. E's Doll Museum We show up on Linked -in under my name, too. or ...
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: The East Coast and What Doll Collectors Did before...
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: The East Coast and What Doll Collectors Did before...: We would like to send our prayers and best wishes to all our friends on the East Coast hit by Sandy. Special greetings go out to Obscura, T...
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
The Early 19th Century and the History of Paper Dolls, Part I
Now it is time to return to our doll chronology by turning to the early 19th c. We last discussed a baby house beloning to Ann Sharp, Queen Anne's goddaughter, and now can talk about some early 19th c. dolls. Please forgive typos; I'm still battling early onset arthritis in my fingers and hands, and I am typing outside, but I do love the biting autumn chill, and these days won't be many for me.
England, according to Loretta Holz in The How To Book of International Dolls, takes credit for being the first to produce "true" paper dolls in about 1790. These were printed in sheets, ready to cut out, featuring the latest fashions, intended for adults. Yet, our earliest records of China and Japan show paper dolls were used in religious rituals where images were hung on trees, perhaps during The Milky Way Festival, and sometimes thrown into bodies of water with prayers. China, I think, also takes credit for inventing paper as we know it.
France had its pantins, even around the time of the French Revolution, and these were forbidden by law at one point per Mary Hillier and other authors, because there was fear expectant mothers playing with them would bear deformed children. Up to the Industrial Revolution, paper was very expensive; scrap paper was kept, bought,and sold. Early manuscripts by Cervantes, Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, and others show that the writers wrote all over the paper, then used the margins, then turned the paper over, etc. The idea of paper toys must have seen absurd to people who had their porraits painted with their libraries to show they could afford expensive books, and who collected books if they were wealthy enough, to the point of obsession One continental expert wanted a copy of every book ever printed up to that time.
In any case, these sheets of paper dolls came to the US by 1840, and with The History of Little Fanny and Henry, became children's toys.
Holtz writes that by the 1850s on, paper dolls of famous people were all the rage, and there are examples of Jenny Lind and Maria Taglioni in prized collections, like the former Mary Merrit doll museum collection. If you have the auction catalog, you will be able to see for yourself. I also recommned key word, Marilee's Paper Doll page on The Internet and books on paper dolls by R. Lane Herron, and my own Bibliography for sources.
Firms like Raphael Tuck, which was still producing greeting cards in the 1990s, began to create lithographed dolls, and commercial concerns like McLoughlin and Lion Coffee made historical dolls for the Columbian Exposition, especially of Queen Isabella and other historical figures. By the 20s, there were many homemade dolls, like those Laura Ingalls Wilder talks about, and celebrity dolls like those of Mary Pickford became popular. These were extremely popular between about 1930-1970, with Gone with the Wind Dolls [bought for a little friend who later wrote about her by Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia murder victim], and represented every major actress from Gene Tierney to Shirley Temple to Lucille Ball and The Partridge Family. Many were made by an artist named Queen Holden, and others were printed by Whitman Publishing. Three-D dolls like Barbie, Raggedy Ann, and Cheerful Tearful also had paper counterparts. Some doll had joints, or houses, other were magnetic and had wigs. The scouts had many varieties of paper dolls, and Lettie Lane, Dolly Dingle, and Betsy McCall began to appear in magazines. ODACA is an organization for paper doll artists, and The Paper Doll Quarterly and Paper Soldier were publications that featured them. Many doll magazines had paper dolls, and some like Doll Castle News still feature them.
I have many, many examples in the museum, from miniatures to nearly life-sized mannikins. Some are handmade, and even done on my computer. Virtual paper dolls exist online for doll play, and there is software for creating them.
Early 19th c. dolls were made of wax, wood, wood pulp or papier mache,and by the 1840s or so according to John Noble, china or glazed porcelain. The so called 18th c. Nuremburg china head has turned out to be an early 20th c. Art Deco type doll, as have some rare pin cushion dolls featured in the books of Eleanor St. George.
Next time, we will talk some more about these early Georgian and 19th c. dolls and feature some pictures.
England, according to Loretta Holz in The How To Book of International Dolls, takes credit for being the first to produce "true" paper dolls in about 1790. These were printed in sheets, ready to cut out, featuring the latest fashions, intended for adults. Yet, our earliest records of China and Japan show paper dolls were used in religious rituals where images were hung on trees, perhaps during The Milky Way Festival, and sometimes thrown into bodies of water with prayers. China, I think, also takes credit for inventing paper as we know it.
France had its pantins, even around the time of the French Revolution, and these were forbidden by law at one point per Mary Hillier and other authors, because there was fear expectant mothers playing with them would bear deformed children. Up to the Industrial Revolution, paper was very expensive; scrap paper was kept, bought,and sold. Early manuscripts by Cervantes, Wordsworth, Byron, Keats, and others show that the writers wrote all over the paper, then used the margins, then turned the paper over, etc. The idea of paper toys must have seen absurd to people who had their porraits painted with their libraries to show they could afford expensive books, and who collected books if they were wealthy enough, to the point of obsession One continental expert wanted a copy of every book ever printed up to that time.
In any case, these sheets of paper dolls came to the US by 1840, and with The History of Little Fanny and Henry, became children's toys.
Holtz writes that by the 1850s on, paper dolls of famous people were all the rage, and there are examples of Jenny Lind and Maria Taglioni in prized collections, like the former Mary Merrit doll museum collection. If you have the auction catalog, you will be able to see for yourself. I also recommned key word, Marilee's Paper Doll page on The Internet and books on paper dolls by R. Lane Herron, and my own Bibliography for sources.
Firms like Raphael Tuck, which was still producing greeting cards in the 1990s, began to create lithographed dolls, and commercial concerns like McLoughlin and Lion Coffee made historical dolls for the Columbian Exposition, especially of Queen Isabella and other historical figures. By the 20s, there were many homemade dolls, like those Laura Ingalls Wilder talks about, and celebrity dolls like those of Mary Pickford became popular. These were extremely popular between about 1930-1970, with Gone with the Wind Dolls [bought for a little friend who later wrote about her by Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia murder victim], and represented every major actress from Gene Tierney to Shirley Temple to Lucille Ball and The Partridge Family. Many were made by an artist named Queen Holden, and others were printed by Whitman Publishing. Three-D dolls like Barbie, Raggedy Ann, and Cheerful Tearful also had paper counterparts. Some doll had joints, or houses, other were magnetic and had wigs. The scouts had many varieties of paper dolls, and Lettie Lane, Dolly Dingle, and Betsy McCall began to appear in magazines. ODACA is an organization for paper doll artists, and The Paper Doll Quarterly and Paper Soldier were publications that featured them. Many doll magazines had paper dolls, and some like Doll Castle News still feature them.
I have many, many examples in the museum, from miniatures to nearly life-sized mannikins. Some are handmade, and even done on my computer. Virtual paper dolls exist online for doll play, and there is software for creating them.
Early 19th c. dolls were made of wax, wood, wood pulp or papier mache,and by the 1840s or so according to John Noble, china or glazed porcelain. The so called 18th c. Nuremburg china head has turned out to be an early 20th c. Art Deco type doll, as have some rare pin cushion dolls featured in the books of Eleanor St. George.
Next time, we will talk some more about these early Georgian and 19th c. dolls and feature some pictures.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Emma's Dolls
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Emma's Dolls: I missed posting on Halloween/Samhain. Life has become out of control around the museum, though we did put in a proposal for a brick and mo...
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
More Doll History by Laura Starr; Dolls and Education
I still can't type well; bad hands. So, read but forgive! These are telling and important quotes the UFDC should adopt at p. 233 from Chapter 25, The Educational Value of the Doll:
Starr refers to a pamphlet by G. Stanely Hall and A. Cassowell Ellis of Clark Unviersity, MA, published int he early 1900s asking certan data of response of childrent o objects representing a baby or child. Questions were:
1. With ragard to kind of doll, of what material it was made, etc.
2. The feeding of dolls, what kind of food and how given.
3. Medicine an disease were treated, what remedies were given adn how.
4. What constituted the death of a doll, funeral services and burial.
5. Details of psychic acts and qualities ascribed to dolls.
6. Information wanted re doll names, accesories, toilet articles, furnishings.
7. What did children think of doll families, doll discipline, hygiene, and regimen, rewards and pubnishments; how dolls are put to sleep.
8. What is the influence of dolls on children? etc.
9. Is there regularity and persistency in the care of dolls? etc. See p. 230-231 in Starr. The book is available on eBay and Amazon, and on Kindle.
illustrated by doll study? A knowledge of history, geography, folklore, tadition of peoples, their poetry, music, sentiments, dances, social religious festivals are essential to the education of broad mindd individuals'. How better can these things be taught to children than to make object lessons of the mannikins that represent
"What topic yet proposed for the education fo the young is not in part at least types and clsses of various countries?
Dolls have a social and religious significance; fundamental principles, which underlie folkllore and traditions, are embodied and set forth by dolls, which the majority of people look upon simply as children's toys."
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Haunted Dolls and Dolls of Horror
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Haunted Dolls and Dolls of Horror: Here is a link for an eBay review on buying Haunted Dolls; nope, I'm not kidding. "Tis" the season! There are dolls on eBay and on website...
Monday, October 22, 2012
more on the 18th c.
I have been studying a lot on 18th c. dolls lately; here is a useful bibliography on the Queen Anne Period:
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF QUEEN ANNE RELATED BOOKS & WEBSITES
NOTE: This page may be added to during the class. Toward the end of class a PDF will be made for printing out so you can keep a copy with all your other class notes.
BOOKS (Recommended by GW - these are ones I have seen myself. Other Books that have been recommended to me are down in MORE BOOKS):
• What Clothes Reveal by Linda Baumgarten from the Colonial Williamsburg Collection. Available from many book sources including Amazon ($40 with free shipping). Worth investing in.
• Distaff Sketch Book: a Collection of Notes and Sketches on Womens Dress in America 1774-1783 by Robert L Klinger. A thin paperback with drawings of costume details. Looks hokey, but excellent. Printed by Pioneer Press and largely sold in museum shops.
• The Heart of the Tree: Early Wooden Dolls to the 1850’s by Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art. Available to order ($49.95 + shipping) by calling the Museum (425-455-1116). A Must Have.
• Eighteenth-Century Clothing at Williamsburg by Linda Baumgarten. Available new and used.
• The Collector’s Book of Dolls’ Clothes by Dorothy, Elizabeth and Evelyn Coleman. Only available used.
• The Ultimate Doll Book by Caroline Goodfellow. Available used. Another Must Have for all dolls.
• Rare and Lovely Dolls of Two Centuries by John Darcy Noble. Available used. Not great quality photos, but he was a noteworthy collector and one should be aware of him in a study of QA dolls.
• Several small references in good books to see for dolls by Florence Theriault: An Early American Childhood: Dolls, Toys and Playthings of American Youth 1780-1880, Dolls: The Early Years 1780-1880 and Dolls, The Early Years 1780-1910. Florence’s books are worth collecting. She has so many.
• Dolls, Toys and Childhood, the Mathes Collection and Philosophy, by Ruth E Mathes and Robert C. Mathes
• Fashion; A History from the 18th to the 20th Century (The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute) Taschen. Fabulous collection of photos even if a bit stylized for my taste on the manikins. (There is also a smaller version of this same work called Fashion; Icon.)
• Masterpieces of Women’s Costume of the 18th and 19th Centuries by Aline Bernstein (Dover Book)
• Costume in Detail, 1730-1930 by Nancy Bradfield has very good diagrams of the construction of the QA’s garments. This one is highly recommended. It is all black and white sketches with noted details. Not as inspiring for lack of colored real pictures, but for costume details (its appropriate name) it is ideal and covers a broad range of years.
• Historical Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries by Avril Hart and Susan North. Fabulous pictures of all of the details. Really good for embroidery and other fabric embellishments.
•Patterns of Fashion I/Englishwomen’s Dresses & Their Construction 1660-1860 by Janet Arnold Excellent drawings only of both the outfit and pattern construction.
• 18th Century Embroidery Techniques by Gail Marsh. Just wonderful book on this period with excellent illustrations of costume ideas, embroidery designs, and other sewing tools and essentials of the times.
MORE BOOKS (recommended by others but which I have not seen):
• Traditional Needlework in Miniature by Annelle Ferguson. It is filled with the most exquisite designs for needlework from the 15th to 19th century. A full one half of the book is devoted to the 18th century.
• Rural Pennsylvania Clothing by Ellen J. Gehret, ISBN 0-87387-105-7.
• English Dolls, Effigies and Puppets by Alice K. Early, B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1955. the book has chapter on Wooden Dolls with several B&W photos of QA.
• Another book, Accessories of Dress, by Katherine Morris Lester, the Manual Arts Press, Peoria, IL, 1940 has a two page chapter on the patches worn by QA.
• English Dolls, Effigies and Puppets by Alice K. Early, B.T. Batsford Ltd, 1955.The book has a chapter on Wooden Dolls with several B&W photos of QA.
• Accessories of Dress, by Katherine Morris Lester, the Manual Arts Press, Peoria, IL, 1940 has a two page chapter on the patches worn by QA.
• Historical Fashion in Detail, the 17th and 18th centuries, by Avril Hart, Susan North, and Richard Davis, put out by the V&A
• The Official Journal of The United Federation of Doll Clubs’ 57th National Convention book, Tell Me a Story. In this book are many pictures of Queen Ann dolls. This book is available from the UFDC store for $40.00.
• The Little Corset Book: A Workbook on Period Underwear (Little Costume Workbooks)
• Corsets and Crinolines, The Cut of Women’s Clothes and The Cut of Men’s Clothes all by Norah Waugh
• Period Costume for Stage and Screen: Patterns for Women’s Dress 1500-1800. Jean Hunnisett Period Costume titles can be ordered directly from the publisher, Players Press, Inc., Empire Publishing, PO Box 1344, Studio City, CA, 91614 (playerspress@att.net) $59
OTHER REFERENCES (by GW):
• Go to the Classroom page and visit the Historical pages frequently as more will be added over time. Here you will find pictures to study and be inspired by.
• Go to internet searches for Queen Anne in the antique versions. Start with major museums as most have at least one good example. Look under the categories of Queen Anne, Wood Dolls, 18th Century Dolls, Queen Anne Dolls Museums, etc. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum (www.vam.ac.uk), www.lotzdollpages.com/lbrit.html and other places.
• Look at contemporary dollmakers’ versions of Queen Anne’s. Here are some suggestions:
www.lotzdollpages.com/hhyland.html, Peter Wolf’s Queen Annes, Roy Brindamour (hard to find his work online, but I have some pictures he gave me to show). There are also more whimsical Queen Anne makers like Chistine Crocker (www.deerfieldfarmhouse.com) and Nicol Sayre (nicolsayre.com) and Christine LeFever (www.christinelefever.com). Some other ones hard to find on the internet except at an occasional auction are the Queen Annes of David Chapman and Paul Robins (The Old Pretenders) Website at tlcdollshop.com/old_pretenders.htm. Caution - be careful of these dollmaker’s rights, look and be inspired, but do not copy in any way. It is quite another thing to copy a public domain work which, of course, any old Queen Anne would be.
• Check your local library or interlibrary loan service if your library does not own the books of interest.
• Doll Reader Magazine, May 1983 issue, has an article entitled “A Fashionable Wardrobe: 1775 to 1790” which includes lots of drawings showing costumes from the skin out--including a chemise, embroidered stockings, shoes, umbrellas, a walking stick, fans, wraps, a pocket, hairdos, hats, etc.
OTHER GENERAL QA REFERENCES (by class):
• Small upstairs textile gallery at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
OTHER EMBROIDERY/NEEDLEWORK REFERENCES - FOR IDEAS OR PATTERNS TO USE IN MINIATURE VERSION:
• Nice embroidery websites, some are free. Check out www.Suebox.com (some free samples) and www.AnntheGran.com (also free, but you must register). Not much for our use, but a few ideas to tweak and try.
• Beginner’s Guide to Miniature Embroidery
• A company in Holland that has reproduction fabric www.dutchquilts.com similar to ones that would have been used in the QA doll era.
• www.needlenthread.com/2006/06/basic-embroidery-stitches.html
• www.inaminuteago.com/stitchindex.html
• Great little book with a big title at the library today by Shay Pendray, (she did a needlework series on PBS a few years back), “Piecework Magazine Presents the Needleworker’s Companion”. It is chock full of info on threads, including tips working with silk and wool floss, metallic threads, how to choose needles, determining the twist, and on and on.
• Google Crewel Embroidery or www.needlework.co.uk
SOURCES OF MATERIALS:
• Positively (so far) the best source of good silks http://www.jrbsilks.com/ where you can order samples at a small fee to make sure of what you will get. Great stripes and brocades, a few in just-right small scale.
• Farmhouse Fabrics (http://www.farmhousefabrics.com/) has many stripes that would paint overdye and handquilt for petticoats, laces, and many other fabrics - you will want to keep this reference!
• Lewis and Sheron Textiles is another possible resource (www.lsfabrics.com/index.php)
• Many items, especially doll millinery supplies, but also lace and ribbon, etc., is www.dollsandlace.com/index.htm
• The Smocking Store (http://www.smockingstore.com/catalog.html) has vintage lace pieces to swoon over among other goodies.
• http://www.morgaine-le-fays-textiles.blogspot.com/ has antique fabrics to yearn for.
RELATED WEBSITES:
• To make a tricorn hat - www.cvesd.k12.ca.us/finney/paulvm/PR3_TricornHat.pdf
• About the QA doll John Darcy Noble had made and exquistely costumed. www.carmeldollshop.com/category/johndarcy/artist/johnartist1.html
• www.dept.kent.edu/museum/costume/bonc/3timesearch/tseighteenth/18.html ~ Click on any of the silhouettes (thought they are interesting too)and it will take you to a page of lovely dresses for study, then click on the links at the bottom of the page labeled Subject search.
• Annie Beez’s Collection of Pictures: www.picturetrail.com/gid12710941
• This site often has very good pictures of historical clothing up close.
www.vintagetextile.com/new_page_76.htm.
• www.dutchquilts.com has repro fabrics with prints appropriate to this period. The prints are too large but if you owned a piece of the fabric you could scan it at a reduced scale, then print on fabric from your inkjet printer. Caution, if you do this, it must be only for your own use and not for sale.
• www.elizabethancostume.net/ is a website with some good info about costume details that apply to the Queen Anne “era” as well.
• www.chenillesetpapillons.com has some good views of costumes, male and female, some with nice prints
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: The Peter Headed Huret
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: The Peter Headed Huret: Good Morning! I am looking for any information and photos about the whereaouts of this doll. It was once in the Maureen Popp collection, a...
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: New Information on a Beloved Book about a Doll
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: New Information on a Beloved Book about a Doll: Original Hitty Hitty (short for Mehitabel) is a tiny wooden doll found by author Rachel Field in a New York City antique shop in the wi...
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Anthropomorphic Test Dummies
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Anthropomorphic Test Dummies: This was an interesting story on the evolution of crash test dummies on CBS This Morning today. The ATDs are now so state of the art, that ...
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: We at the museum love unusual dolls best; corn dol...
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: We at the museum love unusual dolls best; corn dol...: We at the museum love unusual dolls best; corn dollies fit into that category. Many are not even of human shape; they are abstract, many ci...
New Follower and Approaching 10,000 Viewers
Welcome to my new follower, and God Bless all of you; this blog is approaching 10,000 viewers!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: French Doll Makers and Dolled up for Murder
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: French Doll Makers and Dolled up for Murder: From Doll Reference.com, a brief guide from their site of all things French. I would also like to recommend the Josie Prescott mysteries ab...
Monday, September 10, 2012
History of Lili and Barbie; Outline of a PowerPoint
Lili and Barbie
A Couple of Gals!
A Photo Study
The First Dolls: 20-40,00 years ago
The Venus of Willendorf
History in General
The History of Fashion Dolls
The Venus Figures with corn-rowed hair
Dolls and figures from the ancient world wearing jewelry, clothing, fashions of the day, “despise not my doll’s little purple cloak.”
14th c. fashion doll sent to queens. Cf. 1956 World Book “Doll.”
Bartholomew Babies
18thc, Baby Houses, and Queen Anne Dolls
Asian dolls with wigs and wardrobes, especially Japan
Milliners Models and Wax dolls, early 19th c.
China heads, especially Aunt Rose’s
French Fashion Dolls 1850’s +, Victor Hugo, Huret, Jumeau, Bru, etc.
Bebe dolls and wardrobes, A Little Princess and Bleuette
1940s Peggy McCall and other Mannikins
Teen dolls of the fifties, A/E and Miss Revlon and her sisters
Jill and Ginny of Vogue, Muffy, Ginger, Pam, the 8” HP revolution
Paper Dolls and Dolls with Wardrobes, Dewees Cochran
Cissy and Cissette, Dollikins, Capezio Ballet dolls
Lili, Barbie, Tammy, Jem, Love, Dusty, Maddie Mod, Dawn, Littlechaps, G.I. Joe, Happy to be Me, Mego, Celebrity Fashion dolls, Polly Pockets, CPK, My Little Pony, Muffy Vanderbear, Build –a-Bear, Heidi, PeeWees, Kiddles
Sasha and Heidi Ott
Crissy
Amercian Girls and 18” Dolls
Ball-jointed dolls and Gene and Tonner, Dolphi, Blythe, the BJ revolution
Lili/Barbie Ancestors
Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome
Early Medieval, Renaissance, Jacobean Dolls
13th –16th c; Fashion Dolls and Bartholomew Fair Babies
The 16th Century and Renaissance
18th Century Fashion Dolls
Ann Sharp’s Baby House, Other Baby Houses, Queen Anne and Georgian Wooden Dolls
Asia
Japanese Doll with Wigs/Wardrobes
Early 19th Century Dolls
Early 19th Century; Milliner’s Models and Wax Dolls
Early to Mid 19th Century
China Heads, Porcelain Heads, and Dolls with Wardrobes
Mid to Late 19th C. Fashion
French Fashion Dolls and Bébés
Early 20th C.
Bleuette
Sewing for Dolls, Storybook Dolls, Fantasy Dolls
Peggy McCall and other 1940-60 Mannikins and HP Dolls
Jill and Ginny and Vogue; the 8” HP Revolution
Paper Doll and Dolls with Wardrobes: They Inspired Ruth Handler
19th C. –20th C. Paper Doll
Lili Looks like Marlene Dietrich
Lili Arrives
Lili Cartoon modern and Vintage
A Comparison; doll to right
Lili
Some Views
Japanese Rendering
Lili as Anime/Manga
Group Shot
Lili in Various Sizes
Lili Era Kitchen
A Kitchen made for Lili in Germany. Also for Similar Dolls
Barbie No. 1 1959, white irises
First Barbies
Classic Vintage Dolls
Barbies 2, 3, Bubble Cut
1959-1959 Classic Friends and Family
Rarities/Novelties Miss Barbie and Takhara Jenny
Some unusual dolls
Twiggy and Truly Scrumptious
Character Barbies: LtoR: Twiggy, Truly Scrumptious,
Scarlett O’Hara.
Fashion Queen Barbie
Some Assorted Dolls
Barbie’s House
The Original Dream House
1980s to 90s:
Barbie again enjoys many careers; rock star, astronaut, cowboy, military, politics, doctor, dentist, veterinarian.
Mattel experiments with a doll of about 18inches, and a Supersize Barbie the size of a three year old.
International and foreign dolls debut, e.g, Italy, France, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Finland, Norway.
Other Barbies are made all over the world, including the Muslim countries.
Pink becomes a signature color
Kim Newman includes a Barbie Dahl [doll] in his Anno Dracula
Novel series.
1980s
Holiday Barbies Debut; 2008 marked their 20th Anniversary.
Hallmark in 1996 issues a Barbie Ornament. There is an entire
Series of Barbie ornaments by Hallmark and other companies, even a Barbie Christmas Tree.
Silkstone Barbies debut 2000
Masks, Costumes, “The Birds.”
Barbie Mask and Halloween Costume
1990s
More Friends, Rivals, Enemies
Barbie Rivals/Non-Mattel Friends: The Littlechaps, Tammy, Tressy, Candy, Maddie Mod, Cissette,LIV, Bratz, Gene, Jem, Spice Girls, Sindy, Ball Jointed Dolls, Dawn, Glamour Girls, The Golden Girls, Dollikins, Guardian Goddess [Mattel Rarity], Living Dead Dolls Fashion Victims, Blythe.
More Friends and Enemies
Friends and Rivals Continued
The Future of Fashion Dolls
Modern Ball Jointed Dolls
References
Bild Lilli, Her History. http://dollreference.com/bild_lilli.html
Dr. E’s Doll Museum Blog. http://wwwdollmuseum.blogspot.com/2010/05/museum-categories.html
Fashion Doll Guide. http://www.fashion-doll-guide.com/Julia-Doll.html
Hina Matsuri Japanese Doll Festival. http://www.jappleng.com/articles/view/festivals/21/hinamatsuri
The National Museum of Play [The Strong Museum]. www.museum of play.org.
Hina Matsuri Festival March 3d
Dedicated to the People of Japan and The Yokohama Doll Museum
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Wonderful Blog
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: Wonderful Blog: This artist does fantastic work with antique ephemera, found objects, dolls, miniatures, and vintage holiday ornmanents. Enjoy! http://ull...
Friday, September 7, 2012
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: New Writing World Free to Share
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: New Writing World Free to Share: W R I T I N G W O R L D A World of Writing Information - For Writers Around the World http://www.writing-world.com ...
Monday, August 20, 2012
Dolls by famous author?
Martha's Dolls: French Fashion Dolls
Martha's Dolls: French Fashion Dolls: Amonst my other doings, I started awhile back two french fashions. I already had a seely mold of two of the FG fashions. I just love these...
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: So, when is it an addition, cont'd
Dr. E's Doll Museum Blog: So, when is it an addition, cont'd: When is a hobby too much? Anyone ever read "A Gentle Madness," about collecting in general, or hobbies in particular, or "Magnificent Obsess...
More about Fashion Dolls
I was educating a friend about them this Sat. at a doll show. He had never been to one, and we saw a Smiling Bru in a small size, about 12 in, for nearly $6000, and an 18 in doll with an extra outfit and hat for $13,900. Denise brings up some good questions and issues, here. Mrs. Coleman felt they were for show, not play, but a "play doll" of this type appears in Robert Penn Warren's Band of Angels, and I have a vintage photo of a little girl clutching one that looks played with. It's, perhaps, a matter of opinion.
Doll Collecting..What is a Fashion Doll?
By Denise Van Patten, About.com Guide
.Definition: A fashion doll is a doll that is created to not only display and wear clothing, but generally also a doll which has additonal clothing and accessories available separately. Fashion dolls generally have the proportions of teens or young adults. Some commentators believe that a fashion doll can be any doll, even a child or toddler-styled doll like Ginny by Vogue from the 1950s, or Patsy by Effanbee from the 1930s that have clothing available separately, but other commentators (including this one) disagree with that.
The first fashion dolls were the French Fashion Dolls1 from the mid to late 1800s. These dolls had porcelain heads and either kid jointed bodies or bodies made of wood or other poseable materials. There were many shops in France at the time devoted to selling the clothing and intricate accessories for these dolls. The dolls were meant to teach young girls how to become ladies and so the dolls had all the appropriate clothing and other items available that the ladies of the time would need. The dolls also had trunks to store their clothing and accessories.
For the most part, the next historic period that had an abundance of fashion dolls available was the late 1950s. Madame Alexander2 introduced the large Cissy doll, and then many imitators followed, including some in smaller sizes, such as Miss Revlon, Little Miss Revlon (both Ideal), Cissette (Madame Alexander) and many others.
In 1959, the most famous fashion doll of all time, Barbie was created. She is still immensely popular today. She was joined by many other fashion dolls in the 1960s (including Tammy by Ideal), and fashion dolls have been a mainstay of children's dolls ever since. Popular fashion dolls today include Barbie and Bratz. American Girl dolls, although they have clothing, accessories, and trunks available, are child dolls and therefore not fashion dolls.
Fashion dolls have also been created for collectors since the 1990s, and have included popular dolls such as Gene, Tyler Wentworth, some of the Asian Ball-Jointed dolls, and many others.
Most collectors of fashion dolls don't only collect the dolls, but they also collect and display the outfits and accessories. A fashion doll without original clothing is generally worth much less than a fashion doll with original clothing, since so much of the collectibility and charm of these dolls lies with their wardrobes.
Examples:
I collected baby dolls for a really long time, but then I started to enjoy the larger sized fashion dolls such as Tyler Wentworth and Gene; I now own about twenty dolls and fifty outfits for them. This About.com page has been optimized for print. To view this page in its original form, please visit: http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollcollectingglossary/g/Fashion-Doll-Definition.htm
©2012 About.com, Inc., a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.
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Links in this article:
1.http://collectdolls.about.com/od/antiquefashion/p/frenchfashions.htm
2.http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollprofiles/p/madamealexander.htm
Monday, August 13, 2012
From the Doll Reference site-French Doll Makers
Thursday, August 9, 2012
French Fashion Dolls
French Fashion Dolls - All About French Fashion Dolls
By Denise Van Patten, About.com Guide
.French Fashion Doll
Denise Van PattenIntroduction To French Fashion Dolls:
French Fashion Dolls were dolls created in the 19th century to showcase the fashions of their day and to help teach young ladies how to gracefully grown into womanhood. The dolls are much prized today for their exceptionally detailed clothing and accessories--exceptional examples can be found today with complete trousseaus including everything from nightgowns to opera glasses to evening gowns. The dolls reigned for many years in the mid 19th century as the most deluxe dolls money could buy, until they were usurped by child dolls produced in Germany.
Years of Production of French Fashion Dolls:
The earliest French Fashion dolls were produced by companies including Huret and Rohmer in the 1850s and 1860s. The dolls were produced until approximately 1900, although the bulk of their production and their heyday in quality and artistic merit was from the 1850s through approximately 1885.
Materials Used To Make French Fashion Dolls:
The vast majority of French Fashion dolls have bisque heads, glass eyes, and leather bodies. The earliest French Fashion dolls had porcelain heads (glazed china) and early examples often had multi-jointed wood bodies. Other materials used to make French Fashion doll bodies included gutta percha, blown leather, and cloth. Some dolls had painted eyes; generally glass eyes are more highly prized. A few French Fashion doll heads have been found made with other materials, including rubber (few survive today).
Companies That Made French Fashion Dolls:
Companies that have made French Fashion dolls include Huret, Rohmer, Jumeau, Bru, Gaultier, Barrois, Simone, and many others.
Marks on French Fashion Dolls:
The vast majority of French Fashion dolls are unmarked as to the maker; they are generally only marked with a size number on the bisque shoulderplate. A few marks are known, including F.G. for Gaultier, and some Jumeau French Fashion dolls are marked. A few French Fashion dolls are stamped with the maker on the leather or cloth body
The Demise of French Fashion Dolls:
The French Fashion doll industry was extremely healthy for many years in the mid to late-1800s, with many shops in Paris, France devoted to the dolls and their accoutrements. However, in the 1880s, bisque child dolls(also made in France by companies such as Jumeau) and then in Germany, as the German dollmaking industry began a rapid ascendancy in the late 1880s. Soon, the cheaper Germany production crowded out most of the French production of both Bebes and French Fashion dolls (Poupees) out of the market, and by the late 1890s the French dollmaking industry was mostly history.
Modern Descendents of French Fashion Dolls:
Modern dolls such as Barbie, Bratz, Tyler Wentworth, and Ball Jointed Dolls which have adult figures, made to show off fashions and accessories, can be considered the great, great, great granddaughters of the French Fashion Dolls.
Prices for French Fashion Dolls:
Prices for the choicest French Fashion dolls have climbed astronomically in the past decade. Fine examples with original couture outfits and those with rarer markings, plus those with desirable body features (wood bodies, gutta percha bodies bisque limbs), can rarely be found for less than $5,000 and often for much more. Early Hurets with trousseaus can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Often, early original couture outfits can cost more than the dolls themselves and run several thousand dollars.
More common French Fashion dolls, such as those with cloth or simple leather bodies, re-dressed clothing, stationary (not swivel) heads can be found for between $1,500 to $3,500 depending on the doll and condition. Many collectors who love this era of doll and sewing the clothing for these dolls but who cannot afford the high prices collect and sew for modern reproductions (which themselves generally cost at least a f
Jumeau
Here is the information on Jumeau dolls, Part II of this series of posts:
Doll Collecting..Jumeau Dolls
By Denise Van Patten, About.com Guide
.Tete Jumeau in Original Clothing
Denise Van PattenIntroduction to Jumeau Dolls:
Jumeau antique dolls are coveted the world over. Jumeau bebes (child dolls) are known for their expressive eyes and beautiful bisque, and Jumeau French Fashion dolls are the perfect expression of their time and place. Jumeau dolls can sell for many thousands of dollars today, and demand for the dolls is quite high. The dolls were made in the second half of the 19th century during the heyday of French dollmaking by two generations of the Jumeau family.
Years of Production of Jumeau Dolls:
Pierre Francoise Jumeau began the Jumeau firm in the 1840s. At that time, they made papier mache dolls. By the end of the 1850s, they made porcelain (glazed) dolls, and for the rest of the firm's production thereafter, they specialized in dolls with bisque heads--first, poupees (fashion ladies) and then bebes (child dolls). Emile Louis Jumeau took over the firm in 1874, and the company remained in family hands until it was subsumed into S.F.B.J. (see below) in 1899.
Materials Used To Make Jumeau Dolls:
As mentioned, in the early years Jumeau dolls were made of papier mache and then porcelain (commonly called china). These dolls are nearly impossible to identify as being from the Jumeau firm today, since they are almost all unmarked. Starting in the 1860s, production moved to bisque doll heads (unglazed bisque) and most known Jumeau dolls were made of this. French fashion dolls tend to have kid bodies, although some have wood or cloth, and bisque dolls generally have composition bodies.
Jumeau French Fashion Dolls:
The dolls that put French dollmaking on the map were the French Fashion dolls, which were the most popular type of doll manufactured from the late 1850s through the 1870s. These dolls, also known as poupees, were lady dolls with womanly bodies and realistic clothing, shoes, hats and accessories that reflected the fashion of their time. Jumeau was one of the best-known makers of these dolls, which were usurped in the late 1879s by the bebe (child) dolls.
Jumeau Bebe Dolls:
Although the French Fashion dolls made by Jumeau are beautiful, it is the bebes by this firm that are more widely known. Made from the late 1870s when bebe dolls became the preferred doll of children everywhere, the dolls were made by Jumeau until they became part of SFBJ. The bebe dolls have bisque heads, paperweight glass eyes, exaggerated eyebrows and beautiful bisque. Most had closed mouths until the 1890s. The French bebe, and Jumeau, met their demise due to cheaper German production.
Jumeau joins SFBJ:
The French dollmakers, including Jumeau, were threatened by cheaper German production of bisque-head child dolls in the 1890s (think Chinese production vs US production today). Eventually, the French firms could no longer compete, and in a last ditch effort to survive, they combined forces as the Société Française de Fabrication de Bébés et Jouets.
Marks on Jumeau Dolls:
Most Jumeau fashion dolls are only marked with a number, although sometimes the body is stamped. Many of the Jumeau bebes take their colloquial names from their marks--the E.J. Jumeau is marked E. (size number)J on the back of the head; the Tete Jumeau is marked Depose Tete Jumeau... on the back of the head. Often, you will see artist checkmarks as well, and a stamped composition body marked "Jumeau Medaille d'Or Paris or something similar.
Price Trends For Jumeau Dolls:
The rarest Jumeau french fashion dolls and bebes and those that have their original costumes and mint bodies continue to climb in price. More common dolls, including later open-mouth bebes and later french fashion dolls with cloth or simple kid bodies and common faces have had their prices stabilized in the last few years. However, expect to pay several thousand dollars for nearly any close-mouth bebe in excellent condition (collectors seem to prefer close-mouth antique bisque dolls to open-mouth ones). Jumeaus produced at the beginning of SFBJ production including those marked 1907 can be found for under $2,000. Some of the priciest Jumeau dolls include the early Portrait bisque bebe dolls which can easily be worth $20,000 to $30,000, and portrait-faced Jumeau poupees on wood bodies, which can be worth $10,000 to $20,000.This About.com page has been optimized for print. To view this page in its original form, please visit: http://collectdolls.about.com/od/dollprofiles/p/jumeaudolls.htm
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From Collecting French Bisque Dolls
I'm going to start in the middle of hte 19th century, a little out of our chronology, with some articles from the about.com doll collecting newsletter on Bru,Jumeau, and French Fashion Dolls. Take heart that it is possible to find affordable versions of these dolls that are antiques as well as fantastic reproductions made by true artists. These replicas are in themselves becoming sought after collectors items, and many are hitting the 75 year mark. Such dolls are mentioned in Band of Angels, A Little Princess, and other literature. They are probably the dolls Jenny Wren most loved to dress in their earliest forms.
French dolls showing the latest fashion date even to the 12th century, and there are stories involving 14th c queens ordering them to follow fashions, and others of Anne of Britainny sending them as gifts.
Early Queen Anne dolls have this reputation, but French dolls always seem to have a certain allure to them, even the Santon figures and provincial costume dolls make a fashion statement. I've loved all French dolls since I was very young, and was in my glory at the airport in Paris, where, in 1969, a little girl could vist shop after shop of amazing celluolid dolls dressed in wonderful silks and historical costumes. A little can can dancer came home on that trip, a long with a love of hot dogs stuffed with cheese.
Enjoy the articles, and look for more at the about.com doll collecting site:
Doll Collecting..Bru Dolls
By Denise Van Patten, About.com Guide
.Bru Jne 8 from Theriault's auction.
www.theriaults.comBru Dolls - An Introduction:
Say "Bru Dolls" to most antique doll collectors, and they will fall immediately into a reverie, either dreaming of their lovely Bru Bebe in their collection, or dreaming of the Bru Bebe doll they hope to own some day. Besides the classic and highly desirable Bru Bebes from 1879-1889, Bru also made fashion dolls starting in 1866 and later, less popular Bebes and a variety of novelty Bebes.
Years of Production of Bru Dolls:
Bru dolls were produced from 1866-1899, by Bru, Jne & Cie, until the company was absorbed into S.F.B.J. (the Societe Francaise de Fabrication de Bebes and Jouets) which absorbed most of the major French makers of dolls when German bisque doll competition became nearly overwhelming.
Company That Produced Bru Dolls:
Bru, Jne & Cie in Paris, France and Monteuil-sous-Bois, France produced Bru dolls.
Materials:
By far most Bru dolls were made of bisque, although a few dolls in other materials such as rubber (gutta percha) have been found.
Basic Types of Bru Bebe Dolls:
When you mention a Bru doll to a casual antique doll collector, the model that most comes to mind is the Bru Jne model, so called because the mark on the doll reads "Bru Jne." Bru Jnes were made in the 1880s. Other well known Bru dolls include the Bru Brevete (also so called because of the mark) which was only made from 1879-1880, the Circle-Dot Bru (so called because the mark resembles a Circle and a Dot) from 1879-1884 and the later Bru Jne R from 1889-1899.
Novelty Types of Bru Dolls:
Besides the basic model Bebes, Bru made a unique set of novelty dolls including the popular Bebe Teteur (nursing Bru which had a mechanism that would suck liquid from a baby bottle), the Bebe Musique (played music) and the Bebe Gourmand (had a mechanism which allowed children to feed the doll).
Marks on Bru Dolls:
Bru Bebes tend to be well marked; not so for the earlier Bru fashion dolls. The fashion dolls are generally marked with a letter indicating a size number, and nothing else. The Bebes generally have Bru Jne, Bebe Brevete, the circle and dot mark (which is a dot under a half-circle or in a full circle) among their doll marks.
Price Trends on Bru Dolls:
Classic Bru Bebe dolls as well as wood-bodied and smiling Bru fashion ladies continue to have prices increasing. Prices for excellent condition Bru Bebes (except for more common Bru Teteurs and later Bru Jne Rs) can be breathtaking, with prices for choice examples often between $15,000 and $30,000.
More About Bru Dolls:
Even if you are new to antique dolls, it won't take you long before you can immediately identify a Bru Bebe on sight. The features of the doll, with their large, soulful eyes ad full cheeks are legendary. The dolls are also appreciated for their lovely kid-and-bisque bodies and the beautiful original couture Bru clothing (when it can be found). Bru dolls were made in much smaller quantities than their famous French cousins, the Jumeau dolls which is one of the main reasons, besides their beauty and art, that the prices for the dolls are so high.
The French Bru Fashion Dolls are also beautiful and sought after, especially the ones calle "Smilers," with slightly upturned mouths reminiscent of the Mona Lisa. Bru fashion dolls made with wood bodies are also favored by collectors.
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