Lee-Lee Oh-Goosed

Did you say lee-lee oh-goosed out loud? That’s my phonetic interpretation of Lily Auguste’s name with a French accent.

As promised, today I’m going to share more photos and information about Mademoiselle Lily Auguste.

NOTE: If you click on the photos, you can zoom in on the images. I just fixed this on my blog and will hopefully find the time to go back and fix it in previous posts.

We’ll start at the top.

First, That Face. I love her deep blue eyes. The irises are only slightly domed (paperweight). Her eyelids are a bit hooded, giving her what is known as a “dreamy” look. (Her necklace was a gift from a friend.)

Her painting is wonderful. She has pale bisque, rosy cheeks, perfectly-arched brows, mauve eyeshadow, delicate lashes, and a sweet mouth.

She has only one earring in her left pierced ear. It is one of the pair she was wearing when I got her. The other one fell out and was probably vacuumed up. I didn’t like them anyway. She needs new earrings.

You will notice she has a few tiny black spots in her bisque, one on the bridge of her nose and a few on her shoulder plate. They were formed when the porcelain was originally fired in the kiln by kiln dust or debris/minerals in the porcelain. There is also a small black dot in the white of her right eye. It is a bubble or bit of debris in the glass from when it was originally blown. These types of marks are very common in antique dolls and, unless they detract from a doll’s beauty, do not affect the value of the doll.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice a tiny dark line at the inside corner of her right eye. It is not a hairline crack, it is paint.

She has the patented Dehors neck articulation which allows her to tilt and turn her head in natural positions. It was invented by Alexandre Auguste Dehors. I didn’t know his second name when I named her.

She has an old, blond mohair wig that may or not be original. The color and style suit her. It is a little bit matted, but I don’t think I want to mess with it. At some time in the future she may need different wigs for different moods or outfits.

Her head and shoulder plate are unmarked as far as I can see. Sometimes dolls have a mark on their shoulder plate that is hidden under the leather piece that attaches it to the body. I’ll never know.

You’d think that a doll of this size would be very heavy to handle and dress. If her body was stuffed kid or composition, she probably would be heavy. But since her body is hollow wood, she weighs less than 5 pounds. I was surprised by how light she is.

She has a shapely torso, with a broad, flat, chest, narrow waist and ample hips. Her body reminds me of a large Barbie doll without the breast implants.

But her shapeliest part is her derriere. It is heart shaped and amazing.

Her arms are jointed at the shoulders, elbows and wrists and they swivel above the elbow. The swivel allows her to move her arm forward, like she’s passing you a cup of le chocolat chaud.

Her legs have a similar swivel. She can cross her legs at the ankle like a proper lady. Maybe she can do some yoga poses?

She has flat feet, like many early dolls. So, like all practical women, she will stick to flats.

It is very difficult to convey size with photos on the internet. At 29″ (74cm), she’s a big doll. My DIL was surprised at how big she was when she first saw her in person. I’ll try, over time, to photograph her in different settings to show off her grandness. For now, here she is with my 10 1/2″ (27.5cm) Jumeau poupee.

I keep all her measurements in a little book that I can carry with me, just in case I find some treasure in my travels that I think might work for her. The book is just over 2″ x 3″ (5cm x 8 cm).

Here are some of her stats: 11″ (28cm) head circumference, 7 ½” (19cm) across shoulders, 10 ¾” (27cm) waist, 4″ (10cm) foot.

Now that Lily Auguste has been full exposed, it’s time to get some clothes on her.

Comments

Lee-Lee Oh-Goosed — 3 Comments

  1. Perhaps she didn’t whisper loudly enough. Those are not kiln marks. Those are beauty marks. It’s okay. Irmgard had to educate me too about them when she first came into my life.

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