Last week, just before we went out of town, I got the first kit for my Cabinet of Curiosities class. Opening the box got my heart racing. And I was not disappointed! New tools, really good tools, have always inspired me. Just like new pencils, paper and notebooks did for me at the beginning of each school year, my new embroidery supplies, especially the beautiful palette of threads, speak to … Continue reading
Category Archives: On Collecting
If I could only have 2 dolls, my Huret would be one and my Sustrac mignonette would be the other. Like my Huret, this doll required the sale of many other dolls to save up enough to buy her. Although unmarked, in his Mademoiselle Mignonette, Poupee de poche, Francois Theimer attributes this distinctive doll to Fernand Sustrac. Sustrac applied for a patent for the doll’s articulation on February 7, 1877. … Continue reading
Share this:
Unlike the popular cliche, I don’t “hate to say I told you so”. But in this case, I regret that I was right (see How Do You Doll Show?). The September Gaithersburg doll show has been cancelled. Many years ago, when I sold my wares at the show, many dealers complained that the September show was their worst show. Since I didn’t find that to be true for me, I … Continue reading
Share this:
If you search on eBay for Kestner in Dolls, you may be surprised by the number of dolls that come up. Some of them were not really made by the Kestner firm; this is especially true of the all bisques and small dolls. In 1998, Jan Foulke’s Kestner King of Dollmakers was revised and republished. What followed was a spate of “Kestner” dolls flooding the market. If Kestner was King, then … Continue reading
Share this:
My doll collection contains caucasian dolls almost exclusively. Why? I have owned and sold many black dolls, but so far, none have made the cut for my permanent collection. Since bisque dolls during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were made predominately in France and Germany, they reflected the population. When ethnic dolls were made, they were often made as novelties and were of poor quality. Several firms made limited numbers … Continue reading
Share this:
My dear husband (DH) has more experience with doll shows than he’d like to admit. He helped my with my booth at countless shows back when I was selling my reproduction dolls. And he’s attended a few more since then. He has a theory that there are particular dolls that always travel back and forth to doll shows and never find their way to a collector’s home. They are just … Continue reading
Share this:
The UFDC convention starts today and I’m not there. One of the most wonderful aspects of convention is the fantastic shopping opportunities. The UFDC showroom is legendary and Rowbear’s National Doll Festival, which runs concurrently, always inspires. I go back again and again during convention and find something new each time. I need a shopping fix and I have no where to go! Shopping online just isn’t the same. There … Continue reading
Share this:
I’ve shown pictures of this doll several times, but she has not been formally introduced to you. She is a 6″ (15.5 cm) all-bisque mignonette made by the German firm of Simon & Halbig (S&H). They produced many premium quality dolls and this surely is one of them. She is unmarked, but unmistakably S&H. With her sweet face and shy smile, she charmed me. Her brows are delicately feathered and her face painting … Continue reading
Share this:
Merriam Webster defines provenance as: “the history of ownership of a valued object or work of art or literature.” As doll collectors, we rarely get to know anything about the provenance of a doll we purchase. We have all been told questionable stories of a doll’s history. How often has a dealer told you that a doll is from his or her “private collection”? But who owns the provenance of … Continue reading
Share this:
If you’ve been following my blog, you’ve probably figured out that I have a lot to talk about. I do. The only problem is, writing my blog leaves me very little time to do other things, like sewing, reading, and playing with Supergirl. And I do have a regular, paying job, too. Even though I work at home, on my own schedule, it’s kind of important to spend some time … Continue reading
