Posted 13 years ago
xxmagsxx
(55 items)
here a a few dolls I got at a garage sale....the one on the left is a anique french bed doll..first one I have ever found..and havent been able to find one since...I know very little about the 2nd one ,no markings...and I dont know what the 3rd one is called either...the one in orange is so cute ..she is one of my favorites....any info on any of these dolls would be fabulous xoxo
The boudior doll is very nice and yes they can be found. First off there is many companies that made them and the quality from each company different . Of coarse the French made a beautiful one . most sought after is the smoking boudoir dolls . Lenci's ect Yours is a later model . Yours is how tall and does she have vinyl arms ?
History of them and again very collectible depending on the doll .
Boudoir, Bed, Flapper, Smoker, Sofa, Salon, Parlor Dolls! All terms used to describe the ornate long limbed dolls popular from the 1910’s well into the 1940’s. The dolls were made throughout Europe and America in different variations. These dolls were constructed from various media; silk mask face or heads, felt mask face or heads, composition (sawdust mixed with a staying agent such as sugar water or starch placed in a mold) heads with sometimes composition hands and/or arms and feet A few had composition bodies and even twist heads or waists. In later years, the dolls transitioned to hard plastic and vinyl.
Earlier dolls had cloth bodies with elongated arms and legs stuffed with anything from what looks like lint out of your dryer to excelsior (wood shavings) to cotton batting. They average in size from 24" - 32" with smaller dolls averaging 14" - 18". Some had inset human hair or camel hair eyelashes, glass eyes and sleep eyes. Hair was made from mohair, human hair or silk strands tightly braided in buns that resemble "Princess Leia" from Star Wars. They were beautifully painted with blush, dark eye shadow, bee sting lips in with bright red lipstick and the infamous "beauty mark". They donned lavish satin gowns with lace and ruffles or silk pajamas with cigarettes (smokers) mimicking flappers. Dolls were made to reflect famous people of the times (mostly females actresses) and also historical figures such as Martha Washington and Annabel Lee (Edgar Allan Poe’s wife) and were given out as special promotion free gifts and carnival prizes. In the movie "Chicago" you can see display of "Roxie Hart" dolls.
Boudoir dolls were "adult" dolls and not meant to be played with by small children but rather to be displayed as decoration. There are stories of the dolls as status symbols. They were given as gifts by wealthy suitors to eligible young ladies and then dressed to match the attire of the young ladies when carried as escorts for "protection" on their social engagements. Later, they were then dressed in a wedding gown using left over remnants. It was thought that the dolls were fashioned after poplar actresses of the time as portrait dolls and it is a favorite past time of many to match the dolls up with photographs.
How tall is your bed doll ? I do not think she is french as they usually had silk faces . Can you photo her legs and feet ? Does her face have cracking ?
3rd doll is called a mask doll and from 40's and 50's . Not real collectible but cute :-) this is an example not exactly yours but it is a comparable
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-yarn-hair-mask-face-cloth-doll-40s-50s-/350420033316?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5196a95f24
I need to see body of 3rd doll to help with her . She is a 1950's era doll . Does she have anything marked on back of her neck . How tall is she ? Does she walk and her head turn when you move legs .
the doll in orange is marked france in the back and yes she can walk and her head turnsi would say about 2 ft ish tall ..no other markings..and the bed doll is packed for now her hands and arms where made of packed saw dust from what i remember..( one of he fingers was broken )...I am moving in 8 weeks she is packed for now or would check her more.....Your input is amazing..I am so glad to have found this site and you, I am about to post my favorite dolls now xoxo