Little Dolls

Just a random snap today from my antique doll and

teddy bear cabinet...

Lots of little dollies.

Liddle Kiddle Kologne Doll

Found at a recent toy show, this Kiddle Kologne doll is so sweet! Made by Mattel between 1968-1970, it's from a whole line of scented mini dolls housed in plastic cologne bottles. The wee little vinyl doll is just 2 inches tall, while her bottle home measures a roomy 5 inches. This particular variety is Lily of the Valley, and while this isn't her correct bottle (there were different color combinations), she was still a steal at just a couple of bucks. Learn more about the Kiddle Kolognes (and some of their friends and relations) here.

 Lily in her bottle...

...and out of her bottle.

Back of the bottle, marked "Kiddle Kologne".

Antique Travel Dollhouse

I received one of my most unusual dollhouses as a Christmas gift this past year. American made and dating from the 1890s to early 1900s, the 17 inch long house features detailed decoration lithographed directly onto the wooden surface. It appears to have been made as a travelling dollhouse, as the pieces disassemble and pack neatly inside for storage and transport. I've never seen anything quite like it, and can't find anything similar in any of my dollhouse books. The house has a lot of play wear, but it was so unique, I couldn't pass it up.

Here's how it looks all packed up:











One long side slides off to reveal the contents inside:

Two little china dolls have lived in this house for a very long time, along with a tiny bisque man. (Clearly, correct scale did not matter to the child who originally owned this house!)

Here are all the parts unpacked:

 The pieces all stack onto the box base to build a Victorian mansion, complete with a tower and porch:

One of the house's most interesting
features is the garage
on the left side,
complete with its
own sliding door: 

The now faded and worn lithographed detail is still wonderful, including curtained windows (some with tiny people peering out) and tiles on the roof:

 

The house is lithographed inside as well, with pictures, windows, and Victorian bric a brac:

I added some old furniture, and now the little dolls have somewhere to sit: 

The little man fits perfectly on the front porch,

where he seems to welcome us to his house.

1890 Frozen Charlotte Doll with Homemade Wardrobe & Cigar Box Armoire

Oh, I just love love love these sorts of toys: homemade, much-loved things that have been kept together for a century (or more!) and come with information about their original owner. This was another of my favorite Christmas gifts.

This wonderful dolly's armoire was made from two cigar boxes, probably by a father or grandfather. 11 inches tall, the armoire still retains many of its original cigar labels, including one with a patent date of 1886. The decoration on the outside of the box was applied, and consists of antique paper which gives an appearance of marquetry. The words on the armoire seemed rather cryptic, but research revealed "Our Dickie" was a pet name used for the pictured canary bird in the 1890s, while "Lula" was a popular girl's name at the same time.

 The inside shelves, with original cigar box labels. 

According to the pencilled note on the back of the armoire, this belonged to a little girl named (as nearly as I can decipher) Dorthea Sison, who lived in Maryville, Missouri, a town founded in 1845 in Nodaway County.

Still more historical information was found inside the armoire. Written on a beautiful Victorian Easter scrap were the words: "From Miss Pressler 1890."

Who was Miss Pressler? Perhaps a teacher, governess, or friend of the family? That part remains a mystery. My guess is she gave Dorthea the little Frozen Charlotte doll, 4 1/4 inches tall, who lives in the "Lula" labelled bottom drawer of the armoire:

My heart skipped a beat when I slid open the drawer to reveal this!

 Lula?

The little blonde doll has a particularly lovely face; however, her hands are broken off. But since Dorthea clearly didn't care, neither do I! (Besides, you can't tell they're missing when she's dressed...)

Dorthea made an entire wardrobe and even some accessories for her little doll, including red silk bloomers, a matching laundry bag, several blouses, two lace dresses, a cape, a blue tweed coat, a pillow, and even a tiny belt made from an orange ribbon and an itty bitty buckle.

 A second set of clothes in a larger size appear to have been made for a companion doll who is now, sadly, missing. These pieces include a feedsack apron and a black lace mourning veil.

Everything packs neatly

into the armoire for storage:




Somehow, this small lot of much-loved toys made their way from Missouri to an estate sale in New Hampshire, and from there, to an antique doll dealer in metropolitan Detroit before coming home with me. Quite a journey for such fragile toys! I plan to keep them together for the rest of my life, but who knows where Dorthea's dolly may travel to then?

1930s German Doll Kitchen

An antique German doll kitchen had long been on my wish list, and this past Christmas, Santa did not disappoint! This 1930s example came complete with its original floor covering, wallpapers, and furnishings. I added some accessories and a dolly cook. Measuring a hefty 27 inches wide by 11 inches high, the scale is larger than dollhouse, sized more for actual doll play. The kitchen is a delightful combination of classic Dutch kitchen decor and 1930s Art Deco styling.

The kitchen cabinet has wonderful Deco curves, a paper "linoleum" counter top, drawers that open, and real glass sliding doors.

The wonderful dry sink swivels into the counter, out of the way: 

The little blue and white stove is adorable, and the door opens. I added the china plates to cover the burner holes; they are much older, circa the mid 1800s, but fit perfectly. 

One of my most loved accessories is now in the kitchen: this tiny (1/2 inch tall) Royal Worcester pudding bowl, made in England in the mid 1800s. The piece is so very small and fragile, it's amazing to me that it survived. 

My china doll seemed to be the perfect match for this kitchen, in her color coordinated dress. She's looking forward to trying out the pudding bowl.

The doll kitchen is a very old and traditional German Christmas gift, dating all the way back to the 1700s.  In her wonderful book, Doll Kitchens, author Eva Stille explains that doll kitchens would be brought down from the attic each Christmastime by parents who would freshen them up with more grocery supplies, a new pie plate or two, and a bright new coat of paint. All winter, the kitchens would entertain the family's children, until with the warming spring weather, the toys, now depleted of provisions, temporarily lost their interest. They would be packed back up and returned to the attic as the children moved their play outdoors, only to be brought back down once more, restocked, and placed under the tree again the next Christmas.

The toys were usually passed down through several generations. Stille gives an example of an 1885 doll kitchen ordered by a wealthy family in Bregenz. The toy was passed down among girls in the family all the way to 1979, when it was bequeathed to the most recent descendant, who was still playing with it at the time of the book's publication in 1988!

I feel very fortunate to have finally received my own doll kitchen for Christmas. 

Dollypalooza!

An autumn antique show turned up tables and tables full of miniature dollies, almost 100 years worth, from the 1880s-1960s. It was a veritable Dollypalooza! Here's the box full I took home:

Can you spot: a cast metal dollhouse crib by Kilgore; a 1930s painted-over-bisque dollhouse doll; two 1890s frozen Charlottes; three German all-bisques, circa the 1900s; a black rubber doll from the 1920s; a teeny tiny Kewpie; a 1940s Ethel Strong 'Twinky' dollhouse doll; and plastic and vinyl dolls from East and West Germany?

The tiny 1920s Kewpie was the smallest doll in the bunch, just 1 1/4 inches tall. Behind her is a jointed German all-bisque wearing child-made clothes, a naked 1930s German painted-over-bisque dollhouse doll, and a plastic West German doll from the 1950s-60s.

The larger frozen Charlotte, 6 1/4 inches tall, was the biggest doll in the box.













This 6 inch German bisque doll  wears her original clothes and human hair wig, circa the 1900s:

Her sister, of the same size and vintage, has unusual incised eyes, and came wearing a lovely lace over blue silk dress:

Antique Paper Dolls

I see old, tatty stationery boxes all the time while antiquing, and I've discovered they're always worth opening, as sometimes there is something fabulous stored inside them. They were just natural places for children to stash their treasured possessions. Once, I found such a box contained a vintage 1960s troll and her extensive wardrobe. This time, the stationery box was even older (1920s) and quite dirty. Really, it was just filthy, and almost too much for even me to touch...

...but I did, and was I ever glad! Inside...treasures! Three antique paper dolls, complete with outfits, hats, accessories, and even some original pattern pieces.

Wheeeee!!!!

The dolls were made by Dennison, a manufacturer primarily of paper party goods, decorations, and supplies. The jointed dolls are made from heavy card stock, and most of the clothes are of crepe paper, which Dennison used for many of its holiday decorations.
Some of the crepe paper clothes came printed with clothing designs, but other items looked as if they were cut and assembled by the child owner. The discovery of some hat pattern pieces in the bottom of the box confirmed this suspicion, and the patterns also gave the names of the dolls: Eleanor (the big sister), Betty, and Bobbie, the little brother.

From left to right: Eleanor, 10 inches; Betty, 8; and Bobbie, 7.

The dolls are marked "Dennison U.S.A." on the back.

 The hat patterns.

The hat patterns unfolded.

Here's Eleanor's wardrobe:

Eleanor in a pre-printed hat and coat.

 I love this flapper headdress!

 Eleanor in a child-made dress and hat.


Here's Betty's wardrobe:

Betty in a pink dress like her big sister's.

 My favorite outfit, made of fragile crepe.

Bobbie's wardrobe was not as extensive as those of his sisters, but he had a few interesting pieces, including a pirate costume and a bathing suit. 

Bobbie in his ruffly green suit.

Bobbie in his Halloween pirate costume. Arrgh!

When I packed the dollies back into their box, I noticed some writing on the cover. After some gentle brushing away of dust, the words became clearer:

"Margaret Johnston   

321 E. Liberty St."

It was very moving to consider these words, and try to picture the little girl who wrote them, and who loved these paper dolls so much, she saved them for almost 90 years...thank you Margaret Johnston!