An antique Karl Greisbaum German Bird Cage Automaton 'Bird Whistler' with one red bird. I started off restoring and selling these before I focused on dolls.
This Child size doll, a Gorgeous bisque headed Simon & Halbig mold #1079 from my personal collection, is ready for tea! She stands
34" tall. Sorry ,
NFS currently.
This doll was a marvelous rare late evening auction. She is a 27" Paper Mache shoulder head on cloth body with an 'Apollo' Hairstyle, ca 1830 maybe 1840. She wears a period appropriate empire style dress. She is unusually tall for this type as most paper mache dolls with APOLLO hairstyles are small with miliner type bodies. She has wooden arms and legs marked with most likely a museum number so she was probably deaccessioned from a museum collection when I bought her at auction.
Dolls with APOLLO hair styles, often called BEIDERMEIR for that period are extremely rare and usually in bad shape as the paper mache cracks over the years. This lady however is near mint.
Fortunately, the elaborate APPOLLO hairdos did not last long.
Shindana doll, brought to me by client, it was made by Operation Bootstrap in USA, 1968. This toymaker has an interesting history.
This doll required a total restore: vinyl cleaned, new outfit in similar pattern to original and new wig replacing old damaged synthetic rooted hair but in original hairstyle. A slight touch up of lips matching original color. Beautiful! Baby Nancy. It is far cheaper to cut off damaged synthetic hair and glue on a wig than re root hair!
A vintage mohair Steiff Dog probably, he had no pin in ear but most likely was Steiff. His head is separate from body and articulates. I had to put in new wood disks in shoulder and head as it was floppy. Now he holds a nice pose. Steiff is difficult to repair due to the mohair being so Dry and fragile, you pull a needle too hard and it makes a hole in fabric. But he came out great, and owner is thrilled.
One of my more rare Paper Mache head dolls...a boy! He wears a natty houndstooth suit with vest and watch and keeps his guitar handy. Circa 1850s German doll probably made by JD Kestner co. who started off with Paper mache dolls before moving to Chinaheads.
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Factory Original Heinrich Handwerck doll, a lucky client inherited this family heirloom that needed some cleaning and sprucing. Layers of underwear and clothing washed, her broken shoes-one with no sole- restored. Original mohair wig Hair freshened up to remove dust. Never wash these wigs, use a good leave in de tangler and blot with paper towels, cleaning a section at a time and very carefully fluff/comb. Never pull the hair or it will come out!
After restoration I gave this client's doll a new Old hat and added some vintage new old stock milinery.
Clothes cleaned, missing fingers sculpted, shoes repaired, I consider this doll to have the prettiest face I have seen in a long time! She is now displayed in a beautiful glass cabinet.
This is another POURED WAX doll. This GORGEOUS expressive lady with her turned shoulder head is made by the Pierotti company in England. She stands around 20" tall and wears her original ivory silk gown with train in the photo but sadly the antique silk dress is now disintegrating so I made her a new temporary dress with hat in an Edwardian look in navy and light blue silk. The human hair is rooted, glass eyes inset. She could be one of the Perotti portrait dolls. These dolls were an exclusive of the Hamley’s toy store in London according to the Encyclopedia of British Dolls.
There are three basic types of wax dolls.
Wax dolls have become the new BUCKET LIST for doll collectors so do some research if they appeal to you.
From dollreference.com :
Ancient-1800s Poured Wax Dolls are made of tinted wax, hair is inserted into the head, have molded eyelids, realistic facial modeling and hollow poured limbs, sometimes marked on shoulder plate.
1800-1900s Wax Over (usually over paper mache heads)
Dolls are made of clear wax, molded hair or wigged, no molded eyelids and solid limbs.
1860-1890 Reinforced Wax Dolls are made of tinted wax, wigged, molded eyelids, realistic facial modeling and hollowed poured limbs.
The most desirable are made by Montanari and Pierotti.
Silk outfit to replace shattered original silk dress that has been stored for reference.
A client's 1940s childhood Composition Enchanted eyes doll after repair. She came to me with a split open head, cracked and peeling limbs and a dirty cloth body. These dolls can be acquired on ebay and etsy in good shape if you want one. To invest in repairs is fine if you have a sentimental attachment to a particular doll as this is time consuming laborious work. Otherwise I advise buying a nice one online.
Vintage circa 1930s or so Japanese ICHIMATSU doll opened up to restring; showing internal squeaker.
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A 1930s Patsy type American composition doll restored for a family friend.
I do a lot of stuffed animal repairs, including this big DUCK that also needed a custom made vest!
I will probably No longer do stuffed animal repairs other than a cleaning and restuffing. I have had too many people bring me toys that are so far beyond repair from years of handling and I am not a miracle worker despite the rumors. :)
I often get requests from a client to restore a childhood stuffed animal for their family member. In this case, the mom surprised her son with his revived 40+ year old teddy. He was thrilled. Fresh smelling, restuffed and plush fluffed up! When they are not too worn out I will consider repairs but for the most part I will no longer repair stuffed animals that have been too used.
An English poured wax doll in my collection, either Montannari or Pierotti, with clearly a child face. She was made around 1860.
She stands around 18" tall.
If you find wax dolls intriguing, do some research and watch for Wax dolls to come up at auction. These English examples are far superior to the inexpensive German wax over paper mache dolls but it's nice to have all different examples. If you can find a very early wax over from 1840s however, usually with a little smile, Grab it.
Vintage 1930s 10 piece collection of Handmade Wood Dollhouse Furniture Tables Chairs Hutch Rocker
https://www.ebay.com/itm/233829088412?hash=item36714cbc9c:g:SbIAAOSwIUBf36eW
A few gorgeous French Fashion ladies and a tiny girl all bisque child doll. F. Gaultier lady in teal silk at far left partially obscured, has an antique 'Bourrelet' straw hat and her original 2 pc outfit. On the right is a Jumeau lady in burgundy and gold walking suit, pushing the Victorian metal stroller. In foreground is a l'enfantine Eugenie Barrois French Fashion with her circa 1860 Cobalt eyes and fair bisque full face.
The German Fashion Lady doll marked #8 after some sprucing up. These were more affordable than the French Fashion lady dolls, or Poupee.
Another client's inherited Antique China Head doll ca 1890s. Known as a 'low forehead' doll by the hairsyle, which is always the least expensive as it was made later; it had a cracked shoulder plate and was dirty. After repairs and touch up, I mended and dyed the dress pink, then added an antique apron to her, after making her a new cloth body but re-attaching her old china limbs. SO much better now! She will survive at least a few more generations.
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