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Nelling, Inc.
E a r l y D o l l s
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Alt Beck and Gottschalk Parian 18 1/2" |
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Blond with Black Molded Ribbon |
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| Shown here is a blond haired parian from Alt Beck and Gottschalk that not only has a head full of molded curls all around and atop her head, but she has the unusual treatment of two rows of black ribbon sculpted through the front, ending in a tiny tied bow. A pale untinted girl with blue painted eyes, rouged cheeks and small rosy mouth, she also has pierced ears and elaborate gold metal and rhinstone earrings. |
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Her antique cloth body has a sturdy torso, however one of the leather arms has had repair of sawdust leakage at the elbow, done with a patch of leather and silk ribbon wrapped around. The feet are actually brown leather boots sewn on, and there has been some glued reinforcement on both. This is probably the original body that has traveled with her through thick and thin. Her two piece gown of antique midnight blue velvet is fashionable, following her lady-like curves and has a long flowing train. |
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Wooden Male Figure $2250. |
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Standing 17 1/2" tall, shown here is an early, Italian carved wood man, whose original clothing suggests from around 1800. He certainly fits into the Crech figure category, but his intricate carving and detailed finishing gives way to adding him to a wooden doll collection. He has blue enamel eyes, full, forward-swept and deeply carved hair and a strong personality due to the intensity of his facial features. The detail is carried through to the lifelike carving of his hands and the old world detail of his carved high boots. |
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The rest of the body has a hard surface (possibly metal) underneath a fabric covering. His sleek, original clothing is in excellent condition, made of silk of the Shantung variety with olive green trousers, an ivory "Neru" jacket with high button collar, and a flowing shirt with soft collar. There are areas of wear to portions of his face, with some lost surface, but there is no restoration of any kind. He is attached to his shallow wood pedestal and leans a bit to the back. Wishing I could come across any mates he may have. |
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Wooden / Wax Lady 12 1/2" |
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Circa 1830-1840 $2050. |
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In the same vein as the German paper mache/wood “Alien Head” dolls, this one has a fully jointed wood body with head and shoulders beautifully covered and decorated with fine wax. She has an appealing and stately presence and she wears her years very gracefully. |
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Her porcelain like complexion is softly blushed on the cheeks and she has finely painted features, with the ages having caused some surface cracks around her face and neck. Her painted blue eyes are clear and youthful and she has pierced ears with earrings. Her articulated wood body has originally finished and painted forearms and lower legs with black carved slippers. |
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She wears her original and delicate silk/cotton gown that has an ultra-delicate net over-skirt, whose silhouette depicts her 1830-1840 time of manufacture. Multi-layer undergarments are cotton and antique. Her neatly styled human hair is snugly applied to the head and it is pulled back in a rear bun do. Bonnet is not original, but antique. |
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Steiner Type Wax Over Paper Mache $1450. |
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With a Motschman type body that looks like the predecessor to the Steiner Gigoteur body, one can wonder if this wax over paper mache doll (21") could be a very early Steiner. She also has the French full face, enamel eyes and open mouth with square bamboo teeth that we find on the Steiner bebe and similar long proportions of that French paper mache body, separated with muslin spacers for jointing. And most interesting is that she has two pull strings that say "Mama" from a bellows in her midriff. |
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Her short, blond mohair attached locks are original and she wears a simple, antique white chemise type dress, antique undergarments, socks and vintage shoes. There is a darker section of wax around her neck that look like an old repair, however overall, girl is in very good condition for her early birthdate of around 1870. Jules Steiner was indeed an innovator and it can be assumed that this is either an inspiration or a product of his factory. |
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French Paper Mache $1550. |
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From France, we have a charming 16" Pauline paper mache shoulder head with pale, pink-toned complexion, molded exposed ears, blue painted eyes (left iris has missing paint), and closed mouth with red accent between the lips. Her head has smooth black painted hair with brush-marked strands around the forehead. The body is of leather with a pale pink hue and it is jointed at the shoulders having stiff legs having lifelike curves indented behind the knees. |
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Original to her is her cotton country outfit including a red and white pinstriped dress with fine gathers and puffed sleeves, trimmed in white on white embroidered cotton ribbon. Underneath is her original group of undergarments in their crisp, starched perfection and her shoes are black leather slippers. Her fashion statement is all in the high profile, starched lace bonnet with side flaps plus front and back gathers. |
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Tiny Nun 4 1/2" |
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Late Grodnertal $450. |
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Serving as a dollhouse doll or maybe even a pin cushion, we have a later wooden Grodnertal in her antique nun's habit that is sewn closed into a soft base at the bottom. The veil is of a soft, cotton fabric and a frail little "medal" hands from her neck. She does have some damage to her nose and facial paint, but her charm is in her size and presentation. You can see her wooden arms but it is not known if complete wooden legs are under the skirt as it is stuffed. You can feel a hard core deep within. |
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Rare Paper Mache Squeaker $795. |
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Seldom seen, early paper mache squeaker(6 1/4") from 1860 Germany with attached hat, and abdominal squeaker that actually works! The upper and lower body, separated by a muslin spacer, need to be pushed towards each other gently to sound the faint cry. The chubby face has painted features and the wavy short hair painted brown, while the yellow hat with blue ribbon has some wear at the front and back edges. The simple muslin chemise is original and the molded yellow boots have black button detail. |
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Rare Paper Mache Squeaker |
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Alice Hairdo $650. |
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A German, paper mache squeaker from approximately 1860 that retains much of her original charm, but her squeaker no longer works due to holes in the muslin spacing fabric between her upper and lower paper mache body. She has a timely "Alice" molded hairstyle, dark brown painted hair with hairband, a painted feature, chubby face and brown molded bootines. Her muslin print chemise is worn, but original and the muslin skirt was added later. |
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Early Paper Mache in Shadow Box $450. |
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The decorative shadow box that serves as the display feature for this paper mache "pumpkin head" type doll is a desirable feature in itself. It is covered in its original wall paper wrapping that adds such a quaint palette for the doll herself, plus, there is a small wooden chair semi-covered with blue antique tape included for her comfort. |
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The height of just the doll is 12" and of course she loses part of that height when seated on the chair. She has a paper mache shoulder head with boldly molded and styled, blond painted hair, brown enamel eyes, a very fair complexion and a cloth body that is jointed at the shoulders and hips. Her carved wood hands and painted lower let carved boots give her a bit of articulation. The original costume is an age darkened, simple cotton dress which is trimmed in a very delicate, silvery blue ribbon. |
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Superb Parian Lady 17 1/2" |
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Decorated Shoulder Plate ON LAYAWAY |
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The firm of Dornheim, Koch and Fischer made this both glass eyed and painted, such as this one is and she has not only the very elaborate, pulled back hairstyle in a cafe au lait color, but also a molded black hairband securing the bun with molded pink bow that has a small chip along the edge of one loop. Her pierced ears are only outdone by the ruffled and glazed molded ribbon that encircles her shoulders and dips to a point at mid-chest, plus a molded pearl-like necklace. This treatment is compared to the work of Meissen in its airy delicacy and pronounced detail. |
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| The stitch-jointed antique body is of cloth with slender, parian forearms and hands, and her molded parian lower legs have black painted boots. Her dramatic gown is a mix of a richly hued, pleated satin skirt, with a tailored jacket and long flowing train of rosy peach velvet. The undergarments are all antique and the outer garment is secured with closed stitches, but more photos can be carefully taken if requested. |
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All Original China 14 1/4" |
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Mary Todd Lincoln $725. ON HOLD |
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Representing Mary Todd Lincoln, this china by Alt Beck and Gottschalk is quite the delicate jewel as her original outfit, in its cream and crimson original glory, is suffering from the effects of 160 years of the environment around it. It has considerable melting throughout, but the printed pattern allows it to display very well. Her black painted hair is molded into a pulled under style, supported by a molded snood with gold luster accents that conclude into two decorative molded bows, one on each side of her white china face. Eyes are painted blue. |
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| The gold luster has rubbed off a bit on the loop edges of the bows and also from areas of the snood throughout. But plenty of gold remains! Her body is cloth with her lower arms and lower legs of wood, the hands being simply carved as on a Milliners model and the feet carved into light blue boots with white painted buttons. I have never seen this particular treatment on footwear and am unable to determine the age or originality. |
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Early Tuck Comb 12 1/2" |
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Grodnertal Wooden in Box LOST BY USPS - GONE |
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Reclining in her bent wood container, this endearing Grodnertal wooden doll looks quite comfortable and very well preserved. She has a yellow painted tuck comb, black hair trimmed with spiraled wisps of bangs around the forehead, an egg shaped head with all her little painted features placed on the bottom half of her face, typical of these early girls. Only her nose has some restoration and there are only spots of wear to her fair complexion, while she retains her blushed cheeks and pierced earrings. Her expression is unusually sweet! |
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Her body is completely of wood, jointed at shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, for full articulation, both her lower arms and legs have finished surfaces, and she has the signature cadmium red painted slippers. Her clothing is completely original to her 1820's time of production, and consists of a sheer, light lavender on white cotton print dress, with highly puffed upper sleeves that made fashion news around this time. In addition, her delicate muslin cotton slip and pantaloons are original and all clothing is in very nice condition. |
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