A wonderful Holiday visit

What a great visit with George, Beth, and the little boys. Elizabeth, too.

Auctions

I've been to a number of estate auctions and some good yard sales recently. Last Saturday, I won three composition dolls which I believe date from about 1930. The baby doll in pink is a marked early Horsman doll "Baby Dimples", of composition and cloth, which some sites date at 1928. Her eyes were stuck in the closed position but I took a large, straightened paper clip and pulled loose stuffing out of the head, working through a small hole in the body fabric near the neck, and the eyes opened. The middle doll is almost surely an unmarked American Character Petite Sally, which dates back to 1930, and is all compo with one cracked leg. They are almost identical to the Patsy Ann doll. You have to look closely at the molded hair to tell the difference. I'm making her this copy of a period dress as I don't think her clothes were original, although it might be an original "beach outfit" of eyepopping color and design. The doll on the left is a shoulder flange and cloth style, with composition head and shoulders, arms and legs. The mohair wig isn't even strong enough to comb so she has an added baby bonnet for now. She is also unmarked but is possibly a Princess Elizabeth(most likely) or a Shirley Temple look-alike. Her legs are peeling badly so she will get tights or pantaloons. I was prepared to try and buy one doll, if it didn't go too high. With a few antique dealers there I was amazed to get the baby doll and Sally for $5 each and the Princess Elizabeth/Shirley Temple look alike for $12.50. I think because they were so dirty and because composition is so difficult to maintain and preserve. I cleaned them for now by rubbing a ball of lamb's wool over them as you can't use water on composition. A Baby Dimples in original clothing, in great condition except for a chip under one eye, just sold on ebay for $119. Sally goes for close to that. So, I didn't loose out!


The shelves show John's big find. He didn't realize he'd purchased a box of baskets along with a rock polisher which he got for $16. We were all stunned to see this Charleston, SC sweetgrass basket stuck between two Easter baskets.
The jadeite bowls are from another estate auction, where I also got a large set of Fire King Pink Swirl dishes for a remarkable sum.



John got me the Canadian Mountie dolls on a recent trip to Vancouver, Canada.
The modern reissue Effanbee Patsy I got at a yard sale on Friday for slightly more than the Sally I got on Sat. I peeled off the wig as I prefer the molded hair underneath but stuck it back on later.

Old Threshers 2011

I know John J is going to have some really great photos. But, I'll post some of mine for now. (Except the one of me with JT at the trolley station is his.)

Latest dolls

I thought these little walkers were charming in their harlequin dresses. They were $1.50 at a yard sale. I shouldn't have washed the taffeta dresses but they were quite dirty.

A simple Amish doll which was a quarter at a flea market. I'm still waiting for an Amish family I purchased weeks ago on ebay. Either the seller forgot or they're coming by horse and buggy!

A little New Bright doll which was a dollar at a yard sale. I think she might be "Swiss".

Madame Alexander's 12" Heidi which I purchased for $2 at a yard sale.

This pirate Kewpie was another of the Kewpies given at the doll convention at Mt. Pleasant. This year at Old Threshers, extra dolls were sold below price and I bought this one. Wish I had know they were there earlier.

This is an ebay lesson. I was so excited to win this doll for about $6 plus postage. She appeared to be a straight leg walker. The photo of her hip joint I thought was for the purpose of proving her walking mechanism. She does have the same mechanism inside as my other straight leg walker (these date from 1954-56) but her legs were wrong for her. They stuck out sideways and the only way I could solve the problem was to loosen the elastic enough to let the legs hang. The shoes are just like ones in a 1956 photo in a Madame Alexander book and the legs are Madame Alexander I'm sure. The skin tones of the legs match the body. Quite a puzzle. The costume she was in is "Spanish". The shawl is unlike those I have seen on most Spanish outfits. I have only once seen another like it and it was on a doll said to be from the early 60's. Maybe someday I'll get some other legs but I don't know if they should be bent knee or straight. Her hair is triple stitched, characteristic of earlier dolls.....







My old Dolly, with a body I made for her, is in a high chair I purchased at an auction. I had to give the princely sum of $7 for this. Her bonnet was a yard sale find for $1.

Auction, flea market, and yard sale finds

The peach carnival glass dishes are Fire King, as is the white batter bowl. The round peach casserole is my mothers. The pie dish cost $1 and the square casserole cost $3. The burnt orange Pyrex bowl was a great find at $2.
I had good luck at an auction recently. The Grizzwold frying pan cost $5. The oil lamps were about $2 and a clear glass Fire King batter bowl was in a box I got for $1.

Kenosha/Chicago August 2011

JT and Elizabeth.




Fountain in the farmer's market area.





Elizabeth found a beautiful silk scarf at one of the booths.






Elizabeth with Gabe and Eli.


Boys at the playground.



Beach time, too.



The community garden that Beth and George started.

Recent doll acquisitions

Well, I've acquired some more dolls. :-)
Meet Little Miss Ginger, one of the two smallest of the 50's fashion dolls at 8". Little Miss Nancy Ann was made from this same mold, evidently. I found Little Miss Ginger in a thrift store, sealed in a plastic bag. She had a rag around her head and was in a dress that I'm sure wasn't hers as it should have been tagged according to info I have.
The undies are original. The vinyl used in the Little Miss Ginger and Little Miss Nancy Ann has a tendency to turn white. So, I was unsure when I purchased her if this was a doll of any value as she's a bit ghostly. She'd be much more valuable if her left arm weren't glued near the top, but I hope to find one of her fashions with 3/4 length sleeves or longer. She and her clothes are hard to come by, however. Not bad for $2.

Next is a Ginny in her red organdy dress with her America's Sweetheart sash. This was available to new Ginny club members in 1996. I got her for 5.50 (plus postage) on ebay, stand included, but she was missing her bouquet of roses, her box, and her certificate. I made a bouquet for her. Behind her is a special edition Ginny made just for a doll shop. She's called Grandma's Favorite and came with the bear, in her box. She was the princely sum of $10 in an antique mall.

These little Knickerbocker plastic dolls, about 6", are from the 50's. The one with hair is the same as the one without. She had a mohair wig glued on. The skirt is original. I replaced the badly frayed ribbon and added a ribbon to the hair to keep it neat. It was half off. The white panties and top I made until I can reproduce the tiered, flock dotted skirt for the second doll. I bought her with a doll suitcase and a few bigger doll clothes at a flea market.



I was once again unable to attend the local doll convention. My gracious mother-in-law generously got the souvenir doll for me. The little Christmas Elf kewpie is adorable!! I was thrilled!


I paid a hefty $8 for this Western pair in an antique shop. The boy's head is loose and they have to share a pistol. I haven't tried to look for a mark as their clothes are so securely fastened.



These are separate but look nice together. The groom is from the Mennonite thrift shop. The bride is from another charity gift shop and is marked ATC. Just a few dollars bought each.

Birthday photos of John Joseph and John Thomas

They're sitting on a bench made by my husband's grandfather, John Weyer.....John J's great-grandfather, and John T's great-great grandfather.

John J's Birthday party

It's been great having John home for his birthday this year!! He and JT had a great time at a Train Festival on Saturday. On Sunday John went shopping with his aunt and we had a barbeque and party later. JT had lots of time with our Thomas trains.
I'll get more photos on the slideshow soon.






The last photo is for my doll loving friends. My husband carved the doll he's holding as a present for his sister. He carved the body of the dressed doll. I carved and painted the face and painted the lower legs and hands. My sister-in-law dig the clothes and wig. This one is my mother-in-laws. More of the wooden dolls later.

New dolls and old

Again, a special day--but I won't be there for photos.
This weekend's visit to a flea market yielded a book on Vogue Dolls and I was so pleased to find a photo of my doll in the yellow dress. When I bought her at an antique shop she was dirty and had another doll's scarf over her loose braid. I could never find her by internet searches. But, now I know that this all vinyl Ginny is from 1968. She was one of 8 in a Little Girl series that year. She's considered the most unique because of the hair, which is described as a Swedish style. I was happy to find out what it was supposed to look like, with the braid wrapped around the head so prettily.
One of two recent good buys from ebay are Dr. Scrubs Ginny (possibly missing booties and a stethescope). Now when the dolls need a doll hospital, they have a Dr. If I don't win the bid on a 50's nurse outfit, I have a vintage pattern I may use.



And in these bottom two photos you'll see my old walker dolls. The latest is a mraked Storybook Dolls California Muffie straight leg walker(SLW)which I believe to be from no earlier than 1956 or 57. She's also marked Nancy Ann on the head. She's second from the left in the photos below. She was not described in the ad as a walker. Instead she was described as having a crack at the bottom and evidence of glue. It is possible that the seam split and was glued but it simply looks like a slightly off seam to me. The walker works fine. Vinyl head Muffies were made beginning about 1956 and then again in 1968 as a remake and this could be one of those, although the remakes are listed as unmarked in one reference. Muffie was in taffeta panties and had one very old shoe (neither mentioned in the ad). Her hard plastic body came clean with baking soda, which also removed some stickiness from the vinyl head (also a sign of an older doll). The curl was still in her ponytail after I removed the newer band and combed Downy through, rinsing it well. Hard plastic Muffies command a good price but I think I was lucky to be able to get this vinyl one for about $6, plus postage. Clothes for Muffies go for as much as some of the dolls so I will probably make an outfit. The one 1968 doll I've seen with a vinyl head and my Muffie's hair style was in a poodle skirt and sweater...
The other walker dolls are a 50's Cosmopolitan Ginger, Muffie, a bent knee Madame Alexander "Alex" (Wendy), and a straight leg MA "Alex" (Wendy). Both the Alexander-kins dolls have flutter eyes and triple stitched wigs. And behind them, in a plaid taffeta dress with a white collar and red bow, is a Roberta Walker. She's about 9 inches. These dolls were of varying quality and this one has a stapled on dress. The same mold, however, was used for Starlet, a Luster Cream advertising doll. Just an FYI.
Anyway, I do like the 8" dolls, the old walkers especially, and a concentration on that has kept me from buying other good things at great to ok prices. You can only have so many.
On another related note...I'm also going to be getting rid of some dishes....