Available......24" Simon & Halbig Mary Pickford Doll. Mary Pickford was a famous silent film actress from the early 1900s. She and her first husband, Douglas Fairbanks, were the first actors to start their own motion picture company. Mary worked with the Simon & Halbig doll company in Germany to create a doll in her likeness. Mary was a perfectionist and, after many tries (and World War I), abandoned the project. There was one prototype made....a large doll of 42"....that surfaced several years ago. The lady who bought this prototype worked with Seeley's to have a mold made that was presented for the first time at a Doll Artisan Guild (DAG) convention. Although Mary Pickford originally intended to have the doll on a child body, the adult features didn't work well in child-like proportions. I have chosen to put this lovely head on a lady body instead and think she looks wonderful! With the doll will come a pattern set to make the dress, slip, shoes & stockings shown in the photo above (the doll will come without clothes or shoes). Undressed doll & pattern set $350
The French Fashion dolls below are sold. All dolls shown use the Dollspart French fashion body that makes a completed doll of about 15"....
15"
Smiling Bru Jumeau
15"
Huret Davida Dior
15"
Adele Portrait Jumeau
15"
Louisa Doleac
15"
Chantelle Barrois
15"
Josette de Leverd
Shown above are two Josette de Leverd dolls. I personally had molds made for this very rare French Fashion head. It is made using an antique Leverd (sometimes referred to as a "Kubelka French Fashion" because of the unusual patent for wig application registered by Kubelka). To create the doll mold for the Leverd reproduction, I had to work with multiple companies, as well as do some hand sculpting.
15"
French Fashion Ethnic Dolls
GERMAN LADIES:
Information about the German lady dolls......there are several sizes of German lady dolls (three are shown in the photograph to the left---click to see a larger photo). All three use an authentic reproduction German lady body with its very distinctive "wasp" waist and well-shaped bust.
The largest doll, shown in the photo, is a reproduction of a 16" Kestner 162 doll. The second doll shown in the photo is about 13" tall. She is a reproduction of a Simon & Halbig 152 character doll....a very rare antique doll. The third doll is a Simon & Halbig 1159 that is about 11"-12". Patterns for the first two dolls are available from multiple sources. Susan Sirkis is one source (www.susansirkis.com). She has a DVD called "Edwardian and After" (her item # WBR9) to make a complete wardrobe for the Kestner 16" doll shown (or your 16" antique German lady doll). The DVD also offers the same outfits for an 18" German lady and a 12" German lady. Unfortunately, these reproduction German ladies are generally no longer available because the bodies are no longer being made.
18" Simon & Halbig 152 German Lady Doll. Here are two Simon & Halbig 152 lady dolls. One has brown painted eyes....the brown-eyed antique doll is not found as often as the blue-eyed antique doll, although both versions are rare. Both dolls use the Seeley's LB 15 body that works nicely with this beautiful painted-eye head. Both dolls are SOLD