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Dolls and Teddy Bears: Endearing Collectibles
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12522 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1987 |
1,801 Words |
| Author
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Ettagale Blauer
Ettagale Blauer is a freelance writer based in New York. |
A group of battered bears, some with the Stieff button in the ear, Jumeaux and Bru dolls, and the more recent Shirley Temple, Madame Alexander, and Kewpie dolls were among some three hundred dolls and bears laid out on the plain metal racks of Christie's East from the estate of Mabel Minston Durham.
Fifteen dolls, some of them already old, were part of Durham's trousseau at her marriage in 1912. Individual pieces in her collection would fetch several hundred dollars each at the New York City auction house, which includes dolls and bears in its sale four times a year.
It's not unheard of for a doll to sell for forty thousand dollars or more. Like most items sold at auction or privately, the price depends on rarity, antiquity, condition, and popularity. In the case of dolls, original clothing adds a great deal to the price. Durham's dolls were all beautifully dressed, many of them in outfits she created. And, says Julie Collier of Christie's collectibles department, "She made them in styles and materials that were correct for the period."
The dolls and bears would soon find new homes. Collectors buy and sell frequently. In fact, says collector Jan Quisenberry, a vice president of the United Federation of Doll Clubs, "You have to sell because you start drowning in dolls. When you first start, you don't even know there are people out there who collect. To you, it's just a doll. But as you learn more and see better dolls, you start wanting to upgrade, and that's when you sell off your dolls." It's so common, she says, "there's hardly a collector at our national convention who doesn't have a dealer's number!" The only reason that Quisenberry is not "drowning in dolls" is the three-room building bought by her grandmother to house the family's thousands of dolls. The collection was started by her great grandmother; Quisenberry is the fourth generation to carry on the tradition.
Dolls of Renown
From penny wooden dolls to the fine china dolls of France, dolls come in every material for virtually every taste and budget. But there are some elite members of this group, prized by collectors, and fetching high prices. Perhaps the highest price was $107,000, paid at Christie's London for a William-and-Marry doll thought to date from 1690.
Both the china and the bisque dolls have bodies made of soft materials. China, with its shiny
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