Join everyone over at My Romantic Home for another Show and Tell Friday!
Puss In Boots is here to introduce you to some of the members in my storybook doll collection.
The little storybook dolls were made for me between 1948-1950, while we were living in occupied Germany after WWII. The economy was in very bad shape (The Marshall Plan was just being implemented) and people were trying to make a living doing a lot of different things. We lived in a small town outside of Heidelberg and one day a woman came to our door selling some little character dolls she had made. My parents commissioned her to craft these "storybook" dolls to go along with my favorite books. They all have movable appendages and are finished down to the finest details, with undergarments, pantaloons and little bags and purses.
Hansel and Gretel and Witchie should probably be formally introduced here with the storybook dolls. These three characters appear each year as part of my gingerbread house display. They were featured here on The Little Round Table this past Monday in the 2009 Gingerbread House
Hansel and Gretel and Witchie should probably be formally introduced here with the storybook dolls. These three characters appear each year as part of my gingerbread house display. They were featured here on The Little Round Table this past Monday in the 2009 Gingerbread House
Hans Brinker and his parents from The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Rumpelstiltskin
And Little Black Sambo and his family with two of the tigers that chased themselves into butter. This was a tale of life in colonial India, but took on a whole new agenda when the story became associated with racism in the United States. You can read more about the story and its history at Little Black Sambo
Cinderella
Peter Rabbit and his mother and sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail
Goldilocks and The Three Bears
The Three Little Pigs
Little Red Riding Hood
And some of the nursery rhyme characters.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary and Little Boy Blue
Little Bo Peep
The Three Little Kittens
Little Miss Muffet
It was tough getting everyone together and standing still with no bickering for this group shot of their 60th Christmas with me.
Naked angels in raincoats. The lady who made the dolls gave these to me as her personal gift. They are singing Christmas carols and wishing everyone the happiest of holidays. They weren't availabe for a new picture given their busy schedule this time of year, so this is their photo from last Christmas.
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Oh my goodness....I have never seen anything like it! Those are priceless. Seriously...have you thought about putting them in a glass case or something? It is amazing that you still have them all and they look new! Oh, I just love this post!!
ReplyDeleteYour "dolls" are so unique and look as if they are new yet old.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post....love it!
Wow!! Your storybook collection is amazing, such detail in each one!! Thank you for sharing their history, too. Many blessings to you! Vicki
ReplyDeleteWow, you have a wonderful collection! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Oh you are so lucky to have that collection. And how generous of your parents to commission a poor lady trying to survive. What a special and generous family you have. Rosie
ReplyDeleteOh how precious these are and LUCKY you are.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful treasures ... I've never seen the real things before, only heard accountings of them. These are truely real keep-sakes.
Thanks for sharing your collection, and I wish you, until next time, good health and heaps of happiness.
That is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. If you went on the Antiques Roadshow with those I bet they would say they are priceless!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing these precious heirlooms with us.
Those are absolutely adorable!! What a lovely gift!
ReplyDeleteWow!!!!! I would have them locked up in a safe deposit box.....they're priceless!
ReplyDeleteMine's posted now...it's another new one for my collection of Holiday Decor..La Befana
They are wonderful and in such good condition - you must have always loved them dearly.
ReplyDeleteWOW, How fun, thank you for sharing !
ReplyDeleteI can see and hear all the doll lovers in the crowd!! They are very dear to me and they do reside in one glass case or another at any given time. Because of the intense sun here in California (even though we have E glass in all our doors and windows) I have to be careful with the amount of light they receive. Like any vintage textiles time and light are the destructive elements at work. Many of the garments as well as the figures are made out of felt, which has held up remarkably.
ReplyDeleteI have two different posts in mind for next week, one is another doll ..... a single very special girl. And then again, maybe I'll do my hand puppets.....tune and again next week to see what I decide on. LOL
Those are such a treasure. I know how much they mean to you,.............thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by......tune in on Friday for another snapshot of my childhood and Christmas. It's going to be the hand puppets after all!
ReplyDeleteCandy, I found this post from the "You might also like . . ." button on today's post. Wow! What a treasure of a collection! This needs to be in a museum someday. You are to be commended for taking such excellent care of these little dolls from your childhood. I've never seen anything like it. I've always loved cloth dolls. They have such character. I have an assortment of handmade cloth dolls, but they are not themed dolls. These are truly amazing. Thank you for sharing photos of this collection. ~ Sarah
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah -
ReplyDeleteThey are among my best loved treasures from my childhood. I mixed them all up as a kid and made up my own stories with a conglomeration of characters.
Thanks for coming by, I just love the "You might also like" gadget. Even I get hooked into clicking on a post I might have forgotten about. :-)
Candy
Oh, my. I can't believe it. The doll maker made them look JUST LIKE the illustrations. I remember those storybooks. We must certainly be the same age. You have such a treasure. I kept saying, "Well, this must be the last of ones." Then I continued to scroll down, and you had more! Lots more! They're museum quality pieces. What a wonderful treasure, so full of memories. As much as I love technology and the internet, the best children's toys are still the ones children have loved since time began. And don't they spark such creative play!
ReplyDeleteLike Sarah, I found this post from the "you might also like. . ." button. Thanks for giving me such pleasure today.
Thanks Denise, they are some of my very favorite childhood keepsakes.
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteJust discovered your blog through searching for the BAPS storybook dolls from Germany. Such a beautiful collection you have. Really beau-ti-ful!!
You must have (had) lovely parents!
Great blog too by the way.
My canary loves the music; he's whistling his heart out!!!
Thanks for coming by, I'm glad you enjoyed seeing my collection.
ReplyDeleteHi, I love your collection. Wish I had found this website earlier. I researched the BAPS dolls and puppets for almost 6 years and last March I published my book. The 2nd edition comes out this week. Do you still have your collection and are you looking for a new home for it yet? I don't have the angels! I have a BAPS facebook group and a website: bapsdolls.com. Please visit it. Thanks for sharing, Nancy
ReplyDelete