Dainty Damsel by Galluba and Hofmann

This lissome lass in her molded undergarments is a bisque fashion figure by Galluba and Hofmann,  She retains her original mohair wig, but has lost her outer garments of real silk and lace to the many passing years.  Her previous owner made her the necklace out of antique beads so tiny, they had to be strung on a human hair.  Just 5.75 inches tall, this lovely little lady is marked "406."  This rather shy and demure pose, with her hands folded behind her back, is very unusual for Galluba, whose ladies typically gesture gracefully with outstretched arms. 

Article in "Antique Doll Collector"

My newest article, entitled "Galluba and Hofmann; Always in Fashion," appears in the July 2014 edition of "Antique Doll Collector." The article concerns 1983 Nina Ricci advertisement featuring three seated elegant Edwardian ladies by Galluba and Hoffman, the fashion figurines by Galluba, and the famed British photographer, Angus McBean, who used them in advertising and his custom-made Christmas cards.

A Bookish Bathing Beauty

This bathing belle with a book is by my favorite manufacturer, A. W. Fr. Kister.  Although she has been nicely redressed in vintage material, her molded and tinted nipples are visible through her net bathing suit, an anatomical detail typical of Kister.  The molded one-strap bathing shoes with low heels are also a style of footwear favored by this company.  Of excellent pale bisque, she is 5 inches long.

Sometimes Discretion is Not the Better Part of Valor

Earlier in this blog I noted that Dollmasters, a spin-off of Theriault's Auctions, which specialized in artist and reproduction dolls, old store stock, and reproduction doll clothes, had become Florence and George and was offering a variety of figurines made by the Belgium company, Mundial (aka Keralouve), whose copies of antique bathing beauties, half dolls, and all-bisque dolls have flooded antiques and flea markets and on-line auction and sales venues, where they are often misrepresented as old.  The catalogue is now on-line and is offering 16 "porcelain fancies" created by Mundial.  The catalogue describes these items as "Cast from the original designs, you'll find it hard to distinguish from the rare and sought originals - except that ours are stamped "f&g" on the underside."  Great, I thought, unlike the rest of Mundial products, at least these will be marked to indicate that they are reproductions.  Then I read the actual description for each piece, which includes the following:

"Since Florence & George is committed to collectors and the integrity of the secondary market and this piece is an especially accurate reproduction, we have discreetly marked it with a nearly invisible ink which is only revealed under a black light."

I think I still have indentations on my chin from my dropped jaw slamming into the keyboard after reading that.  How is marking each piece with "nearly invisible ink. . . only revealed under a black light" protecting collectors and the "integrity of the secondary market?"  I may be dating myself here, but I haven't had a black light since I tossed out all my fluorescent posters after graduating from high school.  I know a few antiques dealers and appraisers who travel around with a portable black light, but the vast majority of the doll and bathing beauty collectors I know don't bother.  Most of us are attuned enough to pick up overpainting and repairs without the use of a black light.  A folding 30x loupe is often as useful as a black light and doesn't need batteries.  And contrary to common lore, not all modern paints and glues will necessarily glow under a black light.  A black light can be a useful tool, but most collectors do just fine without one.  When I have seen collectors and dealers using a black light, they focus on the areas most likely to be repaired, such as fingers or projecting limbs.  I have never seen anyone using a portable black light to look for hidden marks under a figurine.  And if the ink is "nearly invisible," how is anyone going to even know to check it out with a black light?

On the other hand, I guess the bit of good news is that even if these items aren't marked as clearly as I would like (they don't need "REPRO" in big black letters across the forehead, but a clearly visible underglaze mark in dark paint, or even better, an incised mark, would have been far more preferable), just the fact they are appearing in the George and Florence catalogue may serve to educate more collectors that these reproductions are on the market.  I have nothing against reproductions, and these are pretty attractive and reasonably priced, all I ask is that they be clearly and indelibly marked as such!

Because links and catalogue stock are constantly changing,  here some of the reproductions currently on offer.  As always, it would be a good idea to check the catalogue regularly to see whether any new items have been added:



Just Lounging Around

If this lovely lady lying on her chaise lounge looks familiar, it is because she is the super-sized version of the powder box appearing on page 150 of my book, Bawdy Bisques and Naughty Novelties: German Bathing Beauties and Their Risqué Kin.  This pretty power box is 7 inches long and 6.5 inch high, and because of her large size, is much more detailed than the version in my book, which is only 4.75 inches long.  In the smaller box, the lady was left stark white, while in this deluxe model, she has a flawless complexion and beautifully painted features.  She holds a small red object in her hand.  Perhaps it is a powder puff and she is about to dip it into the box under her, or perhaps it is a small apple for this more modern Eve.  The box is incised underneath “3265.”  My smaller version is stamped "Bavaria" and I attribute both boxes to William Goebel.

Beware the Frankendoll! FAKES WARNING!!!

I have updated my blog to add a page warning of The Curse of Frankendoll, new dolls cobbled out of mismatched excavated German pieces and deceptively advertised as rare antiques.

Pas de Deux

This delicate dancer is the sister of the bisque ballerina appearing in my previous post. Also 8 inches high and jointed only at the shoulders, she is of excellent pale china.  Her molded gray wavy short hair is adorned with a gilt headband decorated with raised dot design.  There is a hole in her left toe for a supporting rod and there are no marks. 

This picture from a 1911 Dressel, Kister, and Company catalogue displays an entire troupe of toe dancers.  Most came au naturel, but they were all supplied with simple wooden stands.   This charming china ballerina appears in two sizes in this photograph. 

Although all these lovely ladies appear to have molded hair, another picture from this catalogue shows a dancer, in the lower right corner, striking the same pose as the bisque belle in the prior post.  Other than the molded hair, the modeling and detail appears to be identical.

Dance, Ballerina, Dance!

This prettiest of prima ballerinas is attributed to the German firm of Dressel, Kister and Company. Of the finest flawless bisque, she is 8 inches high.  Her slender arms with delicately detailed hands are jointed at the shoulders, but her legs are stiff.  There is a hole in her left toe for supporting rod, and these beautiful ballerinas were once attached to pincushions and music boxes ornately adorned with silk, lace, beads, and ribbon.  Her luxurious costume, lavished with silk floral garlands, gold lace, and tiny gilt beads, appears to be original and is typical of the elaborate outfits used by Dressel in dressing its ladies and half dolls.  There are no visible marks. 

Another Member of the Tea Party. (No, Not THAT Tea Party!)

This exquisite aristocrat in her elegant molded Edwardian gown is a variation of the literary lady reading the newspaper as part of the terrific trio of tea partiers by Galluba and Hofmann.  She retains her original wooden chair adorned with ormolu ornaments and her full, lush mohair wig.  Although her chair is not marked, she is incised under the edge of her skirt "4990."  Of the finest bisque and workmanship, she is 7 inches tall.

REPRODUCTION WARNING!!!!

On this blog, I have repeatedly warned collectors about reproduction bathing beauties and all-bisque dolls made by the Belgium company, Mundial (aka Keralouve) that have flooded antiques and flea markets and on-line auction and sales venues, where they are often misrepresented as old.  Although the quality of these items is often far below that of the antique originals, it is good enough to fool many collectors and dealers, especially when the items are aged with applied dirt and rust spots.  I have just discovered that Dollmasters, a spin-off of Theriault's Auctions, which specialized in artist and reproduction dolls, old store stock, and reproduction doll clothes, has become Florence and George and the spring catalogue is offering a variety of Mundial bathing beauties (see pages 10, 11, and 37; there is also a copy of a Schafer and Vater figurine on the back cover).  The catalogue states that "Cast from the original designs, you'll find it hard to distinguish from the rare and sought originals - except that ours are stamped "f&g" on the underside."  While it is good that these, unlike the rest of Mundial products, will be marked to indicate that they are reproductions, the problem with stamped marks, as collectors and dealers learned from the re-issues made by the now defunct German Doll Company, is that they can be removed by unscrupulous sellers.

Bottle Babe

Perhaps this bathing belle seems to be slyly smiling because she has a secret. . . .

 

 



. . . .this beach babe is a bottle, perfect for concealing a secret stash of hooch.

 

  

And at 7 inches high and 6 inches long, she could contain quite of bit of booze.  This is one woman who really knows how to hold her liquor!  There are no marks and she is made of a low-fire ceramic.  Hertwig and Company of Germany produced bathing beauties, figurines, and other items in this type of ceramic, which the company advertised as "feinsteingut."  Her modeling and pose do resemble many of Hertwig's flapper bathing beauties from the 1920s and 30s. 




Another Gorgeous Galluba Gal

This beautiful bathing belle by Galluba and Hofmann appears in all her original, if slightly tattered, glory.  In addition, at 6 inches long and 2.25 inches high, she is a nice larger size. Her decorator not only endowed her with an especially lovely face, but also dabbed blush on her knees.  Any marks are hidden under the black lace of her bathing suit.

Hidden Gems

This appears to be just an antique man's costume ring, of inexpensive base metal with a gold-tone plating and a cut glass gem.

But peek over the side, and a tiny peephole appears.  And when you peer inside. . . .

a voluptuous belle appears in all her bare beauty  (the picture is actually a full length nude, and very clear, but this is the best photograph I could take through the tiny peephole).  Beneath this ring's false diamond is a hidden gem, an early erotic Stanhope novelty.  John Benjamin Dancer, in 1851, invented a way to produce minute microphotographs that could be viewed only by using a microscope.  In 1857, Rene Dagon improved upon Dancer's invention by placing the microphotograph under a modified Stanhope lens (a Stanhope lens is a simple microscope consisting of a glass cylinder with convex ends).   Stanhope viewers soon became popular with the public.  Tourists could purchase a wide variety of novelties and charms containing souvenir pictures of the sites they had just seen, rosaries and crosses enclosed tiny scrolls bearing the "Lord's Prayer," and portraits of the famous could be found encased in everything from thimble holders to pipes.  And some of those little Stanhope peepholes revealed very private peepshows of nubile nudes or scantily-clad sirens.  I can image a man, sharing brandy and cigars with a few close buddies, slipping off this ring and saying, "Hey, fellas, take a look at this!"

Miniature binoculars were popular holders for Stanhopes.  Usually inside were pictures of popular tourist attractions,  such as various views of Niagara Falls or Parisian landmarks.  This petite pair, just under an inch in height, is carved out of bone.

Inside, they picture a completely different type of attraction, two attractive bathing beauties.  

The actual pictures are much clearer, but again, these are the best photographs I could take through the little lenses.   Along the edge of each picture is the caption "Made in France."

Kister Sisters

This lovely lithe lady, who is literally having a ball, is by my favorite German manufacturer, A. W. Fr. Kister.  A sizable 7.25 inches long, she wears the remains of her original mohair wig.   Although unmarked. . .  

she is clearly the sister of this pretty miss and her playful pup, who appeared earlier on this blog.  This nubile nude carries the cross-hatched "S" of A.W. Fr. Kister.  She also appears in the Kister catalogue.  

A side by side comparison of this pair of Kister sisters.

She's My Cup of Tea!

As dainty and delicate as her tiny teacup and saucer, this extraordinarily lovely lady is a fashion figurine from Galluba and Hofmann.   

A close up of her elegant and exquisite face and hands.  She retains her original lush mohair wig.

This marvelous maiden is eight inches tall.  She has long lost her outfit to time, but still sits in her original wooden chair with its velvet upholstery and ormolu decoration.  Although she is unmarked, her chair is stamped underneath with the Galluba mark.

If this bisque belle looks familiar, it may be because I previously posted this 1983 advertisement for Nina Ricci. . . .

which features this trio of terrific Galluba and Hofmann fashion figures.  

Here are my three ladies.  All have long lost their original gowns, but have managed to preserve their mohair wigs.  I wonder what sort of elaborate outfit the literary lady reading the newspaper once wore to match her magnificent millinery!

Here's how they appeared in the Galluba catalogue.  Note the ormolu decorations on the Empire-style furniture.  Galluba clearly lavished as much care in costuming its bisque belles as it did in creating them!

And, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of an English collector, the following are photographs of the famous three from the Ricci advertisement.  Her husband had purchased them from the estate of the fashion photographer who photographed the ad.

Bookish Beauty

Although a half doll, Ms. 544 is wholly lovely.  By the German firm of Galluba and Hofmann, she retains her original blonde mohair wig.  A molded necklace of raised gold and turquoise dots encircles her long, slender neck and she holds a molded book in her left hand.  Typical of Galluba products, she is of the finest quality bisque and workmanship. She can also be found as a complete fashion figurine. 

 

A Wanted Man

Recently a friend visited the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City, which is temporarily closing for renovations.  She generously sent me pictures of that male Holy Grail, the Galluba and Hofmann bathing man, which is part of the museum's collection.

I had visited him several years ago, when the United Federation of Doll Clubs had their convention in Kansas City, and left covetous nose prints on his glass case.  I wonder if the museum will let me "babysit" him while the exhibit is closed.  I wouldn't want him to feel lonely and my seraglio of bathing beauties would provide him plenty of company!

Here he appears in the Galluba catalogue, to the far left of the second row.

Every collector has that one piece that he or she feels would help complete a collection.  For me, it would be one of Galluba's bisque beach boys!

A Very Sweet Bathing Beauty

This bathing beauty bottle was a recent find at an estate sale.  The bottom of the bottle is marked "Des. Patent No. 84181," and tracking this design patent number,  I discovered that the "ornamental design for a bottle" was registered March 12, 1931, by Frank B. Putt and assigned to Brandle and Smith Company, a Philadelphia candy manufacturer.  This clear-glass cutie was intended to be a candy container.  Originally, she would have worn a paper belt as her label and a paper face, held in place by decorative paper confetti or grass, would have been inserted behind her molded glass features.  At 10.5 inches tall, she would have held a lot of sweet treats!

I found this example, said to be all original, including the candy!