Morphy Auction

Thursday was the auction of the Phyllis Grindle paper doll collection at the Morphy auction house in Denver, PA. Pretty exciting! Drove down with Carol Carey, and was happy to see Marion Creamer, Bruce Patrick Jones, Marge Seltzer, Carol Sullivan, Jayne Keller, Marlene Brenner, Cynthia Wuthrich, Maria Pereira, Sheryl Jaeger and Ralph Gallo, and Carolyn Thompson in attendance. Saw some familiar faces that I couldn't put names to either! Only realized later that Gwen Goldman was there, too.

Above, a Tillie the Toiler, from a binder stuffed with newspaper paper dolls of all kinds. Carol Carey had the winning bid.

1954 postcard

Another Vanves find.

Boy paper doll

Found on a table at Vanves--who doesn't like to spy an envelope at a flea market, stuffed with paper clothing and a doll! This is a much played with boy doll, very unusual -- usually it is the girl dolls that are loved to death. But I imagine some child loved the fantasy play of all of these colorful outfits, and especially that you could color the back side. The feet of the doll are heavily taped to the stand, which made copying the back of the doll difficult. Some of the clothes and hats were also taped together, the better to stay on, no doubt. Circa 1950s, early 1960s, I think.

The Arcades

The arcades of Paris are enchanting. Small shops enclosed under a glass arcade. This one had many stamp dealers, and a few postcard dealers. The postcard shown is dated 1906, from Isabelle to Mme. Renee Chatelain in Le Havre.

Woman with mantilla

A postcard from the Musee Picasso, "Femme a la Mantille, de face." P. Esperon, Madrid. Paris, Archives Picasso, Musee Picasso. Partly embroidered.

Michelle Obama by Pat O'Rourke

Michelle Obama's distinctive style has inspired many paper doll artists. Pat O'Rourke produced a limited edition paper doll and coloring book, available through her website, now under Lovely Links:

• Pat O'Rourke

Memorial Day

This little scrap was part of a bag purchased from Gwen Goldman at the PA party in April. "Use Lautz Bros & Co's Soaps, Best in the Market." It measures a little over 3 inches.

Noiset Montage Eclair

Vanves was exhilirating, but exhausting. As we made our exit I found this squirrel and offered two euros. Sold!

The Teddy Bears of Vanves

The Fruitland Chronicles

Subscribers to Cornerstones have long enjoyed The Fruitland Chronicles, a collaboration between Tom Tierney and the late Gene Maiden. Deanna Williams, publisher of Cornerstones, sends the following:

Hello!

For all of you who knew Gene Maiden and would like to send a short tribute, story, or description of a fun event he participated in...please do so!

Tom Tierney got the ball rolling with a super paper doll tribute we'll be printing and including with the next

Cornerstones!

Email them or send them snail mail...asap!

Deanna Williams

733 de la Fuente

Monterey Park, ca 91754

Or email to

williams733(at)earthlink.net

Les Puces de Vanves

This is considered the oldest flea market in Paris, where records indicate it was around in the late 18th century, according to "Paris Deco." It was a lot of fun, with plenty of paper and other odds and ends. Rob starting taking a census of Vanves teddy bears.





Gai! Gai! indeed!

La Cote Azur cut-out

This was another purchase on Jules-Valles, from the same man who had the Phosphatine cut-outs and the Francois paper doll.

Fashion illustrations

Found on the same table as the German sketch, in the Jules Valles section of Les Puces Saint-Ouen. These are in pencil, and one has a description in French of the fabrics to be used for the gown. As far as I can make out: crepe georgette with attached scarf featuring pearl colored ostrich plumes. These look very 1960s-1970s to me.

Michelle First Lady Paper Dolls

Congratulations to Jenny Taliadoros and David Wolfe! Paper Studio Press and Paperdollywood were mentioned in today's New York Post, in the Cindy Adams gossip column -- quite a coup to break into Cindy's column. Here's the link and the excerpt with their mention-- and yes, that is Cindy Adams' trademark New York City rat-a-tat-tat style of writing with a touch of the curmudgeon!

www.nypost.com/seven/05202009/gossip/cindy/more_sex_in_this_city__for_sure_170136.htm?page=0

"...OH, fer God sakes, comes another Obama paper- doll cutout book. I mean, please. Last week I did the St. Martin's one, which is on the two of them, Barack and Michelle, in their bathing suits, underdrawers, inaugural outfits, Election Day shmattas, Hawaiian vacation things. Now something called Paper Studio Press, whateverthehell that is, in tandem with Paperdollywood, whateverthehell that is, will publish "Michelle First Lady Paper Dolls."

It's two Mrs. dolls and eight pages of wardrobe, including her pre-celebrity wedding dress. Price, $14.50, plus, since it's coming from Maine, another $3.50 for shipping. That is, unless you want to drive into that outback there and pick it up yourself."

A German dress sketch with swatches

Found on a table in the Jules Valles section of Saint-Ouen. The front is in German, the back, notes in French. Now part of the Carol Carey collection!

Oeillet de Cheramy

A little calendar for 1939 advertising perfume, Oeillet de Cheramy. Another small find at a bookseller's stall in the Dauphine market of Les Puces.

Bonne Fete

A happy birthday card, found in the Dauphine market, at a bookseller's stall that also had ephemera and scraps. The signed artist on this card is Tito Saubidet. No year, but it was mailed to Mademoiselle Chantal de Solages at the Hotel Cosmopolitan in Cannes.

Dauphine Market

The Dauphine Market is the newest at the Saint-Ouen flea market, according to my guidebook, "Paris Deco." At the store where I found the scraps, fabric and vintage wallpaper were also for sale. The small drawers contained hundreds of scraps, but unfortunately customers were not welcome to browse the drawers on their own. Truth is, there were just a handful of designs with a ton of backstock of the same images. One cute cutout of a baby chick dressed in a bonnet was 30 euros -- about $35. Not many bargains here. When my husband asked for paper dolls, the owner showed us a classic cutout from the Ladies Home Journal!

Francoise paper doll

The same man who had the Phosphatine Falieres cutouts had this paper doll. It was my first paper doll find in Paris. Poor Francoise has no features -- the ink has rubbed off. I wouldn't be surprised if Patricia at Agence Eureka has this one in better shape.

La Phosphatine Falieres cut-outs

This was found in the Saint-Ouen flea market, near Jules-Valles. Phosphatine was apparently a soup for children, an all-around curative for growing bodies.

I've added two more that I picked up at the Jules-Valles stall. There are no dates, but the reference to Indochina as a French Colony could indicate the late 1940s, early 1950s... Could it be earlier? Don't know. Remember to left click to enlarge image.

Gene Maiden

Deanna Williams informs me that Gene Maiden died early this morning with his sister and nephew at his bedside. He brought a lot of joy and knowledge to the world of paper doll collectors. I thought of him in Paris when I passed a marionette theatre in the Jardin du Luxembourg--I believe he was something of an expert on puppets.

From Paris, I mailed him a card with a doll figure dressed partly with flower petals. It was the kind of elegant whimsy that reminded me so of him.

I'll cherish the memory of his singalongs. Godspeed, Gene.

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen is one of the largest and oldest flea markets in Paris, comprised of some 15 markets. Before you get to the heart of it, you might see a lot of street vendors selling new things, but keep going. Once inside, say near the Rue Jules-Valles, you'll see many of the vintage and antique items. The navy blue dress in the top photo was marked Courreges, the famous 60s designer.