Sometimes life is not about the food.
When growing up on the farm I used to love to climb the old winding staircase that took me to the top of the house…the Attic.
The attic was full of treasures, at least that is how it appeared to me.
There was one light at the top of the stairs; a single bulb that hung on an old long cloth electric cord with a pull string. Once the light was on I could transport it right along with me to move about the whole upper floor.
The attic was packed full of old trunks full of clothes and letters; furniture and stacks of books and pictures; over a century’s worth of my ancestors possessions. There was a real since of mystery and I was always intrigued as to what I would discover.
This year I will be sharing with you more of the treasures I discovered many years ago. I have in my possession many of the relics that once belonged to those who lived in the old farm house long before me.
These beautiful dolls were discovered in an old wicker baby buggy (my father’s) that was tucked away in a corner. I remember being somewhat startled when I moved the heavy coverlet that was draped over the opening of the buggy. The one doll’s head was tangled inside of it and it split into two pieces…I reacted quickly enough to save it from hitting the wooden floor boards. These little girls had been tucked away for many years. Their hair was matted and missing some locks. Their dresses were full of dirt and torn. Yet their precious porcelain faces were perfect, despite the fact that one was split in half.
Long story short…I found a collector of porcelain dolls who also did restoration. He magically repaired the head and ordered new wigs for both of them. He cleaned and touched up any detail that was necessary and behold…I had two beautiful porcelain dolls; minus some clothes.
From here I found a dressmaker for dolls. She looked at the cloth and pattern of what they were originally adorned in and made these girls new dresses, petticoats and shoes. Except for the blonde doll, she still has her original shoes. I never imagined that they would turn out to look so grand. Neither did my grandpa, he said they had belonged to my grandmother when she was a little girl. There markings show that they were made in Germany in the early 1900’s. I never gave them names; I called them pink lady and blue lady
Here is what my research found on the Internet.
Blue lady: Schoenau and Hoffmeister 1901-25. Schoenau and; Hoffmeister used 1906, 1909, 1916, and 1923 (among others) as numbers on their dolls. They may represent the years in which the doll was produced. Marked Germany S star PB H 1909-mine has the number 5 under the star.
Pink Lady: George Borgfeldt and; Company was located in New York (1881-1950’s) was founded by George Borgfeldt (1833-1903) along with Marcell and Joseph L. Kahle, as an importer and assembler of dolls for the American and Canadian doll markets (in other words they did not manufacturer their own dolls). They held the distributing rights to many dolls from European manufacturers such as: Buschow and; Beck, Handwerck, Käthe Kruse, Kammer and; Reinhardt, Kestner, Armand Marseille and Steiff. They also distributed American dolls for; Aetna Doll Company, Georgene Averill, Sol Bergfeld and; Son, Dreamland Doll, Cameo Doll Company and K and; K Toy Co. (owned by Borgfeldt). Some dolls distributed by this company may have a “G. B.” marking on them; others will not and have only the marking from the manufacturer. Mine has Germany- G B as the only marking
True Treasures…
By The Gourmet Farm Girl
Enjoy this day!
