SOFT TOYS

SOFT TOYS

SOFT TOYS

Many of the toy makers who produced teddy bears also made other animal toys and soft cloth dolls. Rabbits and elephants were favorite animals, followed by pigs, lions, tigers, dogs, cats and monkeys. Some had articulated joints or even a clockwork mechanism that enabled them to move or make a noise. Early rabbits (of about 1903) in good condition and clockwork tigers and lions fetch £8oo-£iooo at auction today, while clockwork elephants fetch around £500. Monkeys, dogs and cats sell for £ 100 -£ 150.

SOFT TOYS

Soft dolls by highly rated craftsmen can he extremely collectable. Early (ig 18-25) toys hy the German dollmaker Kathe Kruse, with painted and varnished heads, can fetch over £1000 if in good condition.

Felt dolls hy the Italian manufacturer Lenci are also sought by collectors. Those depicting famous people of the 1920s and 30s - such as Josephine Baker, Marlene Dietrich and Rudolf Valentino - and Pompadour fashion dolls and clown dolls can fetch thousands of pounds at auction. Lenci dolls with conven­tional faces usually sell for £300-£500.

soft toys

SOFT TOYS

Even for collectors on a budget, cloth dolls can be a good investment: under £ 100 will buy a 1920-30 long-legged, stockinette-covered French 'boudoir' doll. For £15o-£3oo, you could buy an English velvet-covered doll by Norah Wellings, Merry thought or Chad Valley. Steiff dolls,

particularly gollies, cost about the same as Steiff teddies. RAG DOLLS

SOFT TOYS

In most countries ray dolls were made in vast quantities, selling in country fairs and shops or home made by parents tor their children. In Britain, Dean's Rag Book Company started in 1903, while in France the 'Rag Bag Doll' was horn in 1908. Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy were first made in the United States in 1915. These early painted dolls with movable arms and legs, twisted wool hair, striped socks and original clothes realise £400-£475 at American auctions, whereas in Europe they might fetch only around £100.

SOFT TOYS

The most sought-after American rag dolls are those made by Izannah Walker from 1840 (hut first patented 1873) and Mrs Thomas Beecher (1893-191 o). A Walker doll standing 17 in (43.2 cm) high and in excellent condi­tion, which is extremely rare to find, has been known to reach £10,000 at auction in the USA, while one in poor, flaking condition made £1600. Beecher dolls in good condition can command a price in excess of £ 1000 in the USA, but slightly less in Europe.

soft toys

SOFT TOYS

A similar American rarity is the stockinette doll by Martha Chase, who started in 1889 by hand-painting stockinette-covered heads in oil paint. A Martha Chase doll in good con­dition is worth £500 or more for a child model of 12 in (30.5 cm), whereas a 13 in (33 cm) adult doll can command as much as £ 1300.