Historical characters to join the lineup of Xenis jointed wooden dolls

I received an email from Xenis, a family-owned company in Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada that creates stunning jointed maple wood dolls.  The company was founded by artist Marlene Xenis in 1994 who was later joined by her daughters Tania and Jesse.  In 1996, sculptor and painter Ross Adams joined the team.  Since then, most of the wonderfully detailed faces of the dolls have been applied by Ross.

Tania trained talented carver Young Ho who now does some of the original sculpts directly from wood.  Two more ladies round out the team.  Seamstress Marjorie creates the doll costumes and, along with Sarah, handles the logistics of doll assembly.

Each doll begins as a beautiful pencil, charcoal and watercolor sketch by Ross Adams.  Then a sculpt is made of the head, hands and feet.  When all adjustments have been made, a resin cast is made for each piece and the carving process begins.  Each doll is carved from maple that is harvested from West Coast forests then dried for up to 12 months to ensure proper moisture content for optimum carving.

The actual carving is done by a carving machine that follows the resin cast of each part like a key cutter, producing a duplicate from a mounted maple block. The rough cut maple duplicates are then smoothed with dremel tools, files and hand sanding.  Artists then seal, stain and paint the pieces to add the final details before assembly and costuming.  To allow the beauty of the wood to show through, faces are applied using very thin coats of acrylic paint.

Some of the dolls are equipped with music boxes while others may sport accessories imported from Europe.  All are wonderfully endearing.  I particularly like their "Anne of Green Gables" with her trusting eyes and liberal sprinkle of freckles.  When my sister and I visited Victoria, British Columbia several years ago, I noticed that "Anne of Green Gables" dolls and books were particular tourist favorites.


Xenis is now branching out into historical dolls as well.  Their 26" Abe Lincoln is scheduled to be available in Spring 2010 along with this Mark Twain to be followed by some of Mark Twain's literary characters like Huckleberry Finn.

Xenis dolls are priced for serious collectors.  Some of their more intricate dolls are priced well over $1,000.  [Images courtesy of Xenis Fine Wooden Dolls]

  

Collection from Enchanted World of Dolls Goes Up For Bid

A number of years ago on my way back to Oregon from a trip to the east coast, I stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota and photographed a wonderful collection of dolls at the Enchanted World of Dolls Museum. Recently, with sadness, I noticed that the museum had closed.

Now I see that the former owner (I assume the Ebay seller is the museum owner) is beginning to auction off the dolls and its a rare opportunity to bid on some truly world class artist dolls. One of my eBay alerts watches for dolls of Mary Queen of Scots and I received an alert that a Kathy Redmond (one of my favorite doll artists) Mary Queen of Scots was coming up for bid. When I clicked on the link I saw that it was one of the marvelous dolls I had seen in Mitchell. Unfortunately, I'm now retired and with the economy in such a slump, I don't feel comfortable bidding on collectibles right now. There is also a reserve on the doll that apparently is above the current bid of $130. So I guess I will have to satisfy myself with admiring the doll from afar (again).

I see that in this first round there are also two of Emma Clear's meticulously created dolls of George and Martha Washington, too.

Showcase your collection on MyThings!!

Several months ago I read an article about MyThings, a website where you can inventory all of the things you own and record information about them for reference and insurance purposes. They even have a utility so you can upload pictures of each item. You can indicate if you wish to make the information public or private.

I have begun uploading descriptions and pictures of my doll collection. I have documented over 200 of my dolls so far (with pictures) and have made the records public so other collectors and enthusiasts can see them.

You can view my online records at:

http://www.mythings.com/portfolio.aspx?userid=44890

I will be adding to this inventory as I have time to photograph more of my dolls. I also hope to add my figurines, my miniatures collections, my Cameo Creations portraits, and my Bossons heads to this wonderful new resource too!

Holidays Brings New Additions To My Historical Doll and Figure Collection

Whoa, I can hardly believe six months has gone by and I haven't posted any news. My own collecting has continued but at a much slower pace than it once did. I still bid once in a while but quite honestly I'm out of display space and hate to collect something that just will be packed away.

Although I must admit to splurging over the holidays. The Doll Market didn't let me down - great buys on Robert Tonner dolls from his Gone With The Wind Collection - Melanie complete in her blue gown and a Scarlett basic along with the trip to Saratoga outfit (they were just too beautiful to pass up). I plan to display them with my General William Tecumseh Sherman figure from Sideshow Collectibles Brothers in Arms Collection. Is that a little too ironic? I'll get a display case for them but I promise I won't put a flaming Atlanta in the background.

I need to get an Ashley Wilkes but need to decide which company's version I would like. I actually like the facial features of the Ashley Wilkes that was released by World Dolls. I have a Mammie doll from that company. They are well made and actually sell for less than other companys' GWTW offerings. I wish his uniform was more gray than blue though.

I have a Timeless Treasures Scarlett in her barbecue gown and Rhett Butler displayed in one of my other rooms. They were a special release by Mattel and looked like Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable rather than the typical Ken and Barbie. I also left them in their original display boxes because they had nice background images. The only problem with displaying dolls in their boxes is that they take up more space that way.

I also bought a limited edition collectible Barbie dressed like a pirate. It is somewhat historical since there were women pirates like Anne Bonny and Mary Read. However, I must be honest and admit that the pirate outfit looks more like it came from the closet of Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean). In fact, as a display mate I also bought a Jack Sparrow figure from Sideshow Collectibles. I can round out my display (they say you should always create art in odd numbers) with my figure of Blackbeard that I bought from Sideshow Collectibles a number of years ago.

Michigan Toy Soldier also had a great half-price sale so I bought Ignite's Napoleon Bonaparte to go with my Barbie porcelain collectible Josephine. This was a special figure produced jointly between Andrea Miniatures and Ignite Figures.

"This figure is an accurate depiction in 1:6 scale of Napoleon Bonaparte as he was in 1805, the year of the battle of Austerlitz and at the pinnacle of his military glory. He is attired in his favorite uniform of Colonel of Chasseurs Cheval de la Garde Imperiale that was his standard dress while in the field.

The model itself is the result of exhaustive historical research, including the examination of Napoleon's actual uniforms and accoutrements. The body has been precisely designed in accordance with the most reliable reports of the period, closely following Napoleon features and measures to present a unique, fully articulated figure equipped with a full assortment of garments and personal belongings including his sword, telescope, watch and even a favorite snuffbox; thus enabling the collector to present the Emperor in many different poses and attitudes."

There is a wonderful, extensive review of this figure of Napoleon at Captain Toy.

Years ago I had the thrill of attending an exhibit of Napoleon artifacts held at the International Culture Center in Memphis, Tennessee. I even stood inside one of his actual command tents. I couldn't believe how well the items were preserved. Of course I marveled over actual dresses that Josephine wore as well. In fact, it was attending that exhibit that started me on my passion for seeking out special traveling museum exhibits and doing whatever I could to promote the study of history.

This really doesn't sound like I'm cutting back on collecting does it???

Girls Explore offers products providing positive role models

A collectibles resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2006

A Girls Explore Amelia Earhart doll kit with compass

I belong to a Toy Directory mailing list and this morning I received a newsletter with information about a new vendor named "Girls Explore". Their website describes their mission:

Simone in a Blue Bonnet 1903 by Mary Cassatt  (Photo by
Mary Harrsch © 2006) 

"Girls Explore was founded on the belief that girls can be anything they want, but that sometimes they don´t always have the best role models. With that in mind, we started making dolls and biographies based on women who serve as exceptional role models. We chose women who achieved greatness even in the face of tremendous hardship and went on to live their dreams. At Girls Explore, we want to show young women that their value lies in what they do, not in how they look and that they can accomplish anything if they put their minds to it and work hard."

They offer doll/biography combinations for such historical figures as Amelia Earhart, Harriet
Tubman, artist Mary Cassatt, black pilot Bessie Coleman, champion golfer Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and naturalist Anna Comstock. Each doll kit includes an "action" item like a compass with the Earhart kit, a set of paints with Cassatt, and a magnifying glass with Comstock. The biographies are written for reading level age 8 and up.