Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Rare Klumpe Napoleon Character Doll Surfaces on Ebay


A rare Klumpe Napoleon character doll showed up in my Ebay alerts this morning.  Klumpe dolls, made of molded felt and averaging 11" tall, were produced in Barcelona, Spain beginning in 1952 until the early 1970s.  
This particular doll appears to be in excellent condition (the vendor reports only two tiny holes in the clothing) and strikes a dynamic pose.  Most importantly, he sports the original tags on both front and back.  The tag on the back indicates Napoleon was numbered 16-BB.  It will be interesting to see how much he sells for as Klumpe dolls have gained quite a following in recent years and the character dolls in excellent condition have brought as much as $200.

Collectors of these dolls often collect similar dolls produced by Roldan, also manufactured in Barcelona. Roldan dolls are usually a little smaller, averaging 9" tall, but Roldan accessories are often more intricate than those produced for Klumpe dolls.  More V-shaped eyebrows distinguish the Klumpe dolls from those made by Roldan although collectors should also be aware that these two flagship manufacturers were imitated by a dozen other Spanish toy producers including Layna and Nistis so positively identifying a genuine Klumpe or Roldan without labels could be challenging.

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