Rabery & Delphieu French Doll, ca. 1880
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GUEST:
Well, I got it from my mother when I was between ten and 12 years old. She bought it for me. This lady sold dolls in Baltimore, and we would stop in to see if she had any that we were interested in.
APPRAISERS: And did you love dolls when you were ten years old?
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And what about your mother?
GUEST:
She loved them, too. I don't think she had many dolls as a child. I think she wanted to make sure that I got my fair share of them.
APPRAISER:
And do you remember what you paid for the doll?
GUEST:
I'm guessing about maybe $90 or $100. I really don't recall. But I do recall that would have been a very high price at that point...
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
...for us to buy a doll.
APPRAISERS: And that was probably in the 1930s or '40s?
GUEST:
Yeah, it would have been the '40s.
APPRAISER:
And do you know anything about her?
GUEST:
I was told that she was French. And she was old, I could tell that she was an older doll. It wasn't the type that you could go out and buy at that point in time.
APPRAISER:
You do have a lovely French doll. She is made by the French firm Rabery and Delphieu, and doll people like to call them an RD. If we look at the back of her head, and I'm just going to very gently turn her here, we'll see that she's very clearly marked, "R.3.D." Her marks are pristine. So that lets me know that she was one of the first few that came out of that mold.
GUEST:
That's interesting.
APPRAISER:
The three refers to the size of the doll, and in this case it means that she's 25 to 26 inches tall. She has a beautiful face. These dolls do not always appear beautiful to the beholder.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
This one is stunning. She has large, paperweight eyes, and if you see they are bulging out. They're very realistic. And at the top of her eyes, you can see a little rose-colored eye shadow. Very nicely defined lips on a closed mouth. French doll-lovers from this period love the dolls that have the paler complexions. She also has pierced ears and a fabulous, mostly likely original mohair wig, which is still nice and full. And then she has her nice composition and wood French body. Very typical of the time and of the French. She was made in the early 1880s.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And she was made for a more luxury market. She has an antique dress on. I will not call it original, but it's definitely of the period, with a lot of intricate lace and then the matching bonnet with the fabulous silk rosette flower. My colleague and myself both kind of gasped when we saw her.
GUEST:
Thank you.
APPRAISER:
Does need a little cleaning of the face, and it's perfectly okay to clean her face with a little bit of water and a Q-tip. This doll, at retail, would sell between $4,500 and $5,500.
GUEST:
That's excellent.
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