Leontine Rohmer Doll, ca. 1865
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GUEST:
Her name is Clotilde. She was purchased in France when my great-great-grandmother had traveled on a European tour, and she gave it to her daughter, my great-grandmother, who, in the picture, is holding the doll.
APPRAISER:
What we're looking at is a doll made by Leontine Rohmer. She was a very prolific French doll-maker, and it was an interesting that a woman at that time could run an entire business. The doll is made of porcelain. This type of porcelain that's glazed on a white background, we call that china. The shoulders are the same material, the arms are the same material, the body is of kid leather. It would have a mark in this area of the chest, of the leather. I looked and the mark has worn away, it's no longer there, but it would be a green stamp that said, "Mademoiselle Rohmer." This is a very early doll, probably in the 1860s that this doll was made. And it has her original dress, original underwear. Also, sitting on the table here is her original hoop skirt.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
She does have a bit of damage that goes up her cheek, up to the eye.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
That can be repaired.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
It would cost about $250 or $300. But it, it would help the value of the doll.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
But as the doll sits today, she would sell for $2,500 retail.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness.
APPRAISER:
If you had the repair done on the cheek, it would raise the price to $3,500.
GUEST:
That's not what we expected at all. (laughing)
APPRAISER:
It was worth waiting for, that...
GUEST:
Yes, it was, it was.
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