Noel Barrett announces long-awaited auction of dolls from Mary Merritt museum set for Sept. 30-Oct. 1
August. 25, 2006
READING, Pa. – The world-renowned Mary Merritt Doll Museum, which closed on New Year’s Eve 2005, was known for its incomparable archive of 18th to 20th-century dolls, as well as a trove of early European and American toys. On Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, Noel Barrett in association with Andy Ourant, will auction the spectacular museum collection that was assembled over several decades by the museum’s co-founders, the late Mary and Bob Merritt Sr. Real-time Internet bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers/eBay Live Auctions.
In addition to dolls of great rarity and exquisite quality, the 1,075-lot sale features a spectacular selection of antique dollhouses, furnished German-made room settings, automata, 90 Schoenhut figures and accessories, crèche figures and a tantalizing array of German toys. “Probably 75 percent of the inventory is comprised of dolls,” said Becky Ourant, the specialist who cataloged that particular section. “The museum really ran the gamut, from Queen Anne to Dionne Quintuplets of the 1930s. The collection spans 150 years of dollmaking, including dolls of wood, papier mâché, bisque, rubber, wax, china and parian.”
At the forefront of the collection are two 12-inch, circa-1880 AT French bébés – one with a kid body and one with a composition body – which will be auctioned separately (estimate $30,000-$40,000 each). “They’re very rare and highly sought after,” said Becky. “They were one of the main attractions in the museum. Everybody pressed their noses to the glass to get a close-up look at them.” Also within the category of French bébés are a beautiful, 25- to 26-inch, first-series portrait Jumeau; a long-face or triste Jumeau, and other examples by Bru, Steiner and Schmitt.
“But there is so much more in the collection than just bébés,” said Becky. “There are dolls for every pocketbook, and almost all are in very nice condition. Mary was a very early collector and was very choosy in what she purchased. Most of the dolls retained their superior conditions because they never left their museum cases.”
Mary Merritt loved French fashion dolls and had a large collection of them. In fact, one entire alcove of the museum was devoted to the category. “She owned what is probably the rarest portrait-face Huret, as well as extremely rare Jumeaus, Brus and Francois Gaultiers.” Another doll classification that was popular with museum visitors was English wax dolls, including coveted examples by Montinari, Lucy Peck and Charles Marsh. A KPM china-head doll was another highlight in the collection.
Dollhouse miniatures of particularly fine quality will be offered. “Mary had a beautiful set of English Evans & Cartwright painted-tin chairs from the mid- to late-19th century. She also had a large quantity of Walterhausen furniture, a collection of sterling-silver miniatures and baby rattles, and beautiful miniature paintings on ivory which were used as artwork on dollhouse walls.”
The museum was home to a ritzy neighborhood of dollhouses. One of the finest examples in the collection is the Hope Villa, a wonderful mid-19th-century Scottish doll residence that features quoining, grained and marbled faux painting and other fine detailing. On par with the “Mexican” and “Spanish” dollhouses that made headlines in past Barrett sales, the Hope Villa is estimated at $50,000-$75,000.
The fall auction will also satisfy the appetites of Schoenhut collectors who missed out on rarities in Barrett’s spring event, with another menagerie of superb glass-eyed animals poised to take the spotlight. A standout in this section is an especially rare glass-eyed lion with a carved mane and leather ears. Another grouping of Teddy Roosevelt character figures has been cataloged, including Roosevelt, the Arab chieftain and photographer, as well as seldom-seen accessories, such as a tent and camp stool. Other highly desirable Schoenhut pieces in the sale include a large Humpty Dumpty Circus tent with sideshow banners, a special-order 15 1/2-inch Japanese man and a rare photo of a Schoenhut delivery truck that dates to the second decade of the 20th century.
Approximately 20 automata by premium-name manufacturers will be offered. Top entries include a Roullet et Descamps boy on tricycle in all-original condition, a smoking marquis, and a standing woman holding a theater that features a trapeze rig. Also featured is a Lambert clown in all-original condition. The section is rounded out by several fine French clockwork toys of a type regarded as automata by some aficionados.
Mary and Bob Merritt were globetrotters who spent considerable time in Great Britain and Continental Europe prior to and just after World War II. It was there that they acquired German-made antique room settings at a time when they were still readily available to purchase. Among those to be auctioned are a Christian Hacker grocery store, a butcher shop and one of the largest-scale German kitchens ever to be offered at auction. All are sumptuously outfitted with the appropriate accoutrements.
Many other treasures from the incomparable Merritt museum will be available in the fall sale, including a Marklin carriage, several Nuremburg toys, Napoleonic-era prisoner-of-war bone carvings, and an outstanding German crank toy depicting a nursery scene, complete with pet cat and bisque-head children at play. Other noteworthy lots include early to mid-19th century Continental carved-wood crèche figures, sample-size furniture of the type favored by doll collectors, and an array of excellent-quality antique samplers and textiles.
View the fully illustrated catalog and bid absentee or live online as the sale is taking place at www.liveauctioneers.com.
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