French Jumeau bisque fashion lady doll. The Specialists of the South Inc. image.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The St. Petersburg, Fla., estate of Yvonne Hoffman, an avid collector of dolls, will be sold on Saturday, Dec. 8, at 8 a.m. CST by The Specialists of the South Inc., in Panama City. LiveAuctoneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Over 100 lots of quality dolls and accessory items will cross the block. Among these items will also be collections from several other estates.
Named for one of the Dionne Quintuplets, as was her sister, Yvonne Hoffman’s collection would not be complete without one of her favorites, the Dionne Quintuplet dolls in a basket. One of seven children, she grew up in Detroit. Hoffman’s fondness for dolls began when she received travel dolls as a child from her aunts, uncles and grandparents. This fondness grew into serious collecting in the early 1980s a few years after moving to St. Petersburg. She and her husband, Lewis Hoffman, would travel all over attending auctions and estate sales for the choice dolls to add to her collection.
With a place in her heart for each doll in her collection, among her beloved favorites were her Shirley Temple dolls having grown up watching her, her Sonja Henie doll, her Jumeau dolls for their detail, and of course her Dionne Quintuplets. Other lots include a doll reference library and Hummel and Kewpie dolls.
Hoffman spent many hours working on each individual doll taking it apart, cleaning the doll, cleaning the clothes and fixing or having anything repaired to bring the dolls up to the standard she wanted for each doll in her collection. This was evidenced by the extreme care she took in displaying her collection, most housed in glass cabinets. Among her dolls were Jumeau, Kestner, Steiner, Simon & Halbig, Handwerck, Armand Marseille, Reinecke, Schultz, Schoenhut, Horsman, Effanbee, Arranbee, Betty Boop, Shirley Temple, Skookums and much, much more. Every level of collecting is represented in this collection.
Among the auction’s consignments are several, beautiful Meissen-style figurines from the collection of Edith Weise Miller, a professional dancer touring Europe and Asia during World War II. Her collections were both handed down to her and purchased new, allowing for a wide taste in porcelain and other collectibles. Edith’s treasures include sterling flatware and gold pocket watches. Of particular interest is a 14K, 65-inch watch fob chain with a cameo slide.
This auction has a large range of collectibles: clocks, costume jewelry, mirrors, silver tea service (with water urn), lamps, a beautiful Karastan rug, an ornate diminutive Gulbransen organ and even a slot machine. The quality furniture of note includes a hunt board, a grandmother clock, Duncan Phyfe-style sofa (from the Baltimore estate of Agnes Mullin), an ornate four-poster bed, Victorian drop-front dresser and mirror, oak Hoosier cabinet and a fall-front desk with inlaid shell. Decorative pieces include an oak accent table, a wicker rocker, a wall mounted lighted display advertising Huebler’s Custom Cues and a beautiful brass piano electrified oil lamp. Primitives include coffee grinders, saws, planes, wooden boxes, ship blocks and other vintage tools.
“To try and capture all if this auction in one story really doesn’t do the estates justice. I would strongly recommend that interested parties go to one or more of the previews then arrive ready to buy on auction day,” said Logan Adams of The Specialists of the South Inc.
The Specialists of the South, Inc. is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, call them at 850-785-2577, or email them at specialists@knology.net.
Internet live bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
French Jumeau bisque fashion lady doll. The Specialists of the South Inc. image. Madame Alexander composition Dionne Quints in basket. The Specialists of the South Inc. image. Meissen-style figurine on platform depicting two ladies at the dressing table. The Specialists of the South Inc. image. Gorgeous fall-front desk with shell inlay front and beading. The Specialists of the South Inc. image. Ornate brass oil floor lamp with red globe. The Specialists of the South Inc. image. Elgin and American Waltham 14K gold pocket watches. The Specialists of the South Inc. image.
