DENVER, Pa – A circa-1880 Halopeau “H” (Halopeau) bébé, 24 inches tall and dressed in period clothing of pink silk and lace, was the opening-session star of Morphy Auctions’ May 17-18 Fine Doll debut. The doll had been estimated at $50,000-$70,000, but Becky Ourant, co-director of Morphy’s Fine Doll & Teddy Bear department, had noted prior to the sale that an “H” bébé had previously achieved a price of $100,000, and that anything was possible in an auction environment.
The blond, bisque-head doll with deep-blue paperweight eyes led a lineup of exquisite antique dolls, dollhouses, miniatures, doll and dollhouse furnishings, and candy containers from several prestigious private collections. The opening session took in more than $1 million, well exceeding the total high estimate for the day. Internet purchases accounted for $257,298 of the gross.
The Sunday May 18 session will open with rare early paper dolls. The grouping includes uncut Kewpies, Lettie Lane and McLoughlin paper dolls, and a particularly rare copyright-1811 S. & J. Fuller “The Protean Figure and Metamorphic Costumes.” Next up will be a fabulous grouping of antique and artisan miniatures. Large, wonderful dollhouses in the collection include two mystery houses, a red-roof Gottschalk, examples by Bliss and two well-made contemporary dollhouses, each filled with artisan miniatures. “There are some amazing silver and furniture miniatures, and dollhouse dolls in this collection,” said Becky Ourant. “They are simply superb.”
The second-day offering of French and German dolls will be interspersed with artist dolls – many of them very limited edition and handmade – by such renowned designers as Ella Haas, Hildegard Gunzel, Avigail Brahms, and Lynn and Michael Roche. “These are very high-end productions – true artists’ dolls,” said Ourant. “The woman who collected them had receipts for all the dolls and reference books in which many of the dolls are pictured.”
Other significant categories in the Sunday sale include approximately 50 lots of acclaimed R. John Wright dolls, many of them early releases; and designer teddy bears by Ted Menten, Cindy Martin, Ardie Sison, David Scarpati, Karen Meer and many others.
The auction begins at 10 a.m., with the preview commencing at 8 a.m. at Morphy Auctions/Adamstown Antique Gallery, 2000 N. Reading Road, Denver (Adamstown), Pa. All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet through eBay Live Auctions. The entire electronic catalog may be viewed online at www.morphyauctions.com or www.liveauctioneers.com.
For additional information, call Morphy Auctions at 717-335-3435 or e-mail [email protected]. Morphy Auctions is a subsidiary of Geppi’s Entertainment Auctions & Publications.
