À la recherche du temps perdu

Travel in its ultimate form ought to be through time. Doll collectors of a certain ilk will agree that holding on to an object of the past is the best (and perhaps only) alternative to the previously proposed voyage, above all if that object has survived the passage of time relatively victorious. 

In the spirit of Charles Baudelaire...

Des poupées luisantes,
Polies par les ans...

For there is nothing more beautiful than a doll that exists with ample proof of its survival: it's called patina. Untouched yet imperfect, the doll - mellowed and softened - still retains its integrity of structure and character.  For regardless of how careful the storage, few substances can resist giving in to Master Time. Flesh and blood certainly cannot, and neither can composition,  although the latter can fare much better than the former. 

On this last entry for the month of February, Dolldom proposes a little game of reflection. Instead of merely documenting the history of a classic doll in its original box, Dolldom presents a creative re-enactment of a sweet memory lost.

This is the story of a fragment of the life of Maybelle, a girl who turns six years old on February 28, 1935. Maybelle, who lives with her mother, aunt, and grandmother, knows that life is hard and that all have to learn to live within a very tight budget. Still, on her birthday, she receives a parcel tied with orange and white waxed thread. There's writing on it and photos of a little girl on the bottom band. Maybelle realizes that it is her birthday gift: her very own Patsyette doll, made by EFFanBEE. The rest of this episode is best told in pictures, golden little photos of a golden moment long past.























A little history: Patsyette was sculpted by Bernard Lipfert for EFFanBEE. The vintage doll pictured wears a circa 1930s mommy-made dress, original shoes, and EFFanBEE golden heart charm bracelet. She is made of composition and shows crazing expected for a doll of her age.