Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

My grandmother gave me these dolls when I was 16. I grew up in Connecticut, and brought them to Memphis when I was 23. As I grew up, she would show me these dolls, but I never could touch them. And I guess she waited until I was 16, so I wouldn't play with them.

APPRAISER

Well, you have two dolls from two different countries. The lady right here next to you is a French doll, and she's commonly known as a French fashion doll, or Lady doll. And this is a child doll right here. She's made in Germany. This was made in the Sonnenberg area of Germany. This was made in Paris, France. The fashion was made by a company called Bru, B-R-U. And she has a bisque head, shoulder plate, glass eyes, a mohair wig, which is goat hair, her original clothes, her original jewelry. She is missing her shoes, and her body's all leather. This particular doll-- the little Sonnenberg doll-- has a wax-over- papier-mch face, and then composition hands with swivel joints right there. Her eyes are closed. Do you know anything about that?

GUEST

I really don't. I would tilt her from time to time to see if I could see the eye, but...

APPRAISER

Uh-huh. Well, let's see if we can do something with her. We're going to pull this little lever, and her eyes open.

GUEST

Where is that?

APPRAISER

And then you push the lever down like that, and the eyes shut.

GUEST

Oh, my. Where is that little lever?

APPRAISER

The lever's on the side of her body.

GUEST

Oh, my goodness!

APPRAISER

Well, anyway, anyway, they're, they're both from the same era. They're from the late 1860s, maybe as new as 1870, but I would put them, like, 1865, sort of Civil War era.

GUEST

(exhaling)

APPRAISER

The little Sonnenberg doll-- all original clothes, original shoes, original hair, super original little wardrobe. And you actually have the, the paper trunk that she came in.

GUEST

Yeah.

APPRAISER

The wax-over has darkened with age.

Values

the little Sonnenberg doll with her wardrobe-- probably $1,200 to $1,500. Now, the Bru fashion, even though she's missing her shoes-- you can find original shoes for her-- she's more in the $3,000 to $4,000 range.

GUEST

She is?

APPRAISER

Right.

GUEST

Oh, my.

APPRAISER

So probably around $5,500 for the grouping.

GUEST

Those are nice dolls.

APPRAISER

Yeah, they're lovely dolls, and they're in lovely condition.