Description
Very Good+ dust jacket illustrated with dolls, light edge rub wear, a mylar dust jacket has been added. The Near Fine binding is red cloth over boards, gilt lettering. 121 illustrations including 70 Color (28 tipped in plates, 6 fold out illustrations). The binding is tight and pages are clean. The book measures 10.9″ tall x 11.7″ wide.
First Edition
About the book (from the dust jacket)
Since the dawn of time, dolls have been cherished by children, worshiped by primitive peoples invoked as magical weapons for good and evil. This extraordinary) book reveals the many aspects of the doll through the superb photography of H. Landshoff, whose photographs for Abrams’ The Shell have received great critical acclaim, and the text and commentaries r Carl Fox, former director of Museum shops for the Smithsonian Institution and the Brooklyn Museum, and a long-time collector himself.
Both text and pictures capture enchantment of these miniature “people.” Almost two hundred full-page Plates show dolls from many cultures and eras There are fashion models made for queens and fancifully dressed Victorian damsels; sophisticated French ladies by the greatest doll makers of all -Jumeau, Bru, Steiner, Huret, Rohmer–and sturdy cornhusk figures made by loving hands; forlorn little dolls who have lain forgotten decades, but who for were once so fiercely cherished that they still bear the bruises of love; puppets, Kewpies, and Brownies; voodoo dolls; fetish figures from Africa; sumptuous
Oriental dolls, and the fascinating Indian Kachina dolls of our Southwest. The photographs are as richly varied in mood as in subject; gay or somber, dramatic or idyllic, eerie or even macabre, each one is a work of art in its own right.
In his free-flowing, informal introductory essay, Carl Fox ranges over the history and meaning of dolls around the world, and examines the collector’s mania as well. His commentaries to the individual plates are sometimes whimsical, factual; often a sometimes particular doll will bring to mind a passage from a novel, or a poem or newspaper article. Thus he captures the spirit of his subject, provides a wealth of historical and technical information, and gives the reader a revealing glimpse into the workings of one collector’s mind, A carefully selected bibliography is also provided.
This is a book to delight child and adult, collector and historian, a glowing testimony to the companions of childhood and the scope of human craftsmanship and imagination.
