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| The two little tots with their baskets are off on a picnic, taking with them some crackers, cakes and candies for luncheon. Their pet lamb (a toy), of course, goes along. They are wearing pretty white muslin dresses and are allowed on this special occasion to carry their best silk parasols. |
100 years ago a new doll at Christmastime made little girls the happiest of happy little beings, since the newcomer frequently added one more to the collection of other years, and eventually she might acquire and entire family of doll "children" to train up and love!
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| In the illustration they are all attention to the teacher, and we can
almost hear the one in front with the hand raised saying "Present" to the morning roll call. What fun it would be to have a school in a corner, if only some one at home will provide a few tables and benches which might easily be fashioned from boxes! |
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| Left, Two of their little friends are very anxious about the big gander (a
toy) that has been lost and is now being driven home. Michel, with his pointed cap, feels very big in his suit like Father's. Right, "Let's play ball" is suggested by the wee mites pictured above. |
Below, left, Gretchen and Hans are talking things over. "What shall we do today?" asks Gretchen. They are ready for anything, and so we leave it to their little mother to make the day full of fun for them--perhaps a ride in their express wagon if the day is fine.
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| What a busy time they are having at their morning bath in the picture at the bottom of the page, washing in the basin and slipping on their clothes! A toy bureau with an inexpensive china set would enable one to make this seem almost real. |
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| Käthe Kruse kisses her human doll. |
Wherever they are their mother creator knows, for every doll she sends from the big nursery in her home at Kösen out into the big world to make its fortune, through bringing joy to some little girl's heart, is numbered and bears Käthe Kruse's signature on it's left foot as a birthmark.
"My aim in making them is education toward motherliness," is how Käthe Kruse described her art to one of the big American buyers, who was one of the few Americans who have ever been allowed to visit her home and see her at work.
She puts into the little faces the good lines, the contour, the features that physiognomists agree show the best traits in a human being. She sends a hand written message to the little girl who is to receive one of her babies and strives to have the little inanimate form be a constant reminder of that message.
And all that she teaches her little hand-maidens to convey of inspiration to the far away little men and women in all climes, she practices in her own home in Kösen. Käthe Kruse has three little daughters of her own, as polite, well mannered and kindly little girls as can be found anywhere in the world. She is a very devoted mother. To see some of her dolls is to see the nearest counterfeit presentment of her own flesh-and-blood girls.
For it was by close study of her own little ones, watching for the good lines in their countenances, suggesting happy, generous, helpful thoughts to light up their faces, that showed her where to subtly place by artistic touch similar lines of virtue in the faces of the doll models.
Frau Käthe Kruse was "born of the people." By careful self-culture along the best lines she has fitted herself to appear at ease in any society, to conduct herself with such deportment and grace, such intelligent conversation on important subjects that she would be conspicuously a gentlewoman in any gathering. "She is one of nature's noblewomen" is the description of a prominent American business man who for business reasons visited her home workshop and treasures the memory of the day he spent there as an inspiration and a blessing.
He remembers so much about the aims and personality of the originator of these character dolls. The little manikins she turns out are the most wonderful lifelike creations. They are all handmade by the artist herself; they are soft and warm and appealing. They are made of -no one but Käthe Kruse herself knows what. Her process is a closely guarded secret. They have an art finish and the bodies are of a cloth like texture. The faces remind one of old masterpieces with the flesh-tints and expressions that have marveled the ages. They are not rag babies, not a bisque composition. The dolls are a soft substance. they have a look about them that makes mothers reach to cuddle them and children impulsively kiss them.
Whatever these dolls are made of, they are unbreakable and washable and can be cleansed with soap and water, if not too generously or vigorously applied. As in child fashion they turn their heads aside from the wash rag and the realistic nature of the dolls is emphasized by the very wrinkles in the doll's neck. Every doll is seventeen inches tall and has an individual, unique appearance with full face and ruddy complexion. Each doll is also "different" or distinctive, their are no two alike. Kruse paints each one separately, not as an assembly line copied one from the next.
Every doll is made at the artist's red brick home in Kösen. Most of them made in the nursery where Käthe Kruse's children play in their own nursery. The artist keeps a very neat and orderly home considering this production. She has an assistant to help her with the rougher work on bodies and forms, but all of the finishing touches a done by the artist alone. Then every doll is carefully inspected and must suit her fastidious taste before she will give it a number and send it out into the world to bless child-life with its inspiring touch.
Of course, under these conditions the output of this doll nursery is limited, even as the way in which they are made makes them costly and limits the markets to those of means. Then too, the isolation of Koesen makes it far distant from the centers usually visited by buyers for the large importing market place. Her home is known to very few tourists but this is good because Mrs. Kruse may then put more energy into her dolls instead of entertaining visitors. Attention to detail makes her dolls more appealing to Americans so perhaps the limited exposure to tourists is a good thing after all.
Käthe Kruse dolls have been in the market place for approximately six years now. They were fist shown at a fair inconspicuously in Leipzig, known locally as "the Messe," held in March, where all the industries of Germany are exhibited. The dolls attracted the attention of more discerning buyers who had been commissioned to look for something individual for wealthier clients. These clients being American so the dolls were imported and have remained popular in the United States ever since then.
Small descriptive catalogues are also mailed by Kruse that describe her doll "children" in the form of daintly blue "baby books." New doll mothers may keep a record of their "baby's mischief" inside the booklets. Pictures of the Kruse dolls doing routine things like housework, going to school and playing in the market are depicted inside these catalogues too. This sweet form of marketing helps to promote her dolls in a whimsical fashion. (The original article appeared in a Sunday Star newspaper in 1914. But I have edited it for the web considerably, Kathy Grimm)
Learn more about Käthe Kruse.
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