Description
Armand Marsielle Bisque Head Doll
Complete with Wig [she may have had a haircut in her life!]
She is dressed in a full complement with socks and shoes
c.1900
Marked to back of head Armand Marsielle Germany 390 A 4 M
Approx 49cms (19+") tall
In very good condition relative to age, no obvious faults to the bisque head and has been played with, but respected over it's long life. Eyes close when lying flat - may need a slight jiggle to open them afterwards. Arms and legs move freely [apologies for her poor poses, she is that tall she needed to be tilted to fit in my photo booth!]. Fingers are good [no chewing].
Costume may need some tidying up. Shoes may have had bows or ribbons that have come off [there is a slight dollop of glue remaining].
Please Note: stand used for photography not included [we only have the one and we need it]
About Armand Marsielle | you can read more here
Armand Marseille was a Russian of French Huguenot ancestry, who took up residence in Köppelsdorf, Germany where he built a highly successful doll business. His story began in St Petersburg in Russia where he was born in 1856. His father was educated at the Imperial School of Art in St. Petersburg and worked as an architect. The Marseille family moved within the social circle of the court of the Russian Czar. Armand was well educated, spoke multiple languages, had a strong work ethic, and a sound understanding of the business world. With the assassination of Czar Nicholas II Armand's father chose to move the family out of Russia, eventually establishing a new home in Coburg, Germany.
Armand spent some time traveling to various European cities before returning to Germany ready to establish a business of his own. He took notice of the thriving doll making industry in the Sonneberg area and decided to invest in that line of business. In 1884 he purchased the doll and toy making factory of Mathias Lambert. The following year he purchased the porcelain factory of Liebermann & Wegesche which had been making items such as pipe heads, whistle parts and other utilitarian wares. He began reorganizing the factory spaces, hiring skilled workers and in 1890 he began producing his first bisque doll heads.
In 1893 Marseille's company had 200 employees and was advertising jointed bathing dolls and bisque doll heads. In 1896 an article in a Sonneberg newspaper on the state of bisque doll making in the area commended Armand Marseille for his company's use of careful production methods and well-molded doll shoulder-head designs. The article went on to relate that Marseille's efforts resulted in good quality doll heads made at a very affordable price. In 1906 Marseille purchased another porcelain factory in the nearby town of Neuhaus in which he used primarily to manufacture porcelain for use in electrical products.
By 1910 the company had 800 employees. They also used items such as doll wigs and glass eyes made by out-workers in the region who specialized in such products. Reportedly they also made composition doll bodies. They sold complete dolls and supplied heads to many other German doll makers including Cuno & Otto Dressel, Otto Gans, Peter Scherf, Wagner & Zetzche to name only a few. They also supplied American doll wholesalers such Louis Amberg, Butler Brothers, George Borgfeldt, and Louis Wolf. Retailers such as Sears and Montgomery Ward bought from Marseille.
In about 1918 Armand suffered a heart attack and in 1919 he turned the running of the business over to his son Hermann. Against his father's advice Hermann entered into a partnership with his Heubach brother-in-law which was called Vereinigte Köppelsdorfer Porzelainfabrik (United Porcelain Factory of Köppelsdorf). Despite their partner agreement each factory was run as a separate enterprise and Hermann employed the same conscientious approach to running his end of the joint business. By 1926 Marseille was making 1000 doll heads per day. Reportedly Heubach's business practices were quite different from Marseille's and the partnership was dissolved in 1928 with each company becoming a separate entity once again.
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Condition Descriptions
In the main we sell delicate, individually made antique and collectible items that have had a prior ownership history and prior use. We believe that we are extraordinarily exacting in our condition reports of our items – and we describe our items with knowledge and a critical eye developed over decades of experience handling an enormous quantity of similar items. We make every human effort possible to detect or disclose significant age related soiling, damage through use or misuse, or restoration to damage to items on this website. Given the age of the items we sell – minor and insignificant wear, blemishes consistent with the manufacture techniques used in the production of an item or simply evidence of age of a previously owned item (for example fine, clean crazing) is not damage - nor significantly detracting.
For further details refer Clause 2 in our Terms of Service, which you can find here.
Shipping Times
We do not guarantee shipping times - while all best efforts are made to dispatch in a timely manner, we do not guarantee shipping times. If receipt of your order is time sensitive - please contact us to discuss requirements before placing an order, not after placing an order. We cannot guarantee carriers delivery times - they are beyond our control.
Returns and Refunds
Items can be returned if not as described for a refund of the purchase price and shipping – provided that you notify us within 7 days of receipt of the item of your intention to do so. You can do this by emailing or phoning us.
We consider significantly not as described as a failure on our part to detect or disclose significant soiling, damage or restoration. Given the age of the items we sell – minor and insignificant wear, blemishes consistent with the manufacture techniques used in the production of an item or simply evidence of age like fine, clean crazing is not reason to return an item.
Order Cancellations
1.1 If for some reason we cannot supply an item you have ordered (due to our error or an item being lost), we will refund you in full. This may take a few working days for the credit to appear in your account due to banking vagaries. Please note sometimes refunds can differ in quantum due to currency conversions and exchange rate differences.
1.2 If you cancel an order (before we dispatch to you) due to change of mind or concerns about shipping times - we will refund you for the purchase price of the item LESS $25 in administration fees AND a 2.5% restocking surcharge (which is essentially what our bank charges us to receive your payments via credit cards or online payment methods, together with currency conversion fees and other ). Your change of mind incurs expenses for us - these are charges we incur and you pay - we should not lose because of your decision.
1.3 Once an order is dispatched to you, orders cannot be cancelled under any circumstances.
Buyers Remorse
Given the delicate nature of the items we sell and the practicalities of logistics of same, we do not refund for change of mind or buyers remorse. If you purchase an item and when you receive it you find that you already have it in your collection – we will exchange your purchase for other items that we have or failing that, extend a store credit, but the shipping in both directions is your cost. For exchanges and returning for store credit please notify us within 7 days of receipt of the item of your intention to do so. You can do this by emailing or phoning us.
Returning your Item to Us
On returns, the items must be well packed and returned to us in the same high quality manner in which they were sent to you.
Duties and Taxes on Export Sales
We sell our items on a delivered taxes unpaid. Taxes and duties on items ordered overseas (from us located in Australia) are your responsibility. If you fail to pay the duties and taxes on your item and it is returned to us - you WILL NOT be refunded in full.
You will be refunded your purchase price LESS:
(1) the reasonable shipping charges in both directions; and
(2) a $50 as an administration and cancellation fee for receiving the order, packing the order and processing the sale; and
(3) a 2.5% restocking surcharge (which is essentially what our bank charges us to receive your payments via credit cards or online payment methods, together with currency conversion fees and other).
Your failure to pay legal taxes and duties incurs expenses for us - these are charges we incur and you pay - we will not lose because of your decision.
We do not refund taxes and duties if the item has been exported and you desire a return. These are your costs, not ours.
AUSTRALIAN PURCHASES
All Australian purchases are professionally packed to the the highest possible standard and are sent fully Insured Australia Post Signature on Delivery (this is not an option - it is done for your security, and ours). This is a fully trackable service. In some cases with extremely valuable or large items we may deliver personally.
Full details of how we pack are shown in the blog article The All Important Packing Process.
INTERNATIONAL PURCHASES
All International purchases are professionally packed and when Shipping Internationally we use a combination of Australia Post Pack and Track and Australia Post Express Post International (EMS Courier, depending on package size, destination and value of items). All parcels are able to be tracked on line. Full details of how we pack are shown below.
Rest assured, in every transaction, customer satisfaction is paramount and we pack to the highest possible standard.
Full details of how we pack are shown in the blog article The All Important Packing Process.