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Henri d'Allemagne Dolls, ca. 1920

Value (2016) | $10,000 Retail – $20,000 Retail
Watch  

GUEST:
Well, back in the 1930s and early 1940s, my mother collected old dolls at that time. And she bought them from a Mrs. Isolde Dorgen, who was showing this kind of doll in Philadelphia. Which is where we lived at the time.

APPRAISER:
Okay, well, it's interesting because usually dolls of this type come out of very, very early doll collections, usually on the East Coast. And… did your mother tell you any information that she knew about the dolls?

GUEST:
Well, she told me that they were from the court of Marie Antoinette.

APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.

GUEST:
And that the court members would… use them as marionettes or puppets after dinner, and they would sit around and tell the gossip of the court…

APPRAISER:
Right.

GUEST:
…through them.

APPRAISER:
Was there—was there something a little bit different about these dolls?

GUEST:
Ah, yes. they are biologically... complete. (chuckles)

APPRAISER:
So, they're, like, very, very complete.

GUEST:
Yes.

APPRAISER:
And… do you know how many were produced at all?

GUEST:
I have no idea.

APPRAISER:
Okay, well, I know a little background. People sort of put them in the 18th century. They really are from the early part of the 20th century. There was a man in Paris called d'Allemagne, who wrote a doll book, and he was one of the early, early doll collectors. There probably was a few things from the 18th century, but it's never been proven. So they sort of fall in a folk art category. And… they're beautifully constructed, beautifully carved. Their clothing's usually always made out of 18th-century silk material. If you look closely at the lady, the construction of her legs is a hook, which is a 19th-century invention, not an 18th-century invention. So I mean, the early doll collectors really wanted stuff from the 18th century. This d'Allemagne person actually created these dolls. And they were shown in a Paris exhibition also in 1921 and then in Philadelphia in the 1930s. Now, any idea what your mother paid for them years ago?

GUEST:
You know, I don't.

APPRAISER:
Okay, well, today's market, they've gone down a little bit in price. I've seen them sell as high as $30,000. Probably on today's market, this particular pair by d'Allemagne, probably in the $15,000 to $25,000 range.

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Appraisal Details

Appraiser
Richard Wright
Dolls, Toys & Games
Update (2016)
$10,000 Retail – $20,000 Retail
Appraised value (2001)
$15,000 Retail – $25,000 Retail
Featured In
Tucson, Hour 2 (#0602)
Vintage Tucson (#2019)
Event
Tucson, AZ (June 09, 2001)
Category
Dolls
Period
20th Century
Form
Doll , Doll Clothes
Material
Silk

Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.

Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."

Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.

Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.

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