Dolls & Play Things: The Stass Collection, Plus a Private Native American Collection
Thu, Dec 4, 2025 10:00AM EST
Live Auction
Lot 4
Group of Five Rag Dolls
Estimate: $250 - $500
Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $25 |
| $300 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $200 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,000 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $50,000 |
Group of five turn-of-the-century rag dolls found in Pennsylvania. Original clothing, thread-sewn hair, drawn faces, and tallest doll (23 in.) clad with leather boots. American, last quarter of the 19th century.
"They were probably made and dressed by children who raided the attic for trimmings, and were certainly conceived as a family or a group of friends. Their lumpy heads are covered with muslin; their thread hair refuses to be combed. But the style of their clothes--the gold silk finishing touches, the cast-off brooches and cutout dress ornaments, the silver trimming, the lace on the dress--is in the spirit of children "dressing up." Faces were drawn on the cloth heads and the clothes were carefully sewn. The doll in the calico print, once a composition doll, retained her original arms and legs; by sewing a cloth head over what must have been a broken head, the dollmaker made her member of the group" (Lavitt, pg. 20).
Published: American Folk Dolls by Wendy Lavitt (1982).
H 15 in. - 23 in.
Condition
Wear/discoloration commensurate with age and use.
Available payment options
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A list of local shippers includes:
The Village Express, Branford, CT 203-481-7426 or (vexpress@comcast.net), Attn: Kristen
The UPS Store #5105 at 203-772-4445 or (store5105@theupsstore..com), Attn: Manjit.
The UPS Store #2233, Wallingford, CT at 203-949-0050 or (store2233@theupsstore.com), Attn: Jim or Adam.
Couriers (for licensed transport across state lines):
Outward Bound Courier Logistics, Dalton, MA at 413-854-3676, Attn: Alan or Ben.
GNLE Delivery, Stockton, NJ at 908-256-3947, Attn: Kieran Giannelli
For fine art, furniture, and shippers that crate:
Maquette FAS CT, Branford, CT at 203-640-8453, Attn: Kevin
Plycon Transportation Group 631-269-7000
Codogan Tate 718-689-7969
US ART 718-986-6500
All purchases must be picked up from our location within 14 days, no exceptions. Purchased items that have been paid for but not picked up or shipped from our auction facility within 14 days of the auction will be stored at a rate of $10 per day per lot for furniture and larger items and $5 per day per lot for smaller items. A moving fee of $25 going into storage and $25 going out of storage will be added. Storage fees and late fees must be paid before items are released. There are no exceptions.
Items not picked up within 60 days of the auction date will be considered in default and become the property of New England Auctions.
03/2024
Collection of Nancy Stass.
- 14 Business Park Drive, Suite 5, Branford, CT 06405
- 475.234.5120
- info@neauction.com
© FRED GIAMPIETRO
