Morning journal and courier., 1889-12-30
their costumes for each season, and in some
aasas THAR draaaaa ara chancrad for tha differ.

ent hours of the day with great regularity.
But this mania for elaborate dressing and
the paraphernalia that accompany these lit
tie men and women have only run into this
extravaganza within the past few years.
When eur grandmothers, or even our moth
large sum for 9 doll, and FIVE dollars was an
enormous price. Many whose parents were
tolerably we'll off were perfectly content
with rag baby, where a lead pencil served
to make the nose, eyes and mouth. Nov
even the children of very poor people have
sbought" doll.
When was a child brides were the fash-
ion. It was regarded as the height Of bliss
to be the possessor of doll in white satin
dress, with train and veil fastened on her
head with wreath. We never thought OF
having husband for her. Now they have
husbands and even children.
Seeing what feature of business and life
dolls have become, wondered who and
what caused this great change In SO few
years, and learned a remarkable story by
my curiosity.
How many people know the strange story
of the doll industry! II is an interesting one,
not only to the young, who play with dolls,
but to the old who buy them. There is .
bright and interesting woman living IN this
city, who is doll modiste. Devoting q re.
markable talent to making new styles for
dolls, as Worth and the swell dressmakers
Of New York oudgel their brains to produce
new fancies for living femininity. Her
name is Miss Hartog, and che has revolu-
tionized the entire doll trade Of this coun-
try; and has become recognized authority.
She told me the story of her successful sd-
venture in these words:
-Four winters ago dressed a doll for
friend to send to little girl relative living
in Denver, Col. had made dress for my
niece, who was four years old, which had
been very much admired, so patterned the
dolls after it, excepting the co1ors, combin-
ing, instead, pink and green, always very
effective. I finished it some time in No
vember. For number of years I had
dressed dolls for my little friends as a pas
time, but this one was entirely different
from any I ever had done before. My friend
was SO pleased With it, and it being some
time before Christmas, she did not send it
away at once, but took it home and stood it
on her mantel. Among her customers was
young lady whose brother was an importer
Of dolls: as soon as she saw it she was 30
delighted with it that she wanted to know
who had dressed it. She followed her in-
quiry by saying that her brother had large
wholesale house down town, and dealt in
these manufactured people. He had, she
said, been trying to find some one in this
country who would make complete change
| in the style of dolls dresses. He had pur-
chased from foreign houses in Germany, but
the designs they sent were unfamiliar to our
people and unpopular. For two or three
seasons he had made the experiment Of hay-
| ing them dressed here. but without success.
| She expressed to my friend an earnest wish
that her brother could meet me. Thus this
accident changed, to great degree the
stThe brother came and was as much
| pleased as his sister had been. He immedi-
ately wanted me to dress some samples for
him. told him I should be willing to try
a few, 20 it was agreed that he should send
| me some at once. They came that night,
| and I shall never forget how they appeared.
| There were seventy seven, ranging from the
4 most expensive kind to the cheaper ones.
| They were large and small, blondes and
brunettes, black faces and white faces. lu
fact there were all kinds, grades and sizes.
| "You cannot imagine how large LOT
seventy-seven dolls seam until you see them
out of the store. I wondered where would
ever get styles enough out of my head tc
dress them with different designs. Bul
when began the ideas came faster than
had dolls to put them on. set to work al
once and was about month finishing them
You must understand I had nothing giveI
me but the bare doll. The dealer was 81
we'll pleased with the one he had seen that
had carte blanche to get what wanted and
do Just as liked. There were no orders
nor restrictions, financially nor other wise
He was nice man to work for, and
thought 80 then, when it was my first expe
rience.
'sHe told me he would like to have thirty
eight different styles, and to duplicate eacl
one exactly, in material and color. His plar
was to send them to Europe to be copied BY
the dozens, and then returned here, because
labor was SO much cheaper there He wanted
two of each kind, to send to different houses
/ -, 20 md nd oh 1r
do them the cheapest. After they were com
pleted, stood them up in the parlor, and
sent for the man who had employed me tc
do the work. When he saw them he was
simply delighted, and must say they did
look beautiful.
"There was the Roman lady, attired ir
soft, gauzy material, with long, flowing
sleeves that reached to the bottom of her
dress, and small skull cap on her head.
lot, and was like dream. I had different
style baby dolls, and children ranging from
Ave to ten years of age, all dressed quantity.
There was the winsome Marguerite, in hel
Gretchen dress, dashing Greenaway cos.
tune of rich materials; boy in bicycle
euit, q bellboy and a colored porter of 6
Pullman car Then there were the flower
peasant and gypsy girls, and had little
| colored boy about eight years old, with q
girl companion. Mrs. Barnett's story ol
"Little Lord Fauntleroy" had just been pub
lished, and dressed boy as he was pic
tursd in the book, which Is not as they dresl
him on the stage.
sfThey were very tedious to make, espe'
cially the boys suits, and all of their clothes
were as neat and close fitting as If the ladiel
were to walk out or the children to romI
and play. I was paid just what asked fo
them-$175-and received for my labor il
the neiuhhorhood of $40,
s'It was about three weeks before Christ
mas when they were finished, and too late II
do anything with them for that season
They were sent to the two houses in Ger
many, and when 1t was decided which on
should do the work there were hundreds o
dozens ordered of each kind. As matter
of course, the cheaper ones were in th
greatest demand. The sailor children sole
the best. There were many of then
wanted that they could not be manu-
factured fast enough, and l was asked t
dress some for the same piice as was pai'
abroad. 1 took forty five dozen, found tn
materials and did the work for $3.5
dozen. Then did six dozen of the peasan
and the same number of the gypsy dolls
and received SO dozen. Besides the labor
there was q Great deal of work necessitatet
by running to the stores for materials ant
mnch time consumed. The merchant wa
very anxious for me to start factory here
| rs pIOuls5u W hS0p 1uo Plooo AZ "oAA Va
year around. Bnt was afraid to undertak
!. 1t. I could not compete with the cheal
labor of Europe, and in the help hired fo
dressing the extra dolls found could d
four while the smartest of them would b
, dressing one."
This is q queer state of things, applying t
J this business. Not only the dolls Themselves
but their wardrobe is all made abroad Th
cheap German labor cannot invent pleasin
styles, but they can copy the designs tina
this womans fertile brain gives them, cheap
er than she can do them herself in thi
country. The firms here can make NOR
money to ship these samples, and pay TO
the return of the dolls that are made fo
them than to pay for American labor, wher
there would be no shipments. But the ques
tion naturally arises, why can this work b
: done 80 much cheaper on the other side
, The answer is that our people will not liv
in the manner that the pauper laborer
abroad are content to do. They are mucl
better class of citizens, they are bette
housed, better dressed, and live on very dit
ferent food. This is one reason why it
0 cheaper for these manufacturers to hav
: their work done in another land, beside
taking the trouble and risk of shipping.
"The following Christmas" said Miss Hal
Q tog, continuing her story, "they did not re
1 A.. ho