The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-04-27
THE DOLLS OF PARIS.
THEY USED TO BE MASlkINS. NOW
THEY ARE TIE REAL THING.

Employed To show on the Costumes OF
women-A Piece OF Gs:isntry In War
Times-soine Modern Dolls Never Re-
turn to Their Partisan Masters.
NJ Guy Tomel i'm lie Journal des De-
bats gives an interesting account of dumb
dolls, talking dolls and dolls that get mar
ried. Three nations. he says, have the lu
cratiye honor of furnishing the dolls for
little girls all over the world. England
produces the wax doll. Germany the saw
dust stuffed leather doll, with head OF
porcelain, and France has the jointed baby,
invented in 1869. Before this compare.
lively recent period France did not con.
tribute much 10 the international doll
market. Her dolls were nevertheless cele.
brated throughout the entire world, but
they were fashionable dolls, or dolls for
grown up ladies. Sometimes perhaps In
our travels through Paris we may have
noticed tiny glass showcases which serve
as the signs of dresSmakers. In these lit
tie cases there are manikins dressed with
the greatest possible care i'm the feminine
fashion of the day They are specimens Of
the costumes offered by the dressmakers TO
their customers. The elegance and detail
of these lilliputian toilets, in which there
| ~
been admired. There the little lady stands
in her rather stiff but proud attitude. the
! sphinx of fashion.
Salute these little princesses whose num-
Der is decreasing every day. During cen
! turtles they were the missionaries of the
French fashions, even in the most remote
regions, and, thanks 10 them, ladies in far
distant countries were never afraid 10 sup.
ply themselves with articles which the lit
tie manikins taught them TO wear with
chic.
With every export of ladies' apparel the
merchants sent one of those little mani
kins, and the precaution was never an I'M
wise one. An example of its utility was
furnished in Calcutta The first cloaks
that were sent there, of very light tex.
ture, considering the climate, were worn
'upon the head, like mantillas, by the Cal.
cutta ladies. to whom, by mistake, the ex-
porter had neglected to send the little
model At the end o: the year it arrived,
and the error was corrected.
One hundred years ago voyages were so
long, so perilous and costly that they re-
CURED sort of holiness reserved for men
alone. One could count on the fingers the
number OF women who came 10 Paris in
she eighteenth century from any country
that period Paris busted the feminine head
with its renown as the capital of fashion.
But there is better still. The French model
doll, awaited with impotence by the ladies
to whom it was sent, enjoyed privileges of
Immunity that were not always possessed
even by our ambassadors. For the doll |
they created sort of special law or priyi- |
lege. In a publication of the eighteenth |
century the following suggestive lines APP |
pear:
Every body knows that during the most |
bloody war between France and England, |
at the time OF Addison, piece of gallantry |
not unworthy OF history existed between |
the ministers Of the courts of Versailles |
and st. James. In compliment to the la
dies they allowed the big doll to go free
1t was figure completely dressed accord
ing 10 the most recent fashion, TO serve as
a model for the English ladies' In this
way, in the midst of the furious hostilities,
this manikin was the only thing that was
respected by the soldiers. -
Certainly the days of glory are passed
for the doll of fashion, not only because
the railroads and universal expositions
bring frequently enough foreign ladies
capable of detailing in their own countries
the secrets of our high toned dressmakers,
bub DtNausc tHe NulRdTlZdtlOn Oh the 1aSn- |
ion plates of the day that are exploited by
the newspapers leave nothing to be guessed
at by the coquettes of the two hemispheres |
Nevertheless, continues NJ. Guy
Tomel, 81 wanted to know if the mission
airy doll was entirely dead after such a
brilliant career, and if some South Ameri-
can republic or some archipelago of the
nntipodes did not exist where she continued
to give her lessons in fashion. / expressed
this idea to a specialist of tho Rue de la
Paix
" Do you send manikin sometimes in
your exports?' asked
Certainly, he replied. The thing is
absolutely necessary. No water color can
90 into complete details. But the bother
Is that they do not always speak the Ian.
yuage of the country
"All right l thought; they are sending
dolls. That is progress
For example, continued my inter-
ocutor, Il want one now that can talk
and / haven't got one, and
another bother is that very often they
won't come back when send them away.
They remain in the country and marry in
% rich families
yes, said, with punchinellos.'
ooh, no, not punchinellos, but very
respectaDle people, can assure you. L
ost two good ones recently in this way in
Brazil
Suddenly the cloud dissipated. l I'M
lerstood, and it was time. The fashion
ible dolls that are now sent along to ac-
company the expectations are employees
# the establishment who have given am
dc proof of their gifts, their abilities and
heir elegance. 1t is a much sought for
mission among the pretty well formed ,
nd skillful girls"