New-York tribune., 1911-12-03
a4&S224CCYF INTEREST to WOME1 EA4EEEzzEaaeE
THE NEW RAG DOLL
1t Is Putting the Bisque
Beauties Ont of Business.

Insurgencv fs not limited to politics ana
oducation and art. for now It has entered
no less a sphere than Toyland. The CEN
ire Of the revolution is, OF course, Ger
many. the home of the toy and the toy
maker. and the leader an artist from pa-
varia, the country that lies around Nu-
remberg, the reputed county seat OF SANTA
Claus.
The artist. however, never intended u
start a revolution she was only trylhs W
make the best OF difficult situation. ehe
had two Jolly little girls who wanted 10
play and a very decided sculptor huspahu
who wouldn't give them shop toys to play
with. SO she tied knot In tower III
such a manner that It acquired two arms
and a waist-line, and then every time she
had to make a new one-which was often
enough. es Mmmele and Phffele dealt none
too kindly with their only plaything-she
improved upon the last until she evolved the
most wonderful doll baby that was ever
created.
In this evolution her husband, Max
Kruse who carved the modern Runner OF
Marathon" and Youthful Love" rendered
INDISPENSABLE service, for It is after his
models that the muslin infants are fash
toned He suggested and criticised while
his wife's deft fingers fashioned the little
forms with scissors, needle and thread,
muslin and cotton batting. -Four years
they labored before they attained the ideal
illustrated in the accompanying pictures
and now all Germany has fallen In love
with the adorable rag babies.
ANY one who has ever tried 10 stuff doll
or an animal knows how difficult it Is 10
sew seam on one side and then to have
II look. on the other, as one expected 1t to.
The rag dolls OF former days had heads
the fatness Of which suggested a steam
roller massage; Of expression there was
none. and Of profile not even a suggestion.
Not so the new Kaete Kruse doll. She
boasts not only a bona-fide profile, arms,
legs that are more useful than ornamental,
but two perfectly moulded, truly shellike
ears. Some Of them even boast the luxury
of a dimple.
How is it done? At first Frau Professor
Kruse would not tell II was her factory
secret she declared. Finally however,
when the craze for her dolls grew beyond
her own capacity as manufacturer she con-
sented TO teach young girls how TO make
them for a large toy shop, with the condl-
ton that she or some other artist OF worth
should paint the faces by hand. That pre-
vents them. she and her husband feel, from
acquiring that stupid, one-lke-the-oth
stare OF market toys.
The doll stands about foot and half
high, has movable limbs and a head as
hard as that Of a bsque or china doll
Every bit Of It is made Of ordinary muslin
sewed by hand and stuffed with the most
ordinary. cotton; the head IS dipped into
some chemicals. also a factory secret TO
fortify 1t against the trials Of nursery
life The body is fun Of little seams. the
placing and direction Of which presented
the most difficult problem to the makers
There is tiny little seam over the bridge
of the nose between the broWs. to give It
retrousse tilt, and one on either side Of the
chin, to give the face a better oval. The
ear. with all It's complicated little crevices,
is moulded with the rest of the head. but
how no one but the initiated knows or can
even understand. The dolls are so lifelike
that more than one visitor at an exhibit
Of toys held in Berlin-where the Kruse
dolls made their debut-upon seeing a group
OF them kicking and tumbling about on
lawn Of green wOrsted was led 10 eXclaim
II didn't know they had a day nursery con-
nected with the exhibit" or something
equally foolish.
These dolls. however, are not the only
TOYS Frau Professor Kruse has made They