Theriault's Upcoming October Doll Auctions

An American Childhood, upcoming Theriault's doll auctions:  At Play in a Field of Dolls and The Blackler Collection

I received auction catalogs for two upcoming Theriault's auctions:  At Play in a Field of Dolls, and The Blackler Collection. Combined, the catalogs total 324 pages of early American dolls.  The following letter accompanied the catalogs:

Greetings,

We are gearing up for our wonderful fall auction event "An American Childhood" in Los Angeles, California... which will take place October 4-5-6th.  The collection is one of the finest offerings of early American cloth and folk art dolls ever to come to market, including an astounding collection of black cloth dolls, as well as dozens of fine teddy bears, Raggedy Ann, and early studio dolls from such iconic firms as Ella Smith, Emma Adams, and Martha Chase.  The collection seamlessly mixes with early wooden toy horses as well as early Mickey Mouse and Disneyana.

The entire auction will be streaming online and bidding will be available onsite, by absentee, live by telephone, and online.  We would love it if you would help us spread the word about this momentous event and also consider joining us for the auction.  

Warm regards,

Kristin McWharter

At Play in a Field of Dolls takes place on October 4, 2014, 9 a.m. (preview of auction), 11 a.m. (auction begins) and will feature "the fine Lois Cohorst antique doll collection of the Marysville Doll Museum on the Pony Express Trail of Kansas, as well as private estate dolls from important French and German collections."

The Blackler Collection takes place from October 5 - 6, 2014, 9 a.m. (preview of auction), 11 a.m. (auction begins both days).  "The private collection of  [twin sisters] Diane and Valerie Blackler of Naples, California offers the most exceptional collection of American cloth dolls ever presented, highlighted by folk art dolls, 19th century studio dolls, and black folk dolls."

Both auctions can be viewed now by visiting www.theriaults.com and clicking on the button for Proxibid.

I previewed the catalogs for both auctions online prior to receipt of the hard copies and remain fascinated by the offerings, most of which are one of a kind and very rare pieces of early American doll play, history, and appreciation. 

Both catalogs can be viewed online here.


Both auctions include black dolls with the Blacker Collection containing the most.  In the following video, Florence Theriault shows a few of her favorite dolls from The Blackler Collection.


As mentioned in the letter, there are several ways to bid:

• Onsite at the Universal City Hilton in Los Angeles, California
• Absentee Bidding (by absentee bidding form)
• Online bidding via Proxbid.com
• Telephone bidding at the time of the auction is also available.  Call 800-638-0422 for information or to schedule your bidding calls.

For additional information, also call 800-638-0422.

dbg