DISCOVER

Here is the new version of the French website named "Le cercle des poupées disparues" id est in English "Lost dolls society" which will be exclusively devoted to folk dolls from now on. A more simple and fashionable design should not disturb my faithful visitors. The considerable reduction of the source code with a better adaptation to the Web technologies should accelerate the loading of pages. For those who discover this site, be advised that you can see here some 2,000 folk dolls from France and many countries.

ON LINE

AUTHOR

Born at Die in Drôme (Southern France) on February the 24th 1975, I spent my first years in the mountains of sunny Diois region. I have a few memories of it, as the city of Die with its old houses, narrow streets, mountain background...

Incidentally, I moved to Northern Normandy, to Cherbourg where I stayed several years. I remember the seaside, the harbor, the boats, thedowntown pedestrian streets. I see myself under the grey sky and heavy rain and strong wind...

Then I moved to Ile de France, Paris first, where I settled down in a quiet and pleasant area for five years from Primary school to early high school years. Afterwards, I just moved to the suburban area to study at the university.

Here was my way which marked out my life. I now live near Paris where I work.

HOME

Dear visitors

I welcome you to my bilingual website (French - English). As you can see, I'm a folk dolls collector.

In the 80s, they would have their place in store displays as memories of our provinces. They were plastic molded with mass-produced garments. Ever since, these items have not seem to gather money and gradually have disappeared from trade.

From an early age, I used to bring back some souvenir dolls from vacations spots and journeys with a special care to avoid any color fading of their fabrics. A small collection grew up during my youth and occasionally has kept improving. The diversity of costumes was fascinating me and their perfect details entailed an ever growing passion.

At the end of the nineties, when I entered professional life, the Web development was a godsend for me. At this time, these so-called "mignonettes" became more and more reachable. In addition, my job has allowed me to travel easily so far. So I wanted to learn about the origin of these dolls. However, before gathering pace further on, I had to get more information about costumes, especially in travel brochures or specialized literature, most written in native language. As there were few books in French, I got some interesting books mainly from the United States. I started collecting vintage dolls, wherever they were from. They were so beautiful and so authentic! ... Their clothes, the result of careful craftsmanship, gave them a special appeal. The great era of celluloid material for molded figurines preceded the plastic era until the 60s. These dolls were so charmful while hiding a personal history.

Now, as the phenomenon of flea markets and garage sales has encouraged people to get rid off items of all kinds, I always expect to find a special doll. But it is not so easy and sometimes I go home disappointed ... Web pages, auctions, ads, have expanded sales opportunities and enabled other collectors to get information. In this new era of communication it seems easier to target research around the world! But nevertheless, pretty things are generally expensive.

Passion and knowledge are only effective if they are shared with people ... So I decided to create my website, in its original version it displayed some 180 dolls. To make a window attached documentation, I had to make an inventory, take pictures, perform literature searches and transcribe inserts before the launch. Then this approach has allowed me to open myself to the world and to have some links everywhere to share my hobby. As I constantly improve my collection, it counts now some 2000 dolls.

Moreover, I am eager to attend any exhibition about the subject. In comparison with some collections, mine may be small, but it keeps growing. Maybe one day I will have the pleasure to participate to my own show? In the meantime I hope you will travel comfortably throughout my fabulous world of folk dolls.

Have a nice visit, July 25, 2013

S.G.