Oh You Beautiful (French) Doll

Herm Meyer, who has been a loyal reader for many years, passed away this past week at 90 years old. Many of you know Herm from his blog and from his book, Poems Pics and Stuff, and for the many comments he contributed to this blog. Herm was a veteran, a patriot, an engineer, a poet, and a nature lover. I never met Herm, but I feel like I've lost an old friend. Au revoir et adieu, kind soul, friend, and poet.

 

For years I've been taking pictures of French dolls that I spot at the vide greniers, the  "empty the attic" sales that most every French village holds annually, and which is our standard Sunday outing.

After a while I noticed that the well-used dolls, abandoned and out-grown, made a little cultural snapshot of the French at play. And not just regarding children. As you will see, some of the dolls are very much in the adult category. Even the way some of the dolls are displayed tells a story.

And just what story do they tell? Hmm, I'll leave that for you to decide, dear readers. History, culture, play, pathos, gender, sexuality, diversity, it's all here (keeping in mind most of these dolls are discards from the past). You may find it interesting  how they differ from your own culture, and our current one. Or if you are French, what memories and thoughts they evoke.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the COMMENTS: Paula, I've got a Le Creuset pot and also a vintage oval one I bought at a flea market for a song. And boy is it heavy! Anne Marie, you've been much more productive in "confinement" than I have, great idea. Francine, I have a Silpat, I think it's the same thing, and I couldn't live without it. Suzanne, your recipe will be featured at my next brunch, merci! Suzanne (of Living with Loulou) has a great cookbook called No Need to Knead, my kind of book. And Julie, happy to hear Peanut has joined your family.

 

Favorite READS & Views: Two great new ideas for you this week! Cynthia Bogart has a brand new newsletter--for house addicts like me.  It's called House and Hammer Report: A Newsletter about Buying, Selling, and Living in Old Homes. Fun to dream over if nothing else.

My friend Carol suggested a sassy little book of stories, for those of us who are of a certain age, called An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good.

Natalia recommends Little Paris Bookshop, which I've read too, and it's a fun book.

And if you want to brush up on your French, we just discovered a YouTube channel called Français avec Pierre. All the lessons are completely in French (with English subtitles) and they cover the really current language, the way the natives speak it. Here is the first one in the series. They make it fun, too. And if you want to get inspired to learn a language, there are a number of TED talks on the subject, which we've been enjoying. (Or, of course, you could order my book: How to Learn a New Language with a Used Brain. The Kindle edition is under $4!).

 

 

Comments

[Ellen]

Lynn, This is priceless! I will save it, share it and revisit when I need to put my head in a different place. It really takes me back to those flea markets and the French sense of humor and so many things on different levels of memory. Now I see why you take so many pictures ...but how ever do you organize them so you can find them back?

[Paula]

Loved the Santons (6th photo from the top). I would have snapped those up in a second. I bought a few in Aubagne in the south of France during their annual Christmas display.

To go further down this “rabbit hole”, many of the Santons represented characters in Aubagne’s native son’s, Marcel Pagnol, books, plays, and films. If you haven’t seen them (or even if you have), I can’t recommend them enough. Both the 1930’s original films of his stories and the 1990’s remakes are stellar.

[Judi]

Thank you Lynn, for a delightful Marché aux Puces, Vide Grenier experience. It reminds me of the many times I’ve seen similar displays in my trips to France. I will share this with my doll club friends here in Southern California. Encore une fois Merci Beaucoup!

[Julie Farrar]

LOL! Those photos! Thanks for the youtube link because I'm finally returning to serious language practice on the hope that post-vaccination I might return to my home in France.

[Anne Marie]

I have some old dolls from my childhood, my moms and grandmas. And NO girls in the family. Any collectors out there? I'm reading DIRT by Bill Buford. Set in Lyon. Fantastique!

[Suzanne Dunaway]

Lynne, these dolls are fantastic and you are wonderful for taking pics of such amazing dolls, and more. Love the one sitting with the man....

[Christine Webb-Curtis]

What a collection of photos! And what a collection of dolls. Yes, I'd say you were spot on about the breadth of what they evoke. I was not much of a doll person as a child--more like a tomboy (a word I rarely hear any more) with scarred-up knees and little rips in my pants. And I have only sons. I totally understand the attraction over the years for capturing images of these little and big human clones. Thanks for the diversion, Lynn.

[Francine Martinie Chough]

Bonjour Lynn
Oui j’adore les vide greniers ! Les poupées sont souvent superbes mais quand elles sont démembrées ça me dérange!!
Les santons j’adore! Mes préférés étaient ceux de Claude Carbonel que j’importais autrefois! Merci pour ces photos superbes. J’achète votre livre ce week-end!! Une bonne lecture en perspective! Merci!

[Natalia]

Lynn,these dolls absolutely picque my curiosity AND capture my imagination(!)
Especially the little girl(17th picture down)with her strange eye and open mouth.I wonder what happened to her to make her look so (for lack of a better word)tormented?!
Really fun scrolling through all of the pictures.You have created a wonderful (and fun!)collection!
Very much appreciated the YouTube channel tip, Francais avec Pierre.Was not aware of it before,and have no doubt it will be both enjoyable and a help on my (very long) French journey.
Not to even mention your book,How to Learn a New Language With a Used Brain,which I have in print and also on Kindle.Was wonderful when I first got it,and just as wonderful(and helpful!) now.
Merci mille fois!!!!

[Colleen Taylor]

Some of these are an absolute hoot Lynn & a few creep me out! I actually have some very old baby dolls that belonged to my mother. They look quite similar to some of these. I have a few of them myself. I used to display them but now they are in a box, poor dollies. I can only imagine what will happen to them after I'm gone. I'm afraid they will end up in a bin somewhere sad to say.

[Sharron Meyer]

Lynn, thank you for your lovely and kind words. He was a great and wonderful man loved and missed by many.

[Mindy]

Love this collection of pictures. In the U.S., Barbie was an imitation the the German Lili doll, created for men, but Mattel marketed their doll for little girls: https://youtu.be/U-VNctz3hX8

[susan vieth]

Thanks for being cheeky!
xos