What else do you collect beside toy soldiers (1 Viewer)

[Louis Badolato]

I just picked up this 20-inch tall antique doll of WWI Poilu in complete Horizon Blue Uniform with Lebell Rifle and Bread Bag. I have no idea who manufactured it, but it might be based on the works of satirical cartoonist Albert Guillaume, famous for comic depictions of the French military during WWI:

 

[Louis Badolato]

My wonderful wife decided to get me collecting American War of Independence Militaria, so, for the last two Father's Days I received a British 63rd Foot (Company G) Powder Horn and a colonial Powder Horn:

 

[Louis Badolato]

A couple of more:

 

[ROAN]

The photo below fairly well sums up some of my other interests, i.e. history-of course, old German proof marked Walthers, Rolex watches, and travel; have been to about three dozen countries and have lived in five.


In the photo, the center passport is stamped with a 1970 Royal Afghan tourist visa issued in Delhi for my return trip overland to Europe(during 1968-9 traveled overland to India/Nepal twice), the passport right has a Thai visa issued in 1989, and the one at bottom is stamped with a 1996 India visa. That trip was my fourth time to India-spent mostly in Ladakh and Delhi-Agra(the wife was with me on that one).


The PPK:-Ulm proof marked early 80s model
Submariner: model 14060M, G serial #(about mid-2010)

In this below photo the PPK-and caliber-are all wrong-it’s a late 60s
model(the WWII and before models the barrels were more square shaped right
below the front site).


But everything else is real-including the map(WWII Army Intelligence),the unused blank Soldbuch(like new-from the same source)and the Iron Cross 2nd Class, etc.

 

[Horus]

My wonderful wife decided to get me collecting American War of Independence Militaria, so, for the last two Father's Days I received a British 63rd Foot (Company G) Powder Horn and a colonial Powder Horn:

Interesting pieces Louis and with the US to be celebrating 250 years of independence in the not to distant future, sure to be making your items more of a hot topic to chat about along with your other pieces, when you have visitors to your home !

 

[Louis Badolato]

For my birthday my lovely wife bought me this wonderful Lane's antique English pocket globe and shagreen case (late 18th to early 19th Century), which I have displayed with the rest of my pocket globe collection, next to my 1754 pocket globe in its shagreen case by Nathaniel Hill (but this time outside of its shagreen case to show off the celestial globe gores inside it), and I won an auction this evening for this British (Indian) or French (Algerian) Colonial Soldier Doll, attributed to Harwin:

 

[Louis Badolato]

Some photos of some of the various soldier dolls I have added to my collection recently, including either a 17 inch Algerian French or Indian British WWI Soldier attributed to Harwin, a 12 WWI Highland Soldier Doll attributed to Harwin, 12 inch Tenue du Campagne Belgian, Russian and Montenegrin Soldier Dolls from the French WWI Military Museum, an 8 inch German made Uhlan figure, and two 6 inch trench art WWI soldiers:

 

[Louis Badolato]

This is a Highland Dirk made in 1740 I picked up in Edinburgh last summer:

 

[Louis Badolato]

An 1805 Lane's Pocket Globe in shagreen case my awesome wife got me for my birthday, one display (outside its case so you can see the celestial globe gores inside the case, next to my 1754 Nathanial Hill Globe displayed in its Shagreen case):

 

[paxtoysoldier]

Superb collections Louis!
Pat & Paddy

 

[Poppo]

A ww2 german cross and a medal "pour le mérite" and a ww2 german dish I bought in Poland 20 years ago.

 

[Louis Badolato]

No one has posted on this thread for a while, so I thought I would bring it back. Here is a WWI French Child's soldier backpack, which I have displayed with a child's Zouave uniform (Ken Osen told me to put it at the feet of the uniform, so the acid in the leather straps wouldn't damage the uniform:

 

[Louis Badolato]

I managed to purchase one Kathe Kruse soldier doll of a WWI German Infantryman. Kathe Kruse is to German dollmakers what Steiff is to German stuffed animal makers, so these extremely rare 11cm (4-1/2 inch) posable dolls (patented wire armatures) with cloth uniforms, detailed backpacks and weapons usually sell for $1,500-2,100, but I got mine on eBay from a seller who did not know what he had for $150. The remainder of the photos are of a few other Kathe Kruse soldier dolls I found on the internet. The company made dolls from Germany, Britain, France, Turkey, Austria, Russia, Serbia and Abyssinia, to name a few:

 

[Louis Badolato]

The popularity of Kathe Kruse's posable wire armature soldier dolls led to copycat manufacturers in countries like Italy and Great Britain. These tend to be smaller (7cm), with cloth uniforms and wire armatures, but have white metal heads, hands and feet (instead of composition heads and feet and cloth covered hands like Kathe Kruse soldier dolls):

 

[Louis Badolato]

For Christmas I got my son this incredible 18-inch tall doll of a French Cuirassier under an antique glass dome, made in the 1820's. The sword is steel (and pointy enough to draw blood) when you remove it from the scabbard, the armor and helmet are steel, the inside of the helmet has a liner, and the boots and belt are leather:

 

[Louis Badolato]

I managed to pick up these Bucherer Dolls of a wounded WWI British Soldier and a Fireman. Bucherer made metal jointed fully posable dolls, between 6 and 8 inches tall, in the 1920's:

 

[Louis Badolato]

This might be my favorite acquisition from 2024: a Fleischman Carette wind-up tinplate U.S. Battleship, "The Brooklyn" made circa 1900-1910. The dang thing still works:

 

[Louis Badolato]

Before Pfeiffer made fully composition soldiers (which eventually led to Elastolin and Hauser composition soldiers), they made larger (5-8 inch) soldier figures with cloth uniforms and composition heads, hands and feet. Here are a few I have managed to add to my collection in 2024:

 

[Louis Badolato]

This was my son's birthday present, an amazing Tailor's doll (18 inches tall) of a Highland Light Infantry's Officer, with every detail of the uniform a miniature version of its real counterpart made from the identical materials (leather, cloth, metal, etc.). Apparently tailors making uniforms for officers would have these dolls to show the officer what the uniform pattern was:

 

[Louis Badolato]

I identified an artist doll of an Austrian Medieval Mercenary I had previously posted on this thread as being made by an Austrian history professor named Helmut Krauhs. I have since added another medieval crossbowman and a Napoleonic Dutch Carabinier made by Professor Krauhs: