May'19 Dolores Cover Final_Oct 2017 Jean Cover 4/18/2019 11:35 AM Page 1 WITHINGTON AUCTION, Inc. The Dolores Smith Doll Collection May 9 & 10, 2019 Doll Cat may '19 Day 1 GREETINGS_Layout 1 4/15/2019 8:33 PM Page 1 WITHINGTON AUCTION, Inc. Dolls at Auction - May 8-9-10, 2019 The Dolores Smith Collection - 40 Years of Passionate Doll Collecting! AUCTION SALE Thursday & Friday - May 9 & 10, 2019 2573 & 2574 Holiday Inn Nashua, NH - 603-888-1551 (for reservations) AUCTION STARTS - 10:00 AM May 8 - Wed. Evening: 7 - 9 PREVIEWS May 9 - Thurs. Morning: 8 - 10 & Evening: 7 - 9pm May 10 - Friday Morning: 8 - 10 May 8 - 1 - 6 pm or by Chance....OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! DOLL SHOW 3rd Floor Hotel Rooms - Space is Limited - ROOM SELLING & SALE Call at the Holiday Inn 603-888-1551 for Reservations BUY * SELL * TRADE - Buyer’s & Seller’s Meet ‘n Greet Holiday Inn, 9 Northeastern Blvd. Nashua, NH HOTEL INFO Exit 4 off Everett Turnpike / Route 3 - On the West side of highway Turn right at the light onto Northeastern Blvd. (PETS ARE WELCOME - ASK FOR THE DOLL RATE) Full Color Catalogue - $15. (View Cat on-line & MORE PHOTOS) WEB-Site www.withingtonauction.com ABSENTEE BIDDING & TELEPHONE BIDDING ACCEPTED - ABSENTEE BIDDER FORMS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB-SITE Bidding www.withingtonauction.com For Info: Tel: (603)- 478-3232 / FAX: (603)- 478-3233 TERMS RETURNS: All items MUST be inspected and returned within 10 minutes of purchase - if not as described in catalogue. and be of $ 100.00 valuation or more to qualify for a refund - Due to the sufficient time allowed for inspecting the dolls, The following items are sold AS-IS: All bodies are sold AS-IS; . All Paper Dolls; Artist Dolls; Madame Alexander Dolls and All Box lots. Speckling and wear are normal conditions for Bisque and China dolls, therefore it will be up to the buyer to inspect for these conditions. Items desig- nated AS-IS are FINAL SALES. 18% Buyer’s Premium - Discounted to 15% for Cash or Check Visa & Mastercard accepted - No NH Sales Tax Larry Leizure - Pres. Photographer, Appraiser, Consultant - Doll Specialist in training Marcia Leizure - NH Lic. # 4028, Trucker, Acquisitions, Events, Writer, Graphic Design STAFF Bob Bouchard - Buildings & Grounds / Asstitant Doll Specialist, Quality Control. Barbara Scully - Doll Specialist & Consultant, Auctioneer in training, Dick Withington 1918 - 2008 NH Lic. #1 “The Nation’s Leading Doll Auctioneer” Dolores Smith - June 1940 - Oct. 2018, “The Doll world will never be the same without you! CONSIGNING Thinking about Selling your dolls? But don’t know how to begin.... Withington’s can answer your questions about the Auction process. Your Collection E-Mail photos or inventory for a free appraisal. 2019 Auctions - August & October CONTACT WITHINGTON AUCTION, INC. 603-478-3232 17 Atwood Road Hillsborough, NH 03244 E-mail: [email protected] - WEB: www.withingtonauction.com Doll Cat may '19 Day 1 GREETINGS_Layout 1 4/15/2019 8:33 PM Page 2 ***GREETINGS*************** May 2019 FROM THE DOLLHOUSE __________________ WITHINGTON AUCTION, Inc. Hillsborough, NH Dolores Smith - Antique Doll Addiction - In the beginning... she was Dolores D'Eramo, the youngest of two children. Her brother, an only child for 10 years, was not too thrilled about having a little sister invade his kingdom. But Dolores quietly found her place in the family assuming the role of her mother Rosina's, helper, comrade and best friend. Were there dolls in Do- lores' early life? I'm sure they were. I seem to recall a story of an old compo she loved, that her mother outfitted in simply-made wardrobe. They were hard-working, old school Italians; her father, Dante, was a paver, by trade, and in spite of the long hard days in the summer, he always had a beautiful garden with vine-ripe tomatoes and fresh basil, the key ingredients in Rosina's all-day tomato sauce. Along with the gardens, Pop would order a truck- load of grapes from the produce market, and every fall he would begin the ritual of squeezing grapes for his East Boston "Reserve" red table wine. Dolores remembered it to be kind of "icky" but was good for soothing the struggles of daily living. Dolores was a lot like her mother and developed a passion for cooking, and soon she learned all of her secrets: the sauce, raviolis, and making pasta in every shape imaginable... Pasta was a required element at every meal. Cooking may have been life, but for Dolores, the most significant thing that she learned from her mother, a seamstress by trade, was sewing. Making her own clothes and later the creations for the dolls, was the food for her creative soul. Growing up in old-time Boston you could walk to shops... Little Italy was everywhere: crowded city streets, teeming with the freshest ingredients; Haymarket Square fruits and Vegetables; Italian specialty meats & cheeses; the finest olive oil and breads to die for! Dolores, young and plucky, was al- ways ready for a new adventure. Cooking, collecting, and a keeper of traditions - her mother's Pasta board remains, one of her most treasured family heirlooms. As life improved the family moved to a new home in Billerica, Mass. Dolores attended high school in the suburbs and got a summer job as a teller at the local Savings Bank and worked there part time during the school year. She was a business student in high school and it seemed logical that she should pursue a career in banking when she graduated. Though not her dream job... she didn't HATE it! In many ways, working at the bank for so many years, it became the fertile ground on which to nurture her life long love of crafts and collecting. Working 9 to 5, it wasn't the type of job you take home with you.... and when you balanced out your drawer at the end of the day, your mind and body were your own. She would hurry home to her crafts, her dolls, her bears. With her nimble hands, Dolores could wield a needle and thread, cut an intricate pattern and use a glue gun with trigger- like accuracy. Soon her creations of bears and dolls' clothes were noticed by an adoring public and she began making things on special order. Back in the 60's, the craft fairs became a popular past time for many... those seek- ing that special something to buy, and they were very lucrative for those with an entrepreneurial spirit. Dolores thrived in this community. At the Sunday doll and bear shows, buyers and sellers had the opportunity to interact with like-minded people and those friendships have endured. Though often gentle and unobtrusive, the impact of her presence was both profound and lasting. In that early period, one tiny treasure Dolores became known for, was the Teddy Bear piggy-back purse... so tiny, so tedious, she could cut, stitch and stuff those diminutive satchels flawlessly. Even today, her signature purses, are occa- sionally seen on Ruby Lane or at doll shows - often mistaken for antique. They could be considered the seed of the Dolores Smith doll collection - with few mate- rials, a good idea and a bit of ingenuity, she could create a tiny gem that would fetch a good profit. Accordingly, with a small investment and Dolores' ability to transform something forlorn and make it special, many common dolls in need of make-overs became treasures to an adoring public. You know what they say about a sow's ear... in the doll world, there are so many silk purses just waiting to be Miniature Piggy-Back Purse revealed. So the exciting evolution of Dolores Smith’s Doll collection began. by Dolores Smith 2 Doll Cat may '19 Day 1 GREETINGS_Layout 1 4/15/2019 8:33 PM Page 3 There were always a couple of shows every month and Dolores, often commented..."I don't know how I found the time to make all those dresses... with a full-time job!" Of course, her husband Lon, would repair and restring the dolls, when necessary, but in reality, there were so many steps to take to put together a collection for a show: Acquire the dolls and fabrics; Make dozens of dresses to sell; Redress or make outfits for the better dolls; finish the bears. The dolls were often used as mannequins for Dolores' designer doll clothes, made with antique fabrics and laces, but they were often sold together with the ensembles... including her hats and shoes. Dolores once said, (she never liked to brag), that at a good show, several thousand dollars in sales were typical. There was constant pressure to find fresh merchandise to fix up and sell and Dolores would attend the Withington Doll auc- tions whenever possible. Where would the beginners be without those box lots!! In the early days of doll col- lecting, almost anything would sell... there was a buyer for every kind of doll... and with four hundred years of dolls represented, the choices seemed endless. In addition to the shows, E-bay became the conduit by which anyone could become an international en- trepreneur! So it was with Dolores, and that became another means to further expand her doll passion, the fire burned inside her and nothing was more stimulating than the doll connection and together, the success of the doll shows and E-Bay, confirmed Dolores' strong feeling that the dolls were her destiny. With her husband Lon's sup- port and encouragement she climbed the ladder to greatness. Many people fear change and stay on the safe side avoiding the unknown.