The Place Holders

Have you ever been lucky enough to get your hands on a Josef doll that is really hard to come by? And then later down the road you miraculously see another one for sale and you want to snatch it up so that no one else can have it? And/or possibly claw out the eyes of those who may consider buying it?

If you're sick like me, and beyond the hopes of any help, then you have definitely felt like that at least one time or another.

Well, I have been known to buy the same Josef more than once. BUT, I'm happy to report it is for an entirely different reason all together. (Although, I will admit that the urge is ever-present to greedily gobble up every Josef in my path. And the claws are indeed always 1/2 out. I have no shame. Nor, unfortunately, the bank account, nor the defense team, to aid me in such matters.)

Here we touch on what I like to call my "Place Holders."

Ah yes. My slightly, and sometimes not-so-slightly, flawed beauties. 

Angels you might call them, even.

Those who take on the task of calming my aching, hungry soul. 

Who fill what I hope to be a temporary void in my heart.

If you are a collector, you know as well as I do it can be yeeeeeaaaars before a certain doll comes around online, or is found at an antique store. And sometimes, after waiting all that time, one does come around, but she's not right. She's not....perfect. Yet that gaping void in your collection is there none the less. Begging to be filled.

So, what to do?

If the price is reasonable, give in to your desires and buy that flawed, yet temporary, place holder until you hit the jackpot. Cling to it like hope itself. That's what.

After all, the damaged dolls deserve some love and a good home too. Which kinda raises the question...who saved who?


Here are some of my current place holders in all their imperfect glory......

Marie Antoinette:

My ill-fated Marie didn't have it nearly as bad as the Queen herself, but mine has lost some of the delicate lace of her pretty little parasol.

She also has a chipped leaf in her head piece. But thankfully she still has her head!

The Prince - Red:

My adorable little Prince has a small repaired chip to the edge of his mantle. I love him to death, but this is hard to overlook. Especially since I paid top dollar for him from a little old lady on Craig's List. Lady f'n rolled me!

He also has an even teenier tinier little flea bite on the very tip of his hair. This I can accept, but an imperfection none the less.

Anna Victoria:

Thankfully, at a quick glance, there does not appear to be anything wrong with my Anna Victoria.

All her delicate lace, and the fragile leaves in her hair, are all miraculously intact. You rarely ever see that! But look a biiiiiiit closer and something is indeed amiss.

Turn her around completely to see the true state in which she is in. Other than the nasty broken neck, she looks to be in perfect condition. I took what I could get.

Girl from Make Believe Series:

Looks good from here!

But look closer at her mitten and you'll find a filled in chip. Another one I was mislead on. SIGH!

Lola (recently upgraded. Boo ya!):

Lola was not pictured in any of my Josef books. Then I bought a third book and I saw her for the very first time, never knowing she even existed. She immediately became my #1 must-have. Later, way down the road, I saw one for sale on Ebay and it was bid up past $200. She was in mint condition, so I was willing to go higher. However, I was in line at Panera Bread ordering lunch when I realized I had missed the end of the auction by 10 minutes. Needless to say, lunch, and the rest of my day, was completely ruined! I couldn't believe I could be so damn reckless. 

Then another Lola came along, about a year later. She certainly wasn't mint, but I was still reeling from my last blown opportunity. So the chipped rose on the bodice and hat brim be damned! There was a bit of a bidding war, and I ended up paying something like $85 for her. NOT reasonable by any means, but I was a woman driven mad.

After having this as a place holder for a year or 2, I found that there was a small repaired chip to the very edge of one of the folds of her gown. How did I miss it?!

 But she served me well....

Lo and behold! She came to me again. Mint condition and with an added bonus....her name tag. Her name was completely unknown as it is not in the books, so this really was like hitting the jack pot! Ah "Lola".....

The handle of her parasol is a tad bent, but hardly anything to turn a nose up at.

Thank you all for your years of service!