Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources to help them determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do some preliminary research to get them started. So, these are market values based on prices I find on the web, not appraisals for insurance purposes that I suggest for items that have been determined to be of great value.
Today’s questions are about a black Ginny doll and a 1953 Mama Weiss cookbook.
Question:
I found your article on the internet about the Black Ginny Doll. I was trying to find out how much my Black Ginny was worth. You’ll never guess my surprise when I saw “My Ginny Doll” in your article. I bought her about 2 weeks ago from a lady in the US. She’s really lovely but there are some major issues, especially after I read your article. She has a shoulder that’s managed to pull away from the body that in turn causes her right arm to pull into her socket and her left to hang limply at her side. When I bought her she came with green oilcloth shoes, rayon socks, a box and a Ginny wrist ring. I was told all these things were original to her and therefore I paid the exorbitant price of 1350US dollars. Why am I telling all of this to you, because you were there. I don’t think my seller bought it at the auction. I’m not trying to put you in the middle, I just need to know what happened at the auction. I love my Ginny Doll but I think she somehow got way overpriced.
Answer:
The reader was referring to a blog post I wrote last year about a black Ginny doll that sold for $950 at auction. Black Ginny dolls are hard to come by, and they can fetch pretty high prices.
I don’t know if the reader’s doll is the same doll sold at auction. If the original black Ginnys came with the same clothing, tag and box, these could be two different dolls.
I didn’t examine the auction doll closely so I’m not sure if her shoulder was damaged. Here’s the listing for the doll on the auction-house website and the condition: “this doll is being sold AS IS.” Auction houses insist that buyers look over the items before bidding on them to note any condition issues that may have been overlooked. The estimated price of the doll was $100 to $200.
I had several questions for the reader: Did you do very much research on the doll before buying her? How was the purchase made? Did the seller mention any condition issues with the doll? Did you ask to see the doll undressed? Perhaps the seller didn’t examine the doll undressed and didn’t realize she was damaged.
I always suggest that buyers do their homework by checking Google or eBay before making a purchase online or in person. It’s also a good idea to ask questions about an item.
I asked the buyer to send me photos of the doll, which she did. The dolls were similarly dressed, except for the socks and shoes, and the bloomers seemed to be missing from the reader’s doll. The box in one photo appeared to be an original Ginny box, compared with others I’d seen on the web. Maybe the clothes were original, but the reader will need to do more research to find out.
The shoulder likely can be repaired at a doll hospital. She’s a sweet doll and, with the repairs, may eventually be worth more than the reader paid for her. The value of an item sometimes depends on what someone is willing to pay for it at any given time. Collectors who want an item badly enough are sometimes willing to pay a high price, even if the item needs a little TLC.
Question:
I am looking for a copy of “Mama Weiss Favorite Recipes.” If you have one to sell, please let me know.
Answer:
The reader was referring to a cookbook by a 1950s TV cook named Mama Weiss. She and others like her were local celebrities in their own towns way before the food shows transformed chefs and restaurant owners into national stars.
Two years ago, I wrote about a 1955 cookbook I bought at auction titled “Cooking with the Experts: Over 400 simple, easy-to-follow, taste-tempting recipes selected by television’s best cooks.” It contained recipes from several TV cooks across the country, including Mama Weiss, a Hungarian immigrant who owned a restaurant in Los Angeles.
Mama Weiss retired from the restaurant business in 1953 and was on TV for three years before producing her own cookbook titled “Mama Weiss Favorite Recipes – 1953.”
I do not have a copy of the cookbook, and I suspect that it is out of print and very hard to find. In fact, amazon.com mentioned that it was out of print with limited availability. If the reader is lucky, she might stumble upon one at auction (or at a library sale; a friend told me that she recently found a signed copy of a Pearl Bailey cookbook at one of these sales). I’ve found several good cookbooks that way. And I’m on the lookout for Abby Fisher’s 1881 cookbook “What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc.”
To be honest, if I had Mama Weiss’s cookbook, I’d hold on to it rather than selling it. I love old cookbooks.
