Lenci doll

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Lenci dolls are made of felt -made artist dolls made by the Turin were made Lenci company.

In 1919 the company Lenci, Turin / Italy , brought artist dolls made of felt onto the market. The body, face and clothing were made of felt, the heads got wigs made of mohair . The faces were painted by hand in a mischievous or defiant way . Some were also equipped with large movable glass eyes (so-called googly eyes). Until the liquidation of the Lenci company in 2002, the dolls were still made in the 1919 style. Lenci dolls enjoy a high reputation among collectors and, associated with this, high prices are also paid for originals from the 1920s and 1930s.

Lenci doll from the toy museum in Bad Lauterberg in the Harz region. Original photo from the corporate film of ProMediaTeam Ltd. - Germany
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Lenci company history

Elena König was born in Turin (Italy) in 1886. You have had a tough childhood. So the young woman decides to go to Germany, where she works as an art photographer. In Germany, the nickname "Lenchen" is created from her first name "Elena", which in Italian became "Lenci", the later company of the company. (After the company already existed under this company, the company philosophy was formed from the letters of the name "LENCI": "Ludus Est Nobis Constanter Industria" - which, loosely translated, means: "The entire commitment of the company belongs to the game . ")

In 1915 Elena married Enrico Scavini and from now on lives again in Turin. In 1919 she presented her first doll, but she did not want to be successful yet. That changed suddenly when she presented her doll creations at the world exhibition in Paris in 1921 . In addition to Europe , the USA is becoming an important market for your felt dolls.

Lenci dolls will soon also be copied and put on the market at considerably lower prices. This leads to the company's first financial crisis in 1928. But by 1930 the company's difficulties got under control again. It wasn't until 1937 that the company, which now employs around 600 people, can no longer be maintained as a family business. With success you look for and find financially strong partners who from now on lead the management. Elena Scavini will initially remain head of artistic development.

Her husband Enrico Scavini died in 1938 and at the end of 1940 Elena withdrew completely from the business. In 1974, 88-year-old Lenci died in Turin.

At the turn of the millennium, the bankruptcy trustee moved in with Lenci and looked in vain for a buyer for the bankrupt company. In 2002 the company is liquidated.

literature

  • Antje Ernst, Mathias Ernst: dolls. Cult object, children's toy, collector's item. Heyne, ISBN 3-453-15672-2

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