Gre-Proir Inc vintage cloth dolls

Established in 1927 in New York City, Eugenia Poir produced specialty cloth dolls under the direction of her partner Alvin Gray. The company was also part of The French Dollmakers. The dolls were initially designed and produced in France and are mostly between 16 and 23.5 inches tall. However, the company ceased operations in 1935. The dolls were made of cloth, usually with pressed felt or cloth and cotton bodies. These were also joined at the neck, hip and shoulder areas and also had a distinguishable protruding section at the front and back of the lower torso. The facial features were painted and they had sideways eyes.

Another distinctive feature of his felt dolls was their dotted eyebrows. The upper eyelashes were made from real eyelashes while the lower ones were painted. The mouth was also heart-shaped on his felt face. All cotton versions had top and bottom painted eyelashes with single stroke painted eyebrows. He still had the same side-painted eyes, but the difference can be seen in his height, as the cotton ones came in 17 or 18 inches. A seam running from front to back down the center of the doll’s body is another indicator of Gre-Poir’s version of the cotton doll.

Disc joints of cotton dolls were also found in the joint areas of the neck, hip, and shoulders. Most of the dolls came with mitten-like hands with some seams on the fingers. Gre-Poir dolls were stuffed with excelsior or straw and their hair could be blonde or red mohair. Her hair came in various styles such as curly, bob cut, and wavy. The dolls wore socks with three stripes on top on some of the models and these were paired with Mary Jane shoes.

Most of the dolls also had cardboard or cloth hangtags labeled “French Doll Makers” that had the printed mark “French Doll Makers/Doll Name/My Hair Can Be Washed/I Can Be Dry Cleaned”. “. Another interesting addition in their series of dolls were the smoking and musical boudoir dolls that wore fashionable clothes and stylish accessories.

Those who are interested in collecting Gre-Poir dolls may have to search the internet and auctions to find these rare collectibles. These fabric and felt dolls need special care and perhaps because of their natural fiber materials, Gre-Poir creations have become one of the most difficult dolls to find today.