Thursday 30 May 2013

Gégé set the Scene... !


Pour la version française, voir article suivant...



Everything has already been written on Mily, the 60s fashion doll by Gégé.. about her story, her amazing clothes, her marvelous life at the top (1964-1976... Dolls often have to retire early...).
So we have decided to have fun and focus on one aspect - maybe overlooked so far - which might have contributed to her image and perhaps her success : the furniture used in the leaflets and magazine ad photos to create contemporary surroundings and enhance Mily's modern image of hip girl... 
In short : How and with what did Gégé set the Scene ? 



First, some French garden furniture...

If you want to know more about Mily's lovely dress, see here : Pink Gingham

A fresh spring/summer setting for a Mily holiday in the south of France ? How more French could that be ?! And this furniture wouldn't have looked out of place on any terrace of a café in one of those fashionable fishing villages found along the coast...

Hang on a second, I suddenly realize that I have nearly everything 
to try and recreate this scene, 
so let's play...

If you want to do the same, here is what you'll need : ...

 

... A Peynet table & chair set (1964) + 1 Cailsheimer blue tea-set (1963) + 1 child size Gégé transparent dish (1959)

Et voilà ! If I may say so... 

PS : Mily was busy today so Miss Twist does a stand in as it is just a rehearsal...

I am not going to get this lucky at finding the right props among my collection every time, 
so I'll let you have a go now...

For this scene, for example, and for the killer detail a quick pop to the supermarket should do the trick...



I imagine it is still possible to buy these crackers nowadays... The baguettes work especially well for a picnic scene with dolls in this 1/6 scale, don't you think ?...

Then a cosy French PVC Bedroom...

Mily looks like a busy mum here...
The bedroom is signed in 1966 by the French firm Depreux, studied in depth by my colleague Stylb...

More pictures & info on the Depreux firm here (in French)


However, Gégé didn't only find their inspiration in France... As they attended the big European Toy Fairs, they might have picked up some foreign-made pieces... Like these ones in the early 60s at the Nüremberg Fair maybe...

A few German pieces...

Doc Die Puppenstubensammlerin











Mily and a 1/12th scale Häfner & Krullmann armchair (1957).
I suppose it got picked despite its small size
for its great design... The table brand is unknown to me... It came with a matching stool (see behind Jacky)... It's hard to tell what they really look like as a fake wood adhesive plastic cover might have been added on the tops just for a better photo effect...
A busy Mily career girl surrounded by the latest Designs... and a 60s Modella telephone...






Rococo Galore...





A bit later, Gégé brought the Szalasi furniture in... Tradition and aristocracy... Mily is a middle class lady too - tea parties in Paris, winter at the ski resort and summer on the beach... A jet-set Mily ?

The Szalasi armchairs are perfect for the 1/6 scale...


60s Plastic bedroom...



A more modern and younger touch in the bedroom thanks to a Modella set (1963-1965)... I love the pink and cream combination of this bedroom and it matches Mily's outfit well... If you want to see / know more on Modella, it's this way on Astrid's Flickr stream...
Doc Astrid

Now more German pieces... but we are still a bit hazy regarding which brand they are...

A Vanity table...





















Is this 60s Bodo Hennig  ?

The base is curved

and there is a support behind the mirror

But the 60s Bodo Hennig vanity table doesn't really come with this shape of mirror, right ?


Who made them ?

We don't know the makers of these pieces... Would you know ?















German maker (same mirror as on the vanity table so just put there for a good effect ?)

Does anybody recognize the red stool (on the left) ?


A mystery radio and record player (radiogram)... I have looked in vain for a similar model online to try to identify it and put a brand name to it...



Maybe it's easier to find out with a close-up ? (21/06/013 Here are some fresh news on this Radiogram, here...)





Would you know the maker of any of these very distinctive pieces above (including the piano) ?


Coffee table is by Häfner & Krullmann too...

A table also exists with that set... This style of woven plastic on metal frame chairs was a frequent design in the 60s... 
A life-size Designer chair

Doc Billyboy (Fondation Tanagra)
It was also very popular among designers of dollhouse furniture...
Doc Astrid
Would the Mily set be by a German maker too ?... (I saw it being sold on an auction site in France recently)...






There might be an obvious reason for the use of furniture in the leaflets...
Sitting Mily down for a publicity shoot must have been a relief for the photographer (less risk of seeing the doll hitting the carpet or the ground just as he tried to immortalize it...). 
Shooting a standing doll must have been quite a job...


A girl's balancing act...
Look closely at her feet... They are clearly heading West, with a dangerous twist at the hip... A real balancing act for the doll and the photographer... much easier with furniture then... ?


Docs : Stylb (unless specified otherwise)
Photos : Ysé & Stylb





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