Marin 1928-2014 and the Marin Dolls Museum Factory

Marin 1928-2014 and the Marin Dolls Museum Factory

Dolls by Jose Marin Verdugo were icons anywhere dolls from Spain were sold.  A few, now in my collection were once part of the Boca Raton Children’s Museum.  My aunt in Greece had one, a flamenco dancer.  My first was a guitar player lavishly dressed in pink lace.  She came from Madrid.  Marin Dolls were made in porcelain, plastic, and rubber.

Marin flamenco dancers are icons all over the world; a large doll dressed in blue appeared as a prop in Murder she Wrote.  Another appears every week in Daisy’s flat in Keeping up Appearances. My grandmother in Greece and my grandmother in California both had Marin dolls.

These dolls have become so iconic, that collectors often dismiss them as souvenir tourist types, thereby ignoring the rich history behind them.  As a company, they began in 1928, created by an artist named Jose Marin Verdugo (1903-84).  It sort of gives me chills to know he was alive and operating both times I was in Spain, in part, to buy his dolls!  After his death, his daughter, Ana Marin, ran the doll company.

Traditional Portrait of a Bull Fighter, unknown artist.  Bought
1994. 

Marin Bullfighter public domain image.

Also, 1928 was my mother’s and Mickey Mouse’s birthday; in my world, those are two more, huge cultural icons! 

The firm closed in 2014; in longevity, it rivaled Lenci from Italy.   During its long life, Marin won many honors including the Spanish Medal of Merit of labor.  From Krakow, Marin received the first World Doll Award.  The Marin Doll factory was located in Chiclana de la Frontera, province of Cadiz.  The dolls are usually marked with a small tag with a doll logo and the words “Marin Chiclana.”

Many flamenco dolls were made, some in tiny 5-6 inch sizes perfect for doll houses, while others were nearly three foot high flamenco female guitarists, seated on a stool, holding a tiny, but detailed guitar.  The first doll I bought was about 12 inches high, swathed in pink lace, and wearing a comb in her black, perfectly coiffed mohair wig.  We bought her in Madrid, along with many small dolls, including male flamenco dolls that seemed to channel Jose Greco, and tiny bull fighters.  We found more of them in Old Town, Albuquerque, and on various trips to Mexico.  Truly, the dolls by the mid sixties-eighties were being exported all over the world.  Flamenco music, art, and culture are important in Andalucía.  Flamenco’s origins date to around 1492, and reflect the mix of cultures and ethnicities that lived in Spain before Queen Isabella, Katharine of Aragon’s mother and Columbus’s mentor, expelled them.  These ethnicities  include African, Jewish, Mediterranean, Gypsy, Andalucían, and Moorish cultures.

Flamenco Dolls, Marin, public domain

Close-up of an early Marin doll showing traditional face. This doll may be of clay. Public Domain

Because so many types of dolls were being made, Marin opened a museum to chronicle its history in 1997.  Showcased were the dolls, handmade dolls, molds, sculptures, and antique designs.  The first dolls represented flamenco costumes from Andalusia.   Later, the chulapa of Madrid and falls of Valencia were included.  I’ve also seen dolls representing traditional outfits of the Spanish Pyrenees and The Canary Islands.

Typically, the dolls have side glancing eyes and smiling, open mouths with tiny molded teeth.  Early dolls were also hard rubber, and some are porcelain. 

Female dolls dressed in 19^th century bustle dresses ranged in size from 7 inches to around 18 inches.  Historical series in marked in connection with Lloyderson dolls ranged from 10 inches to 18 inches.  The 18 inch dolls representing various centuries of clothing were incredible and detail.  The Siglo XIV doll, or 14^th century, was named Jimena, in honor of the wife of El Cid, though the original lived over three hundred years before.  She wears the cone shaped head piece and wimple popular at the time, and a rich black velvet gown trimmed in fur.  I took the bus alone to Madrid from my college to buy her; at one point, a couple from Portugal and a gypsy woman gave me directions.  I had originally gone to buy the 18^th century doll, inspired by a Goya painting, but the store wouldn’t sell her to me.  I’m still not sure why.  I found her many years alter from my friends at Ragamuffin Dolls.   At first, these large figures were not available in the state; if they were, they were impossible to find.  I found several recently through Ruby Lane, and I saw a Henry VIII portrait doll on ebay.  Many years ago, I believe they also made Don  Quixote in this size, based on Cervantes’ quixotic hero, Don Quixote de la Mancha.  If you ever get a chance to see La Mancha with its windmills and ancient homes, go.  Next to the windmill is an abandoned castle of the Knights of Malta; we were able to climb in and tour it.  Nothing can describe that feeling.

Marin 18th century, c. 1793, inspired by Goya, public domain

,

Marin Jimena, 14th century. Public domain.

The Marin website is still up through Wayback Machine, https;//web.archives.org, or find it in the references to the Wikipedia article on the Marin Dolls Museum-Factory.  It is in Spanish and English. Featured on the site are dolls since 1928, including some 10 inch toddlers wearing regional costumes.

The porcelain dolls come in various sizes and wear regional outfits, especially lovely costumes from Valencia.  Some are very large.  Their faces are not like those of the traditional hard plastic dolls; th larger dolls resemble the bisque dolls created in France by the S.F. B. J.

Marin Porcelain Doll, public domain

The factory closed in 2014, yet apparently, the museum is still there.   Marin dolls are not just souvenirs, though souvenirs were as important to the factory as they were to Lenci.  They are dolls created to further the cultural heritage of Spain, made with traditional skill and artistry, using traditional fabrics and accessories.  Their history is worth remembering, and their dolls are worth collecting. An excellent source is a book on Mexican dolls and their Spanish heritage, Sandy Hargrove’s, Costumes of Old Mexico Carselle & Poveda Souvenir Dolls.

Portrait of  Jose Marin Verdugo and display from Marin Museum, public domain