Doll News Summer 2017 - 10

Léontine Rohmer and
Her "In-between" Dolls
By François Theimer * Photographs courtesy of François Theimer

I

ndeed rarer than commonly thought, yet still as controversial as in their
own time, the dolls made by Dame Vuillaume, born Rohmer, deserve
attention that is more indulgent than strictly professional. The chaotic path
followed by their creator in her venture in the toy industry at the height of
the Second Empire is a good example of the relentlessly opportunistic attitude of
some small business founders.
In these brief lines, I would like to try to shed some realistic, though possibly
cruel, light on the woman and on her career. The research, which I conducted
together with my wife, has contributed some new, solidly referenced elements,
which support a new, more audacious theory, which is strongly backed by
indisputable documents.
In fact, the web of the entire story is composed of the inter-related destinies of
three families. Considered separately, each family provides only a partial version
of the facts, whereas interwoven, they reveal the interrelationships behind the
history of the dolls. Delving into the history of these families raises the problem
of modern historical research, which requires interrelating the facts and the
persons involved.
To date, I have not found any written document, which provides the perfect
version or vision of this company. It is therefore my immense pleasure to recount
the following complex but concrete biographical elements, which help us,
understand the persons and facts involved.
This portrait is of Marie Léontine
Rohmer after 1860.

Madame Rohmer's signature

10

Summer 2017

Biographical Notes
Let us first establish the players. The father of Marie Antoinette Léontine
Rohmer, Sigismond, was born in 1803 or 1804 in Sélestat in the Bas Rhin in
Alsace. He studied medicine in Strasbourg and on May 11, 1827, married
Catherine Four (which seems to be the French version of the name Fuhr, which
was used on some old legal documents). The latter was born in 1803 also in
Sélestat and worked as a servant. On January 13, 1829 at 5 o'clock in the morning,
Marie Antoinette Léontine was born at 1, rue de l'Ecurie, in Strasbourg. The
young family's lodgings were too small, and 10 days later they moved to the rue
des Hallebardes, which is quite close to the superb pink sandstone Strasbourg
cathedral.
Due most probably to an inheritance, the family owned their home and was
well off at the time. Their future looked quite bright. A second birth on August
11, 1830, at 3 o'clock in the morning added another girl to the family, Marie
Catherine Sophie Françoise, nicknamed "Fany." She was born in the hospital, at
19 rue des Charpentiers.



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