Doll News Fall 2017 - 43

t is while serving on the Collections Committee that I had the unique opportunity to see an original
catalog of the Burgarella Company preserved in the UFDC's archives. What a treat! Through this article
our organization unveils this rare document, which, I'm sure, will satisfy the curiosity of a growing
number of collectors interested in composition dolls made between the two world wars.
Since I started collecting dolls, during the early eighties, the name of Burgarella has echoed in my mind. In
fact, being raised in Italy, I had the opportunity of seeing a few dolls from this company in private collections,
then; but it took years to ﬁnally be able to acquire one for my own collection, followed by a couple of others in
recent years.
The ﬁrst time I read the name of Burgarella, in 1986, I was attempting to absorb some of the information
published in the Colemans' Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls. A couple of black and white photos in that
publication made it easy to identify other dolls from this company. In fact, the "look" of these playthings is
unique and immediately recognizable, even to a newcomer, as I felt I was then.
The mystique of this ﬁrm was still strong in Italy at the time. In fact, most children who had been spoiled
with a Burgarella doll during the mid-20s to early 30s were still alive during the 80s. I distinctively remember
meeting an art teacher, who happened to also collect dolls. She owned a Burgarella doll that she particularly
cherished because, as a child, she had asked for one but was "only" given a Lenci instead. I share this bribe of
a child's frustration to underline the fact that Burgarella dolls, during the mid-20s, were even more desirable
and fancy than those made by Lenci.
This is true for four reasons: the material the Burgarella dolls are made of is a sturdy type of composition
that was recognized as unbreakable and safe, as opposed to bisque, and washable as opposed to felt.
Secondly, because the price of these dolls was higher than Lenci's, especially on the models dressed in
elaborate historic attire. Also, for the way they were distributed: one could ﬁnd a Burgarella doll only in very
few select shops, and not necessarily in toyshops, but rather in luxury fashion ateliers or decoration galleries.
Finally, for the fact these artistic dolls were much more daring than the Lencis. Some of the boys, called
"Baby" in this line, were in fact anatomically correct, which at the time was unusual and reserved to an upper
open-minded class, that would not feel inﬂuenced by the prudish mindset taught by the Vatican nor by the
restrictive Fascist mentality.
Who was behind this elusive production of dolls? The only name appearing on the catalog is that of
Gaspare Burgarella. Born into a very inﬂuential Sicilian family from Trapani, Gaspare was an entrepreneur.
His family had made a fortune extracting and selling salt and was one of the leading families in the city
of Trapani, considered as one of the richest cities in the island at the time. How did he happen to settle on
this doll business in Rome? I don't know... It certainly is not where he made his money, yet it is thrilling
to consider the fact that a rich industrialist coming from a very male-oriented mentality supported a doll
business that bore his own family name! The Burgarella showroom was located in the extremely classy
Galleria on Piazza Colonna, and the ﬁrm and administration were on via Flaminia. This is the equivalent of
a Parisian doll maker who would have aﬀorded to settle his business in Place des Victoires and his atelier on
avenue de la République. Unbelievable!
According to the research of Carla Gentili, the artistic touch of these dolls is due to Ferdinando Stracuzzi
a Sicilian painter who worked for Burgarella. In fact, the almost illegible signature shown on the illustrations
included in this catalog certiﬁes the attribution to this artist. Did he simply draw the models, sculpt the dolls
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FALL 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Doll News Fall 2017