above : " Nenette" brooch
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Wool dolls
During WW1, patriotic 'woollen doll' mascot pins were given by the French to their fighting soldiers. According to the Imperial War Museum, the "Nenette and Rintintin dolls" were made of grey and deep pink wool, with tin foil hats and joined together with a line of wool. Apparently in the summer of 1918, these little wool dolls (occasionally accompanied by their baby), were very popular in Paris. They were supposed to be charms against bombs of the Gothas and the shells of "Big Bertha" (a long-range German gun). They were also sold as "flag-day emblems" on France's Day. A collection of these dolls is held at the Imperial Museum & is shown below:
Nenette & Rintintin Brooches
The " Nennete " brooch (below right) was made during WWII by an American jewellery company, Trifari. It is one of a pair of brooches - the other a male one " Rintintin " (below left). The Rag Doll figural set was patented by Alfred Phillipe in 1943 & are representations of the patriotic pins given by the French during WWI to their fighting soldiers.
The Trifari Company was founded by Gustavo Trifari (an Italian immigrant) who arrived in New York in 1904 at the age of 20. In 1910 he founded "Trifari and Trifari" with his uncle but a few years later his uncle left and the company continued as the name "Trifari." In 1930 Trifari hired Alfred Philippe as head designer. As his background was designing for fine jewelry firms like Cartier, Van Cleef and Arples, he brought a wonderful sense of luxury and style to the company.
The above brooches were made in several metals with different coloured 'faces'. The stone colours were red, green or blue & the metals included silver & gold. Many other dancing pairs of brooches were made between 1943 & early 1950s - others being: PomPom & TomTom (rag dolls with molded glass bodies & heads 1949) as well as Sasha & Tasha (Russian dancers with pearls for faces) and others named such as ballerina, flamenco & petalette.