Doll

This Ernst Heubach bisque doll - one of the most popular models the German doll maker produced - was a gift to Maria Braun of Budapest in 1914. That year, wealthy women in Budapest, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, hosted a Christmas party at Franz Josef's palace, inviting children whose fathers had been drafted into World War I. The women had collected many toys and dolls to distribute to the children. Nine-year-old Maria came from a poor family and had never owned a doll. She wanted this one as soon as she saw it. Waiting in line with the other children to receive a Christmas present, she feared another child ahead of her would get the doll first. When she finally got the beloved doll, she would only look at it and talk to it; she never took it out of its box. She brought the doll to the United States in 1926, when she arrived here as a bride. Maria added the religious medal around the doll's neck, as well as the scarf and ribbon with the national colors of Hungary. A source of fond memories, the doll stayed with Maria all her life, occupying a place of honor on her bed.