Brigitte and I boarded the Train to Zurich. It was great fun to travel on a double decker train. We made our way to the buffet car to have our breakfast on route to the Zurich  Toy Fair.

A wonderful start to the day with a tasty breakfast, while we relaxed  on the way to the Zurich toy fair.

 

We arrives at Zurich train station and then travelled by tram to the Zurich Toy Fair.

Once we arrived at the Toy Fair we waited patiently in a queue for the doors to open, into an Aladdin’s cave of toys. I am primarily a Sasha Doll lover so, I cannot tell what all the dolls are that were for sale so, I will let the photos do the talking.

 

Some Sasha outfits for sale to the right of this photo.

Above a course doll, 2 early Gotz sasha’s and a baby.

Above a beautiful Lenci doll

Above 2 more beautiful Gotz sasha’s

Above a number of Sasha babies and a later Gotz boy.

Above you can just see an early Gotz sasha.

Above a gorgeous soft body studio doll in great condition.

Another beautiful course doll

Above this exquisite hard bodied studio doll really pulled at my heart strings, however the  little lady was bright green and I decided that as I will not have the funds for an abundance of Studio dolls, that my first one would not be green. The seller was asking £4000 for her and at the end of the day she had not sold.

 

After the Toy Fair had finished Brigitte and I met up with a few other doll lovers, for a cup of coffee and a chat,  which was great fun.

Above from left to right me, Brigitte, Dora, Gertrude, Renee and Thu cuc, we also met up with Madeline Foong, Laura Knüsli and Michael O’Brien.

The pamphlets for next year were handed out.

(Below is a rough translation  of the newsletter on the right)

The zurcher speilzeugmuseum shows from March 2016 in changing exhibitions dolls and objects from the original collection Sasha Morgenthaler. The collection is the property of the city of Zurich. In the last four years over 70 dolls were exhibited in the museum Lindwurm in Stein and Rhein. Now they have returned to Zurich. The work of Sasha Mogenthaler is characterized by individual creativity and craftsmanship as well as the highest possible quality. A special characteristic of her doll art is the law of the asymmetry of the human body, which she considers to be very important. The artist has consistently implemented this insight in the design of the dolls.

(Below a rough translation of the newsletter on the left)

We invite you to visit our little special “Sasha Morgenthaler and Migros”. 50 years ago, the affordable Sasha dolls appeared on the sales stands and became a huge success. Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of toys. We look forward to  seeing you.

After  leaving the Toy Fair we walked through Zurich taking in some of scenery.

Above views of the Lake in Zurich

Above a street sculpture.

Above Heimatwerk the first place to sell Sasha Studio dolls

Above Franz carl Weber store where years ago Sasha  Gotz Serie dolls were sold.

Above this church of the Hermits of St. Augustine was built in 1270 on Zurich’s western city walls. During the Reformation, the church was transformed into a coin workshop.  Zurich’s Catholic church reclaimed the building in 1841. When the community rejected the dogma of the First Vatican Council, it was excluded from the Catholic church and became known as a Christian Catholic community. The Augustinerkirche remained the local place of worship.

Renovation work undertaken in 1959 gave the church its current appearance. The simple choir area, crucifixion scene, block altar, baptismal font by Franz Fischer and stained glass by August Wanner are well worth a visit.

As the museum in Zurich was closed on Sunday I was unable to visit, so Brigitte and I made our way home to play with our purchases.

I purchase this lovely early Gotz girl before I went to the toy fair. But I purchased her wonderful outfit from the toy fair, which is very well made and suits her very well.

I purchased this lovely Unisex Gotz at the Toy fair. I was showing Michael O’Brien my purchases and he told me that the shirt this doll is wearing is very rare. in fact, he said that this is only the 2nd one he had ever seen. If anyone has Michael O’Brien’s book if you turn to the page with the red haired unisex doll in the school uniform you will see that it is wearing the same type of shirt. Normally this fabric was only used to make aprons from.

I also learnt something else that I would like to share with you. The term unisex that we use to describe these dolls may not be correct. Indeed the dolls have short hair so they can be either a girl or a boy. However, when  they were dressed originally they would have been dressed as a boy or a girl. Mine has fastenings  on the left so she would have been a girl.

I just love this little lady which, I also purchased at the Toy fair. She is a saucer eyed early Gotz Sasha. She is unusual as she has a small head and most saucer eyed girls have big heads. she has long thick hair too.

These 3 look ready for the winter.

I was also lucky enough to purchase a very minty Elke toddler complete with her original tube.

I also purchased this handsome young man who I have decided to call Peter.

I had a fantastic time at the Toy Fair and will be posting a story about my studio doll Inge soon.