François Flameng

In the present work, celebrated society portraitist Flameng portrays a young girl known as Mademoiselle Herpin--her well coiffed curls, neat silk dress, and patent leather shoes suggesting she comes from a prosperous household.   Flameng further suggests her privilege by the pair of stuffed elephants she grasps. Though stuffed animals of all species are commonplace today, such an impressive and well-made pair of soft-grey toy elephants complete with black-button eyes, bone tusks, and stitched toes would be a special and expensive plaything.  Perhaps the young girl's family was one of the many who traded and lived in colonized regions of Africa or India, and the animals were reminders of past travels. The toy creatures themselves may possibly bear the brand name of Steiff. In 1880, German toymaker Margarete Steiff first created an elephant made of felt intended for use as a pincushion. Yet children loved playing with this "pincushion" (the very first soft-filled fabric toy animal), and just six years later, over 5,000 Steiff elephants were sold. Within the next two decades, the family business expanded rapidly, with more animals, a popular catalog and an international market.