Cynthia The Celebrity Mannequin (1932)

Cynthia was a mannequin who looked remarkably human, in a sort of unusual way before extreme cosmetic surgery became a fashion choice. Created in 1932 by sculptor and retail display designer Lester Gaba (1907-1987) for Saks Fifth Avenue, New York, Cynthia caused a stir.

 

 

When Gaba further anthropomorphised her, Cynthia became a celebrity. She appeared on the cover of Life magazine’s issue of July 12 1937. People sent her gifts and fan mail. Cartier and Tiffany sent her jewellery, French-American milliner Lilly Daché (c. 1892 – 31 December 1989) designed hats for her, couturiers sent her their latest fashions and furrieries sent minks.

Cynthia began to receive large quantities of fan mail and was photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt. She was given a credit card from Saks Fifth Avenue, and had a box seat subscription to the Metropolitan Opera House. She had her own newspaper column and a successful radio show. In 1938, she went to Hollywood to appear in the movie Artists and Models Abroad. In 1939, she was back in New York to see the notorious play Madame Bovary at the Broadhurst Theater Gaba took her to restaurants, venues and salons, treating her as a living person.

 

 

Cynthia weighed 100-pound (45 kg), was made of plaster and had realistic human imperfections like freckles, pigeon toes and different sized feet. She couldn’t speak because, as Gaba insisted, Cynthia had laryngitis.

More “Gaba Girls” followed –  life-sized, carved-soap mannequins modelled after well-known New York debutantes created for the windows of the Best & Company department stores. They were much lighter, at 30 pounds (14 kg), than the typical 200-pound (91 kg) New York store mannequin.

 

 

And out of the blue, on one hazy afternoon in New York City, Cynthia slipped from a chair in a beauty salon and shattered. The press reported her death. Gaba appeared distraught, but eventually reconstructed her. But before she could return, in December 1942, Gaba was inducted into the Army.

 

 

Despite the various changes the entertainment industry went through during and immediately after World War Two, Gaba was determined to aid Cynthia in this next stage of her career. In 1953 he spent $10,000 on modifications (equivalent to nearly $100,000 in today’s money) so that she could “speak” and move. He then sought out private investment and attempted to land a TV deal for this ‘living’ doll.

The former soap sculpture had turned to the medium that was now selling soap, but after 20 failed auditions, the rejection became too much. In a candid 1960 New York Times interview, Gaba offered an explanation as to why his endeavour failed: “Cynthia never made any sense. She muffed lines.” Alas, a gimmick only works as long as it sells.

“So one day,” Gaba confesses, “while absolutely disgusted, I took Cynthia down to the studio of a mad scientist in Greenwich Village and left her in the attic.”

 

 

Lester Gaba was born in Hannibal, Missouri.  During the lean years during the Great Depression, he had taught himself to sculpt with what was around – soap. At the of age 10, he participated in a soap sculpting contest which inspired him to pursue a career as a specialty soap sculpture. His passions led him to Chicago in 1930 to study art.

After spending his time in Chicago as a successful children’s soap carver, Gaba relocated to New York City in 1932. By 1939 he had written a book about soap carving and became known as the “Michelangelo of the Bathtub” after creating soap figurines based upon characters from the popular depression-era cartoon Scrappy.

He became legendary for his window displays, and wrote a weekly column in Women’s Wear Daily. From 1941-1967, Gaba wrote a weekly column titled Lester Gaba Looks at Display where he critiqued window displays throughout New York City.