Catalog: Dolls: Antique Dolls: Cloth (231)

I don't have many left from the earliest days of buying in the 1970's but this is one of them. He is a happy little guy made with a stockinette sort of fabric. His face is nicely embroidered with a fine floss and what looks like hundreds of stitches to make his eyes and teeth. His hair is animal pelts, lots of small pieces sewn onto his head with lots of stitches holding it on. You can see the leather back in lots of places, I think that was the way it was sewn on. He is as found...

Not only is she happy, she also is a good cook. She is almost as wide as she is tall, has original clothes, great yarn hair, (see picture), embroidered face that is very well done. She is cotton stuffed, sits well and she is nice to hold. She is 18" tall and is circa 1910-20

This plain and simple stocking doll with great old button eyes and probably original stocking cap. He feels like he is stuffed with soft stocking material. He has fancy blue and maroon yarn tied around his ankles that probably matched his clothes. Simplistic pleasure. He is 14 tall and has a few small holes. He is circa 1910-20

She can get better, she has a provenance that came with her, as follows.....

This black doll has a nicely hand painted face that comes for a cottage industry in Georgia. Her face is done by a naïve hand but the colors and style are very nice. She has a tag on the inside hem of her dress that reads, Mammy 4. She is firmly stuffed with cotton and in really good condition with age discoloration and a tiny hole on her chin. I don't think she was ever played with. She is 15" tall. She is all original and hand made and has a wonderful face.

Bottle dolls are usually made to be a doorstops but this little all original girl would maybe be used as a paper weight in its day. She has a lovely embroidered face, a mop hat, a shoulder scarf and flat arms with flat little hands and an apron over an old calico skirt. The sand filled bottle is covered with the original red sock. She is just 8" tall and is sweet as they come. C. 1910-20

This is a homemade Raggedy Andy in his original. He is in good shape but his clothes have some holes and rips, and stains but nothing that is falling off. He has some stains that comes with his job. He is 16" tall but is a small doll, his head measures just a little over 3" across. His pants are a sturdy blue felt, and his cotton striped pinky/orange shirt a few tears on one sleeve. He is a little wonderful creature. C. 1920

I was very surprised to find a Poppet doll dressed as a Native American. I looked up what tribes were in Kentucky and it turns out there were three or four. Shawnee, Cherokee, Chippewa and Chickasaw. So it is not surprising even in the first quarter of 1900 to have an Indigenous Poppet doll. She has on a wool skirt and a fine multicolored top. She has wooden rounded at the end arms and wooden legs covered with a gray wool leggings that have embroidery up the sides and leather shoes...

I don't see many pairs of dolls and boys dolls I don't think I have had another pair. The older Daryl looks like he is in control and rather sweet, younger Daryl has apparently gotten the short end of the stick. He is sad. They make a very nice pair and are all original with a few missing pieces. I think they both had belts. They have bold embroidered faces and have gray yarn hair...

Bold folk art cloth doll with drawn ink face and button eyes. I love ears and she sure has them. Her body is all original, clothes are antique, she looks great in her bonnet. She is wearing socks with shoes and the shoes fit her perfectly. Sitting in a doll chair really sets her off. She is solid as a rock and is so appealing. Her condition is really good with a few stains here and there and around her eyes and mouth she has mends...see picture...

This is one big heavy girl with a long face and slightly drooping cheeks. She is no spring chicken so I call her Mother Hen, in a loving way. She is 26" tall, big chunky all original body and big practical shoes. Her head is floppy but stays upright leaning against a wall or chair back. Circa 1900-1910

This is a large Gertrude Rollinson in really good condition with wonderful clothes. She probably has been repainted at some point. She has on a long white cotton dress with a slip that is the same length as the dress, well below her feet. She has on white socks and white shoes and a crocheted bonnet. She is in very good condition, is 26" tall and is circa 1907-1916.

This is a 23 " cloth doll that looks more like she is 17". It is funny with dolls, some look really big and large and aren't and then some like this one that just feel and look smaller than they are. She is nicely shaped body, she is shy and doesn't like to show her face. I finally got one picture that shows the pencil features, you can see her face much better in real life...

Just 11" tall with a great embroidered face this cloth doll has a lot going for her. She is all original. She has yarn hair, finely embroidered face with a stitch raised nose, and pouty little mouth. Her clothes are all original and sewn on. She has black velvet shoes that show wear on the toes, (how does that happen!). She has silk stockings, bloomers, lace petticoat, blue dress with a self belt and lace around the neck. She is a cute and she can be. Circa 1900

At least that is what I would think at first look. But, this doll is so cute from the back I felt like it should be shown as important. The front of her is adorable and funny. The face is very unique and done by someone that clearly didn't want to embroider fancy features. She used celluloid rings for hanging curtains to outline the eyes and the black centers are shoe buttons. They sort of float in position so sometimes her eyes are looking in two different directions...

This sweet little antique cloth doll is wearing black calico dress that might be original it fits her so well. She has embroidered eyes and a hint that she had an embroidered nose and probably a mouth. She has the great astrakhan hair that says she was made around 1890 and the dress is that era too. She has jointed arms and legs, is stuffed with cotton sort of medium firm. She is a very nice old but nicely cared for antique cloth doll. 10" tall.

Not often do I get a doll that has documentation of the maker, this doll does. She is all original with a red calico dress and bandana, white apron, petticoat and bloomers. Her body and legs are made of wood and she has big flat shoes that probably allowed her to stand alone but she is old now and doesn't do that well. I am trying not to relate to that! On the bottom of her shoe, written in nice script is, Mrs...

It is always fun to find something I haven't seen before, this is a black man oilcloth doll. Oilcloth was a heavy duty cotton or linen cloth that was in the old days soaked in linseed oil until it became saturated. The cloth was then hung to dry to produce an almost waterproof fabric. It often was used to cover kitchen tables, line shelves AND was used to make children's soft toys that were durable and waterproof. This toy soldier dates to the late 1800's early 1900's. He is tall and wonderful a...