Catalog (359)

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...

This is a pull toy rabbit on a wood platform and wooden wheels. The rabbit is paper mache or press cardboard maybe is more accurate but old. The purple hat is felt. She has glass eyes. She is just the best. 7 1/2" long 5" wide and 7" to the top of her ears and is circa 1890-1910

This is a very special black doll. She is 16" tall, is rag stuffed and heavy. She has woeful stitched face with small pearl button eyes. Her arms are jointed but her legs are not but she sits really easily. She is wearing an old red wool dress with lace at the bodice and trim around the neck and hem. She is sewn in but you can see she is wearing a fine knit onesie underneath. She has little recovered hands, someone cared enough to cover them. She has holes, the dress has holes, she is amazing. ...

Hand made Shaker table mat with multi colored field and a wide brown border. The mats were the product of left over scraps from the sewing rooms in Shaker communities. This mat is 13" by 15" and is in excellent condition. C. 1900

This little stockinette black doll is hand sewn and straight forward. She has nice mitten hands with thumbs, nicely shaped feet, is stuffed with cotton and is a mini work of art. Her head is turned to the side a little and I think it is intentional. The embroidered face is sewn with a really skilled hand in the tiniest of stitches. She has on a make-do dress that is a red calico print apron. Looks good from the front but a little WO! WO! from the back. She is 14" tall, circa 1900 and a really n...

This is a very nice example of a black cloth broom doll. I don't get these very often and this one has the best face. The embroidery is densely stitched and she is quite early. She is wearing a blue calico dress that is faded and shows wear. There is a mend on her skirt that is crude but works. The top layer of black stockinette has weakness and some holes. See close-up pictures of her face. The bristles of the whisk broom allows her to stand without support. The handle of the broom goes up into...

This are small red boiled wool mittens, hand sewn and 3" long. They are from the 1890-1910. In very good condition and amazing they are still together.

This little black rag doll has on flannel pants and a tan and blue striped pants. The clothes are not original and he may not have had clothes originally. They are cute and fit him well. He is cotton stuffed rather firmly. He has neutral pencil face but I wide line for his mouth that makes him look happy. He is a wonderful simple all American rag doll. He is 14" tall and circa 1900

This is a very nice black cloth doll from Maine. She has a blank face and doesn't look like she every had features. Her hair is mohair but most of the hair is gone, although some still is remaining in the front. She is a nice brown cotton broadcloth. She is wearing soft blue calico dress with matching calico pink fabric trim. She is cotton stuffed and rather firmly packed. Her arms and legs are jointed so she sits nicely. She is 18" tall and is circa 1910.

Alice has blue eyes, orange nose and red line mouth that is sad or more likely it was straight across and now the ends are not tacked down so they droop. She is hand sewn from a nice homespun linen but her legs are a cotton and of a lesser quality. I think the legs are original maybe they ran out of the homespun. She has on a sweet white dress with lace at the top and front for trim and a belt sewn on with the name, Alice, embroidered on it. Over that she has on a gray dress that doesn't meet at...

his is a doll quilt with knotted and tied quilting with cotton filling. It is a warm brown and tan color. It has a stain on the under side that looks like rust. It has no rips or tears. It is 15" by 17" and is circa 1890-1900.

This darling stump doll dressed in a brown calico dress and a velvet mop hat is very put together, everything fits just right. Her stump is tied in the middle for a waist but she never had attached legs. Her body bends at the middle so she can sit and be held easily by a little hand. She is 14" to the bottom of her dress and is 11" to the bottom of her firmly stuffed stump. Circa 1900

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. Jefferson Davis at Louis at New Orleans, La. She has in her right hand a handmade a...

This big lollipop head black cloth doll with her sweet hand made dress and two buttons for eyes still manages to have a persona. She has a stuffed cotton body, jointed arms and legs, stitch defined fingers and large feet pointing left. (When I see that my mind thinks, she is signaling for a left turn.) Her red dress has little red trim around the bottom and around her neck. She is 19" tall but doesn't feel like a big doll. She is a funny little character, as found. Circa 1890-1900

The construction and the hand sewing on this doll is amazing. The hands and feet have stitch defined fingers and toes. The features are drawn with watercolor paint. Her nose is a raised pinched nose and for that type of nose this is the best one I have seen. Her hair maybe be real or horse hair but it is lovely and hand sewn in place and then a someone has saved it with a very fine hair net around the bottom. She has got a little sweet turned down mouth that is a more set look and sad. I think s...

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. Her nose is a gem and has ...

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.

This dear little black doll came right out of a house in Tennessee. She has the best thread hair, embroidered face, button eyes, pinched raised nose and lots of little and not so little mends on her face. She has a painted red mouth that can be seen if you look carefully, it is really faded. I have made the mends more visible by lightening the closeup picture but in regular light, they are hardly noticeable. She is firmly stuffed with cotton, jointed at the shoulders and legs. Her body is all or...