Little button eyed, embroidered nose and mouth, black doll. She has great early finely woven string hair. her dress couldn't be any simpler, made of broadcloth and covered with a apron. She is cotton stuffed, little blunt arms and legs and is 12" tall. She is all original and from the 1920's. She is perfect is her funny little way.
I have owned this doll for 30 or more years and I never found the right clothes for him and I like his looks without clothes. When I took the pictures today of him I suddenly thought, maybe it is a her and not a him. I am not sure and I guess it doesn't matter, I still like the doll without clothes. Roben Campbell made me appreciate the doll bodies when she exhibited my black cloth dolls collection at our local Historical Society. For that exhibit she researched black cloth dolls and then made a...
Talk about an hour glass figure, this one is an exaggeration, you can see she has been carried around gripped at the waist and I little hand could have gone around her easily. She is heavy and stuffed with rags. She has a suggestion of facial features. Her dress is hand sewn and not by a skilled dressmaker, it is very endearing and fits her really well. Under her dress she has a very soft worn and age related stained petticoat that has been altered to fit her perfectly and I don't think it is a ...
This little girl, 15", is all hand sewn, with a chunky cotton stuffed body, jointed arms and legs, embroidered face and button eyes, set a bit askew. She is wearing a little later homemade red and black polka dot dress. There is no evidence that she ever had hair. She has mitten shaped hands with nice thumbs. Over her dress she has a a white hand knit sweater. She has a few holes here and there but nothing that is causing a problem. There is one on her neck, a couple on her hands, upper arms an...
Very nice Beecher doll by a cottage industry in Elmira NY missionary group from 1893 to 1910. They followed a pattern but each doll is just a little different as the sewing was a group project.. This one has been recovered with black fabric over the original brown fabric. The brown fabric was not that sturdy and is often in fragile condition. She is wearing a red calico dress but probably not original. She is 20" tall
This is another example of a make-do doll. She has a very early body that probably had a china or papier mache head. It was sure easier to just make a cloth head and put it on a doll body that had a broken head than to make the whole doll. She is 24" tall and is firmly stuffed with cotton. The body is 1860 and the head is 1890, pretty cool. She is wearing a early soft red dress and a full slip and a flannel blue and white striped petticoat. She is a real character and her name is Lizzy.
Here is a doll that has a very pleasing face, nice blue eyes, sepia ink drawn nose and mouth but quite fadedwith a touch of pink on her mouth. She has unkept brown yarn hair, a antique pink dress that suits her personality perfectly. She is cotton stuffed, all hand sewn including stitched defined fingers. She is jointed at her hips and shoulders, so she sits nicely. The string tied on her as a harness is useful and I put it there, to hang her on a wall rather than have her sitting on a shelf. I ...
This is an all original milliner doll with paper mache head and hand carved wooden arms and legs. She has on a brown/tan dress with a scalloped petticoat and full length pantaloons. All are hand sewn. She has on green painted shoes. You can see in the picture as well as feel the hand carving of the arms and legs. You can see she has crazing on her face but it is not fragile or flaking off. Her clothing is in good condition but has age related discoloring. She is 10" tall and is circa 1840. This...
This wonderful perfect tiny penny wood doll in original dress and hat and painted red shoes on her tiny wooden legs. She is so tiny I have trouble picking her up. She is 1" tall with her dress just a little longer and her hat a little taller she is 1 1/2" all together. The round Dresden box is 3 3/4" in diameter and is1" tall. It has blue wall around the sides and other than a couple of scuff marks it is in good condition. I bought the doll in the box but she is just set in there on a little pie...
I can't believe it, this is Miss Grant my first grade teacher. It has been a lot of years but I think this is her. She has great black fabric hair that feels sort of like mohair? It is sewn on really nicely and dented in to make it look like a part in her hair. Her face is pencil drawn with big circles for her eyes. She has a great pinched nose, and a bit of a raised chin. No real mouth but I can tell it is pursed lips, she always did! Her body was made by a real seamstress. The fabric used for ...
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
Pair of wonderful cotton knit striped socks the heal hand worked. The colors and mustard yellow, blue and white stripes. Some of the hand sewing in the heal is lose or is partly out. No holes and I doubt they have been worn much at all. 28" long and circa 1880
As found a nice early stockinette doll stuffed with rags. She wears a wonderful old undershirt that buttons up the back. She has natural brown raw wool hair, (fleece cut off of a brown sheep). I haven't seen this done on a black doll before but it makes perfect sense. Her face consists of amber glass button eyes. If she had a nose or mouth they don't show now. She is a true off the farm doll with a lot of appeal. 13" tall circa 1890-1900
A wonderful fine homespun linen doll with watercolor/ink drawn features and blue eyes to die for. The drawing of her eyelashes is so tiny I needed a magnifying glass to see them. She is 14” tall, body is all original and firmly stuffed with cotton. Her legs are jointed, feet nicely formed, and her hands have stitched defined fingers. Condition is great other than some age related staining on her face. At some point she must have had shoes sewn on to her feet, now all that remain of them are th...
One look and you know this doll has been through a lot. I can't tell you what but someone has cared enough more than once to mend or replace something. I think both front and back were faces at one time but more shows on the side without the hole. She is 19" tall and is as found. She would be perfect in a primitive chair. Circa 1890-1900
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. Her nose is a gem and has ...
No mistaking this boy doll as a girl. Again great ears and behold the eyes. Did the mother making this doll know and want this look or did it just happen in the making. He is precious. His face is sepia ink on fine linen. His face is a second face but really old. It would be easy enough to take it off but I would never touch it, he is too good to mess with. He is hand sewn, is stuffed fairly firmly with cotton, he is jointed at elbows, shoulders, hips and knees. He has a big face and head for hi...
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