Catalog (358)

This large antique black doll has embroidered face with beads for her eyes and mouth, I have never seen this before on a black doll. Her nose I think is would and covered with embroidery floss. He eyebrows are raised also with the use of the same embroidery floss as the nose. She has the lambs wool astrakhan hair. The fabric on her face is a fine silk wool that has shredded on her cheeks but there are several layers of cloth under it so it isn't so obvious. She has mitten hands, nicely turned fe...

This doll has a very early body and was recovered from the waist up in the late 1800's. She feels like she has another face under this one but this has been on there so long I wouldn't want to take it off. She has layers of petticoats and then bloomers all under her blue and white period dress. She is heavy and stuffed with rags and maybe some cotton. She has a pencil face with shoe button eyes. She doesn't look like she ever had hair. She is fully jointed and sits great. Her hands have fingers ...

This great antique lady is home made and naively painted. She has a great face with painted black hair and a big red bow painted on the top of her head. The paint appears to be all original, there is some flaking of the black paint on her head but the face paint is stable and good except near her hair line. She has a big firm body with a modified hour glass shape. She is wearing her original dress and pantaloons and they are sewn on. The condition is such that a blouse over the dress I think loo...

This very nice center seam face doll with ears and naïve painted face and hair. She has a gracefulness about her. Her arms are created with a curve, she has nicely sloped shoulders that gives her a look of the proper Bostonian. She is cotton stuffed with a little give. She is jointed at the shoulders, hips and knees. Her undergarments are quite lovely. Her chemise has tape as garters that are holding up her stockings. She has pantaloons and a lovely petticoat, a cotton dress and a newly made, b...

Antique cloth doll with a bold painted face, black eyes and eyebrows, worried black eyes, red rosy cheeks and staight serious mouth. Her body is curvy and cotton stuffed with arms and legs that are jointed so she sits easily. The dress is a calico print with little heart and flower design in a deep pink and brown colors. Over the dress is a blue check apron and blue checked bonnet on her head. She has mitten hands with stitch defined fingers. Her clothes are all antique. She is from Pennsylvania...

This doll has a very soft worn kind of look. Her face is mended right down the middle and the is darkening just below her shoe button eyes but she still has a very nice sort of sad soft look. I realized I had her dress on backward when I started to photograph her. She has a really nice pocket that she has been sitting on all these years. She is 24" tall. She is stuffed with cotton that has settled so she sits nicely even though her legs are continuous with her body. She makes a gentle statement....

This is a great 23" black doll door stop with embroidered face,braided trim hair and nice calico clothes with a paisley shawl kerchief sround her shoulders. She is in very nice condition with just a little fading to her clothes Circa 1920

The nice center seam antique cloth doll has a very nice painted face and raveled yarn hair. She has stitched defined fingers and thumbs. She is made with black sateen and her body is very nicely constructed. She has ears and I like it when dolls have ears. Her ears are not that noticeable because her hair covers them somewhat. She has on a maroon polka dot dress a cotton window pane apron pantaloons all are antique and have been on her a long time. She straw stuffed, I don't see that very often....

Lovely old cloth doll stuffed with rags, really solid and heavy in possibly an original dress. She is completely jointed, nicely constructed, old petticoat and pantaloons. She has dainty pointed feet, stitched defined thumb and fingers and the back of her head is covered with brown fabric that also looks original. Her face is embroiderer nicely with brown floss and you can tell she was made by a happy person. 23" tall and C.1890

Big bold painted face doll with sewn on original dress, (apron is old but probably not original.) She is soft and floppy even her head, but with a wall behind her the head stays upright. She sits really easily, and is the perfect weight and feel to be carted around. She is 23" tall and circa 1900-1920. Mid-west origin.

This is a big old fashion linen homespun rag doll with a great pencil face. She has wear and recovering on her arms and legs. Her face is a very old recover that is also real homespun linen. The back of her head is amazing, see picture to appreciate this great old doll. She is rag stuffed and very heavy. She has funny replaced feet. She is not jointed at her hips but from years of forced sitting she will sit. She is as found and is wearing a period two piece blue polka dot dress. She is a big sw...

This lovely late 19th C. black cloth doll is made with fine polished cotton material, all hand sewn and hand painted. The white band at her neck is part of her clothing and is not a neck stabilizer. The doll and the clothes appear to be hand sewn by the same seamstress/mother/Grammy. The astrakhan hair is the best I have every seen and makes her hairdo look very fashionable. There is a little give to the cotton stuffed hourglass shaped body. This doll is so nice, all original and is in excellent...

This antique handsewn doll has the early sloped shoulders, with carefully pieced construction, finely embroidered face with pinched raised nose, detailed lips, eyes and eyebrows. Her body is the hourglass shape, her legs are continuous and even though she is not jointed, she sits easily. She has great astrakhan hair. She is cotton stuffed rather firmly, has sewn on socks and rounded off hands. She is wearing a skirt and blouse, petticoat and bloomers all antique but not original, just nice. The ...

This big doll no nonsense painted face doll with kind eyes was made with a body and face that match. They are both strong looking, will withstand a lot and be a good companion for a little girl. She is the kindly auntie that can't be there all the time. She is stuffed firmly with rags with cotton stuffed arms and legs. The paint is more a water color than an oil paint. It is flat color and sinks into the fabric. Her lips are the only exception, they are painted with a bittersweet oil paint. She...

Boy dolls are just hard to find, fewer were made but when found they are more likely to have good clothes. Boys liked policeman, soldiers, construction workers and sailors. This great sailor is 21" tall, has a nicely embroidered face, is all hand sewn, has the four seam head and has really nice hands with fingers and thumbs. He is very firmly stuffed with cotton. His clothes fit him perfectly. There is the dark blue wool jacket and matching short pants, a sweet buttoned undershirt, white socks a...

Not all black dolls have black bodies. Some of the best dolls I have had were dolls that the maker took an old rag doll and gave the doll a black head. In the Jim Crow era, it became common in the north for mothers to teach their children about the plight of African Americans, by making a black doll for them. So mothers even ones that were not really skilled at sewing were making black dolls. Putting a black covering over a rag doll was one of the easiest ways. This is one of those dolls black h...

This doll is from a collection in Maine. She is stockinette that was originally early polished cotton and was recovered 50 t0 75 years ago. So she is all original just recovered. This is not that uncommon if the doll was valued it was repaired. Old black fabric dye had iron oxide that was corrosive and weaken fabric. It is why this face has some holes. Her face has beautiful embroidery, the nose has to be the fanciest I have ever seen. She has shoe button eyes and pieces of white linen tacked on...

This pencil face antique cloth doll has on a blue calico dress that is hand sewn and is made over to fit her at sometime. It is sewn on her but isn't hiding anything. Her body is all original and is mostly rag stuffed and some cotton stuffing in her arms and legs. Her head doesn't flop, she sits easily and her arms are wide open for a hug. She is 20" tall but is one of those dolls that doesn't seem like a large doll. She is circa 1890 and she is all flannel material that makes me think she might...