Catalog: Dolls: Antique Dolls: Cloth (231)

A fine embroidered face, bead eye, pelt hair black doll from the coast of Maine. Her face and body are made from a very nice black linen cloth that has lightened a little with age. She is stuffed with cotton, jointed at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees allowing her to sit easily, her head is firmly on her shoulders...no wabble. She is wearing an beige and blue print early dress that is age appropriate but not original to her...

Sometimes a doll can be appreciated for the marvel of the maker and the caretakers of a doll. She has had loving hands restore her body more than once with really skilled hands. Her body is fashioned like a leather body but there is no leather under this doll's layers of jersey, cotton, linen and maybe a little wool. Her body is so interesting that she would look good exhibited without clothes. She is very firmly stuffed with rags...

This fine black doll is in wonderful condition. Her face is embroidered and her eyes are jet buttons that are very effective and her hair is astrakhan (lambs wool used for trim on coats in the late 1800's). Her arms are attached at her shoulders, her legs are continuous but she sits easily. She is wearing an early black skirt, a black calico dress over the skirt, and then a red apron/skirt over the dress...

This is an amazing home made black boy doll with the sweetest face, the best posture and corn cob legs. He feels like he has a solid wood inner core. I bet the maker of this boy was pleased as punch to find a good use for a couple of old corn cobs. His face is finely embroidered and has a contoured brow and cheeks, a raised nose, jet bead eyes, embroidered eyebrows, whites of eyes, nose and mouth with teeth. He has raveled yarn hair that is wonderful and it really suits him...

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...

Here face is hard to read, her eyes are big round buttons, her nose is one with her eyebrows, her mouth is a V turned upside down, and two circles on either side of her head for ears. She is big and rag stuffed heavy, (I love that). On the top of her head is a braided top knot in the shape of a donut. She is 28" tall, all original except her her clothes that are old and look good on her. So many cloth dolls, all made with cloth and some imagination, can be so different and look so wonderful C...

This charming character painted face cloth doll looks so proper. She has a great face that has many coats of white paint. She has blue eyes, applied nose and a tiny black line for her mouth. From her elbow down her arms and painted white and her legs from the knees down are painted black. Her body is very nicely constructed and is stuffed just right for holding. I didn't try very hard to get off her pantaloons, someone worked very getting them over her painted legs but her body is all original...

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...

This doll has a regal look and feel about her. Her body is black sateen and is very nicely constructed. The embroidered face is very nicely done with the whites of her eye very prominent with a nice black border around the white. Her nose is embroidered with black also but it is a blue black so it is visible. She has astrakhan hair that is nicely sewn on. She is stuffed fairly firmly with cotton and maybe rags. She is 23" tall and is dressed as I bought her. The dress is age appropriate and her ...

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...

Yup, she has the look, a perky hat, a kindly face, an hour glass body, basket carrying arms and sturdy legs that are continuous so she has a forced sit. She is all hand sewn, stuffed firmly with cotton, continuous legs so she sits from years of forced sitting. She is wearing a dress that looks like a jumper but isn't, the top is one with the bottom. She is 18" tall and is from the 1880's. Welcome to summer!

Amish sister doll from Holmes County Ohio that are adorable, early, rag stuffed, identical clothes but one has blue and the other green. They are early for Amish dolls on the market, probably date to the 1890's-1910. They are packed with rags giving them a great hefty feel. Condition is not an issue, everything is without rips or tears, but they do have natural age related toning. They sit easily, enjoy company and would like to make new friends. They are out of a private collection. 13"tall, C....

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 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 ...

Do you believe it, this little linen doll has the best face with tiny bright blue eyes, two tone big rosy pink cheeks, and a little red line for mouth. She has horsehair stitched carefully to her head giving her a whimsical crown of hair. Her body is all original but she has been recovered around her shoulders and chest. The material from her face is the same material all the way down her body. she is firmly stuffed with cotton. Her brown/tan dress is worn and faded and soft as can be. She is as...

This is a very nicely made black stockinette doll with a sculpture face, applied nose and ears and embroidered eyes and mouth. She has applied hair made from a fine net fabric and sewn in place. She had really nice clothes with a blue dress, and colorful striped petticoat a lace slip and lace pantaloons. On her head she is wearing a black net bonnet. Her body is straw and cotton filled. She sits but it is a little bit of a forced sit. She is 16" tall and circa 1880.

I am partial to sister dolls and have been collecting them for years. I have always liked these two. I had dressed them, it is very hard to find two dresses alike as you can imagine and they rarely have their matching dresses 120 years later. No question the same person made both dolls. They are very firmly stuffed with cotton, jointed arms and legs, embroidered faces with that straight neutral red mouth and an embroidered nose done with black floss so it is hard to see. Their hair is the astrak...

She is firmly packed with rags and cotton, how can I tell, she is very heavy and doesn't give much when you squeeze her. Rags are dense and heavy, cotton is lighter and can be pushed more easily into small places like arm and legs and feet and gives more when compressed. She has a great pencil face with eyes way at the top of her face. She is old and played with and her dress reflects all of that, see pictures for shredding material. Her body is all original and her dress is old and came with he...