Internet Antique Gazette » cloth

Walker, Izannah – American Dollmaker

hcst — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:02:09 +0000

Izannah Walker – Early American Cloth Dolls

Izannah Walker began creating cloth dolls in her Central Falls, Rhode Island, home in the 1850′s and on into the 1880′s, becoming one of the earliest of the commercial doll producers. The process she used (which allegedly came to her in a dream) was alternating layers of cloth and paste that ingeniously stiffened cloth dolls and hardened them to a papier-mache-like quality. The bodies were formed in two halves which were stuffed and glued together around a strengthening wooden armature, and then covered with fabric. Walker hand-painted the arms, legs and hair with oil paints. The painting of the hair was one of Walker’s distinctive features with typical corkscrew curls. The faces were given varying features with the use of different molds. Whatever the mold, her dolls tended to have the appealing features of a sweet, innocent child. (They have been compared to those of the children painted by American itinerant artist Ammi Phillips.)

Chase, Martha – Dolls

hcst — Fri, 13 May 2011 13:44:28 +0000

Martha Chase Dolls

In the 1890s, a woman named Martha Chase, having fond memories of a beloved childhood doll, decided to bring similar joy to the lives of other children. She began constructing dolls and soon gained a large following enabling her to found the Martha Chase Doll Co. in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

One of the more innovative of the Chase dolls was the 1910 Chase Hospital Doll, which had a water-tight rubber interior to permit the teaching of medical treatments to student nurses learning how to care for sick babies. This unique doll was available in five sizes, from a newborn infant up to a four-year-old.

All of the Chase dolls bear a label which reads: “The Chase Stockinet doll. Made of Stockinet and Cloth. Stuffed with cotton. Made by Hand. Painted by Hand. Made by Especially Trained Workers.” Martha Chase died in 1925 — having never patented her wonderful dolls!

Cloth Dolls – Late 19th Century American

hcst — Mon, 02 May 2011 13:46:09 +0000

Early American Cloth Dolls

The early American cloth dolls demonstrated the ingenuity and creativity of many settler families. When both money and material goods were scarce, it was not unusual for a mother to make a doll for her child by simply knotting whatever fabric scraps she could find.

If a corncob was available, it became the doll body. Fabric scraps were used for the arms and legs and clothing. As materials became more varied and plentiful, the ambitious mother painstakingly patterned and cut and sewed cotton muslin and worn stockings into doll forms that she stuffed with bits of cotton, corn kernels or straw.

Black face dolls have been popular from early in the history of America into the 20th century. Slaves before the Civil war were making black face dolls. It is said these women fashioned black face dolls dressed in calico as playthings for the white children in their care. The dolls were dressed and sized to represent a slave mother, father or child. The topsy turvy dolls were black face dolls dressed for work at one end and a white face doll appeared dressed in fashionable garments at the other. Each doll was concealed beneath the other’s skirt.

Soon after color lithography was introduced at the end of the 19th century, sheets of doll patterns printed on fabric were sold at prices ranging from a dime to a quarter. The “Cabbage Patch” doll for example was a life-sized toddler pattern, presented wearing printed underwear. To complete the doll, mothers used bits of leftover pieces to stuff and clothe the dolls. These patterns were a quick success and alerted major home product producers, such as Kellogg’s Cream of Wheat and Aunt Jemima, to a good advertising tool. Doll patterns offered as premiums for product purcheses generated enthusiastic responses from shopping mothers, aunts and grannies.

Toward the end of the 19th century, commercially made dolls began to appear in the marketplace. Created by women as businesses within their homes, these dolls became more popular as their production expanded. The doll cottage industry employed local women. Some more profitable ventures moved into full fledged factories. As Jean Burkes, curator of decorative arts at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont points out, American women were consciously trying to compete with European manufacturers with the goal of creating a playable, safe doll.