Monday, June 7, 2010

Antique Wax Doll with Provenance

One of my birthday gifts this year was another lot with provenance, similar to my teddy bear find from a few months ago. I love receiving toys like this, those that come with pieces of their associated history. Handling such a toy is a very moving experience, as you actually see the now long-gone child who first held the toy so many years ago.

This lot is comprised of a baby doll who came with many pieces of clothing made just for her, and a photo of her original owner and their house. The doll dates from the late 1800s, and is a 14 inch cloth doll with a very worn wax face. She was clearly much beloved by her original owner's family, who patched and repatched  her, and kept her things together for so long.


The doll was, I am told, chosen for her original owner because of the resemblance she had to the little girl. Even in its worn condition, the similarity is still eerily apparent:


If you look closely at the picture of the owner's house, you'll see a lady in Victorian dress on the porch. Maybe she's the one who bought and dressed the doll, so long ago...

3 comments:

  1. How wonderful to have not only the doll but the other related treasures.

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  2. I love the story you have written and the doll other treasures. Gr. Nancy

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  3. I'm glad you like her! I almost didn't post her, as I was afraid she might not be well received (I worried this because several friends and family members who saw her in person recoiled in apparent horror. "You actually paid money for that rotten, melted THING?!" my sister, the non-collector, asked me incredulously. Not everyone can see her charm, I guess (the doll's, I mean, not my sister's...)

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