Rare American Cloth Character Doll Known as "Little Nell" by Martha Chase

Live Auction

15" (38 cm.) Firmly-pressed stockinette cloth doll with oil-painted complexion, facial features and blonde hair that is styled in centerpart and with two extended braids onto her shoulders, painted small blue eyes with crisp white eyedots, black upper lashes, accented nostrils, closed mouth, blushed cheeks, sateen body, oil-painted limbs with stitch-jointing at shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, separately-stitched thumbs, antique dress and undergarments, stockings, shoes. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Martha Chase of Rhode Island, circa 1910, who introduced a series of dolls presumably based on storybook characters, this being "Little Nell" from the Dickens book, The Old Curiosity Shop; the series was unsuccessful and few examples were made. Value Points: very rare doll in impeccable original condition with beautiful painting and construction, intricately detailed hair, delicate blushing of her complexion.