$19,000
Sold
sold
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Description
17" (43 cm.) Cloth doll with pressed and oil-painted facial features and hair with wispy side curls, stitched ears, painted brown eyes with dark iris rims, black eyeliner, lightly-stroked brows, closed mouth with hint of gentle smile, stitch-jointed fabric body with oil-painted stiffened hands and lower legs, separate thumbs, painted black ankle boots with red rims, antique costume is original. Condition: original painted finish with typical craquelure, re-varnish to shoulderplate. Comments: circa 1865, Izannah Walker, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island doll creator obtained a patent for her dolls in 1873 but likely had been making them for some time, of which this doll is an example of the earlier models. Value Points: sought-after American doll, a keynote of any collection not only for its position in doll history, but also for its pervading gentle presence.