$9,500
Sold
sold
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Description
18" (46 cm.) Cloth doll with pressed and oil-painted facial
features and hair with wispy side curls,stitched ears,painted blue
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,defined applied
thumbs,painted shoes. Condition: extensive repair to hair,original
finish on face with extensive rubs and craquelure. Comments: circa
1865,Izannah Walker,the Pawtucket,Rhode Island doll creator,who
obtained a patent for her dolls in 1873 but likely had been making
them for some time previously. Her patent described her purpose to
create a doll that is "easily kept clean and not apt to injure a
young child which may fall upon it. It will preserve its
appearance for a long time". An inventive and hardy New
Englander,she "made dolls and doll furniture,tinkered with
household gadgets,designed a parlor heater that beat Ben
Franklins',raised canaries,dabbled in real estate and was looked
upon with admiration by male contemporaries because of her skill
with carpenters' tools..." according to a contemporary write-up in
the Providence Bulletin. Value Points: sought-after American
doll,a keynote of any collection,this example with a well-loved
life,great expression,original costume.