mo****f6
Highest Bidder
$2,100
Sold
sold
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Description
14" (36 cm.) Paper mache shoulderhead, blue glass enamel inset eyes with rich spiral threading, painted lashes, arched brows, accented nostrils, closed mouth with outlined lips, brunette mohair wig, cloth torso, paper mache lower arms and legs. Condition: generally excellent. Comments: Germany, circa 1860, the doll is wearing original costume of the "Pit Brow Lass" of England mining industry. An article written by Erica Tanner in February 2009 issue of Antique Doll Collector, described the profession and the costume. An 1842 English law forbade woman working below ground in the "pit" coal mines; hence they worked above ground at the edge (the "brow") of the mine, sorting rock and dirt from the coals. For this they developed a unique "uniform", which included sturdy trousers (unorthodox at that time) with twill patches at the knees for padding while kneeling to sort, beneath a skirt tucked up above the trousers, and sturdy black leather shoes cobbled with hobnails and rimmed with metal. So shocked were the gentry at this costume that laws were introduced to make the Pit Brow Lass work (and hence their costume) illegal. Marches to Parliament by women wearing the costume prevented the passage of the new law. Value Points: wonderful state of preservation of the rare doll with compelling expression and extremely rare costume.