Rare American Cloth Doll by Martha Wellington with Toy Horse

Live Auction

24" (61 cm.) All stockinette cloth doll with stitch-shaped facial features depicting a plump-faced child, oil-painted hair, complexion and facial features, light brown hair with swirled curls, deeply-defined eye sockets and eye lids, shaded blue/brown eyes, rounded nose with accented nostrils, closed mouth with primly-set lips, double chin, defined blushed ears, stitch-jointing at shoulders and hips, oil-painted lower legs with defined knees and lower arms and hands with unusual curled fingers, antique romper suit, undergarments, stockings and shoes. Condition: fair/good, original finish albeit typical craquelure and complexion fading. Comments: Martha Wellington, of Massachusetts, who patented the doll in 1883; the intricate construction of the doll and its great scarcity today are indicative of very limited production at the time. Value Points: very distinctive construction with compelling presence of the rare American 19th century. Included is his own toy glass-eyed wooden horse by Schoenhut.