Sammy, the Black Schoenhut Boy Doll

Whew!  Six months??????  I can't believe its been that long since I have posted here.  I have a lot to make up!

Today I am going to start with a marvelous Black Schoenhut boy named Sammy.  His owner has sent me seven Schoenhuts to repair so far and every one is fascinating, but this is probably the most unique of the lot.  She had sent Sammy to be repaired with another restoration artist and he came back looking brand spanking new!  All of the charm and 'age' was gone.  She asked me if I could take him back.  I took a deep breath, told her to send him, and said, 'Sure, I can do that.....'

It was an interesting challenge, to say the least.

Here is how Sammy looked when he arrived.

 First thing to do was get rid of the ghastly new paint.  Here's what was left.  Yikes!

Then to give him some new 'skin' and recreate the waves of hair in the bang area that had been destroyed by the previous restoration. 

And here he is after paint removal, repair, new paint and more.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

My goal as a restoration artist is to make an antique doll look shelf worthy, but keep the age and the charm.  I was pleased with this one.