Brrrrrrrrrrrrr....it's cold. Time to work on dolls.

It's been two months since I posted - where does the time go?  Of course, for my husband and I with our retail business, I really know where it went - November and December flew by with preparation for, and then Christmas selling and decorating.  Our consignment business www.davidfaironthesquare.com offers home and business decorating during the holiday season.  I know we decorated for over a dozen clients this year.  Add that to Christmas sales and, well, there's no time for repair.

Anyhow, I still haven't found time to work on my own projects.  My big Lenci, my millener;s, etc. are all waiting on their day.  What I have been working on is customers' dolls.  I thought I would share the 'treatment' my current patients are ungoing.  Right now I have two china heads I am working on, one early pink lustre and another later Common Lowbrow.  I just finished working on a poor little Kestner who took a great fall and lost the back of her head.  And last of all, I am working on a German #7 that has the look of a Revalo, but is unmarked.  My daughter runs estate sales www.bdestatesales.com  She called me one day and told me there was an old doll in a box in an estate sale she was helping set up.  The price was $5.  Imagine my surprise when I found, in the box, a complete ball-joint German dolly, app. 21" tall, with all of her parts, original wig, etc., all in great shape with one exception - a broken head.

I can fix that, I told her!

So here, along with some commentary, are my latest doll doctor successes.

The first doll is a lovely Pink Lustre China head from the Civil War period or slightly after.  Her story is an interesting one.  Apparently the original owner did not like the fact that the one leg had been broken, and so she cut both legs off and replaced them with modern reproductions.  The daughter of the owner wants the doll restored to its original condition and the leg fixed. 

The doll's body was pretty much intact, with the exception of a large area where sawdust was leaking.  In order to preserve as much of the original body as I could, I chose not to replace it but closed off the leakage, filled the area, and then sleeved the body with antique fabric.  I could have tossed the old body and put the head on a replacement one, but if possible I would rather preserve the original.  I took a pair of legs from a contemporary body I had in stock and then made new arms to match.  I chose to have the arms end at a more natural point than they had originally. 

The leg was first glued, and then filled and finally painted to match its whole mate. 

Now she's waiting for her dress.  Once I have her completed, I will post a finished photo.

Pretty lady

 

Her mess of a torso.

 

Broken leg

 

 

 

The repaired leg before a gloss coat was added.

 

 

 

Waiting for her trousseau.

 

 

 

The second china head, as stated, is a Common Lowbrow, most likely dating between 1890 and 1910.  Dolls with this hairstyle was made by the thousands.  This is a very fine high quality example as she is well painted, with orange lid lines, etc. that would have taken more time and cost more to produce.  Her story is interesting as well.  Apparently there was a fire and the little girl's doll was broken.  The question is - was a bisque head broken and replaced with a china head, or a china doll's body broken and the head put on a spare leather body meant for a bisque head?  Whatever happened, what you see here is a body meant to hold a pink tinted bisque head (like the next doll in the post), but one that instead has a china head.  Usually you find it the other way round - the earlier china head was broken and a bisque, tin, or composition one used to replace it.  The customers and I talked and they decided to keep her as original as possible, so even the fabric used to hold the broken head on will be cleaned, mended and replace. 

 

 

 

This is the piece of fabric that was holding the head on, before and after.

 

 

 

Condition of the leather body and the damaged foot.

 

 

Cleaned, mended and restored. 

 

This is the cleaned body, but still with her old arm and hand. 

She still needs new upper arms and china lowers.

 

 

This girl is not finished yet so, again, I will post a photo once she is together and has her wardrobe.

 

Next to last is the little Kestner with the broken head.  I think the photos speak for themselves.

 

 

First step - jigsaw puzzle!

Filled, sanded and sealed.

 

Undercoating

 

 

Final coat

 

Completed!

 

My last patient is only at the beginning of her 'treatment'.  I call her my $5 doll.  The pieces of the head fit together quite well and I am still determining whether or not I will fill and paint the hairline cracks remaining as they are nearly invisible.  The main repair needed is actually a reconstruction of the bottom of the neck so that the head can once again be mounted on a body and strung.  This is a challenge as the repair has to be able to withstand the pressure of the elastic that holds the ball-joint body together. 

 

Here's what I have done so far....

 

 

 

That's it for this time.  I will post again as soon as one of these little beauties is actually released!

Still alive

I can tell you I was suprised when I saw my last post was from July 28th!  Yikes.  Time flies doesn't begin to cover it!  A lot has happened since my last post.  I will detail some of it below.

Just for the sake of those who look at this blog but never bother to follow the links, this is where I work and what I do most days April through October. 

The house is the Johnston Farmhouse, which is the focal point of the Johnston Farm & Indian Agency where I work.  www.johnstonfarmohio.com  On a typical day I wear 14 pounds of clothing, a corset, and spend 5 to 8 hours telling people and school kids about the past.  (Yes, that's me looking like Whistler's mother!)  Needless to say, during these months I get little doll work done, though I do continue to work as time permits. 

As of October 1st, with the exception of our Christmas event, I am laid off from the historic site until the weather breaks and it begins to warm up in late March, early April.  That means I have time for doll work - and doll sales.  That's another thing that's been going on since I posted last - I opened a Ruby Lane shop where I sell items that come through our consignment shop, including a good many dolls.  Check it out when you have time and tell others to do the same if you like what you see.  You can find it here: http://www.rubylane.com/shop/davidfaironthesquare  Also be sure to check out Carla Thompson's shop Oldeclectics, http://www.rubylane.com/shop/oldeclectics/ilist/ , she's a sweetie and has the most marvelous dolls from low to high end.  I'll be detailing my most recent acquisition from her below. 

The consignment shop is another 'happening' for me over the last few months.  Our shop is located in downtown Troy, OH.  We started off with two joined buildings, added another, and just recently added a third location.  Each has its own specialty from antique to vintage to collectible consignment items.  The Ruby Lane shop is an outreach of David Fair on the Square.  Check itall out at www.davidfaironthesqure.com or www.davidfairinteriors.com 

Life, of course, continues as well with care for my elderly mother and watching my 10 year old granddaughter.  One more photo and then on to the dolls.  This is Leah this year at the Renaissance Festival as a Medieval fairy.  Gotta brag!



I have been attempting for the last 5 years or so to build a collection of dolls that details app. 100 years of doll history.  I do talks on dolls and that is the focus - the changes in both childhood and dolls from app. 1830 to 1930.  Ony type of doll I wanted but had not been able to afford was a milliner's model.  Thanks to Carla Thompson, I finally have one!  Of course, buying this doll has started me on a roll - need to get her cleaned up and dressed and find out if the term 'milliner's model' is accurate or one of those lovely doll 'fables'. 

The idea behind a Milliner's model is that it was a tiny doll carried by a person who made or sold clothing in the early to mid-1800s and used to display tiny fashions on.  This is what I was told years ago when I began working with dolls and what most people believe.  According to Dorothy Coleman who wrote one of the 'Bibles' on dolls, this is not true.  She says the term was applied to them by a woman who was writing and article and needed a name and so she made 'Milliner's Model' up.  The proper term, Ms. Coleman states, is a varnished head.  She also states - quite properly - that the proper term is garrish and not very flattering and due to this she doubts 'Milliner's model' will ever go away.  As one who believes these things have some sort of real beginning (like unicorns and dragons) I intend to keep hunting to see if I can find any evidence that these little beauties were ever used to display clothing to prospective buyers. 

My little woman reminded me very much of Mrs. Johnston, the wife of the man whose house I work in.  Rachel was a lovely mannered woman born and bred in Philadelphia, PA.  In her wedding portrait she sports a short trendy 'do'.  Though my Milliners has a bun in the back, I still think she bears a remarkable resemblance to Rachel Johnston. 

 

 



 First thing I did when I received the doll was give her a careful judicious 'bath'.  For her age - and a lady never tells, but she has to be approaching 180 at the very least - she is in remarkable shape.  The leather cleaned well and is supple.  The arms and legs, which are wood, still retain much of their original plaster and paint, and her head is pretty much intact.  You can see the small cracks and she has a spot missing on the back. 

 

 

 

 

 

The challenge with a doll of this nature when it comes to repair is how much or how little to do.  A friend asked me if I was going to fill in on her legs and arms and I said probably not.  At 200 we need to allow her a few blemishes!  I will probably do a little bit to secure the one place on her body where the sawdust is leaking out, and maybe fill the cracks on the plate  bit, but otherwise, I will not do much.  In MHO, there's nothing worse than a lovely old doll that has been made to look brand new.   

I think these doll evoke the era so well.  You can see determination, but also a sweetness and gentleness.  I am starting to work on her dress and I intend to mimick Mrs. Johnston's as closely as my meager sewing skills will allow.  I will post photos as the work progresses.

Next time I post I hope to have some updates on some of the dolls I have shown over the last so many months - I will finally have time to work on them!  Yippee!!

One of these days...

If it seems like my recent posts have been about future projects, well, it's true!  As well as repairing dolls, I am an historic interpreter.  I work in Piqua OH in the home of John Johnston, who was a Federal Indian Agent from 1802 - 1829.  You can see the house and grounds here: www.johnstonfarmohio.com  In April, May and September/October we host almost 5000 school children, and during the summer I lead 6 hour long tours a day through the 1812 Farmhouse four days a week.  Needless to say, most of my doll work gets done in the winter!  Anyhow, I am currently working on a couple of dolls for clients, but my own projects have to take a back seat until the winter lay-off.

Recently, I purchased another faded beauty on eBay.  One of my loves of the doll world is Lencis.  These felt art dolls from the 1930s (and beyond) were miniature works of art.  Of course, being made of felt (and often organdy) they were subject to fading, deterioration, and often became moth meals!  Years ago I bought, restored, and sold a Lenci boudoir or bed doll.  She was lovely and long legged, and  about 24 inches or so in length (as I remember).  A seller on eBay had a Lenci boudoir up for auction and when no one bought it, I contacted the seller and put her in layaway.  I knew she was cool and a good price, so I didn't pay too much attention to the auction details.  You can imagine my surprise when she arrived and was 36 inches tall!  Yes, THREE FEET TALL!!! 

I think I may have bit off enough that I am going to be chewing (on the repair) for a looooonnnngggg time. 

I photographed her as she arrived and will share those photos below.  I am to the point where I have removed the clothing and am ready to begin the cleaning process.  I have also purchased some 100% wool felt from an eBay seller in Australia.  She told me she had another customer purchase felt from her to repair Lencis and recommended that, along with colors, I buy ecru so I can dye it to whatever faded color I need using food coloring.  That will be interesting.

I have repaired Lencis in the past and have a process for filling in the moth holes.  The doll is not in too bad of shape though she needs an appropriate mohair wig (have to see if I can find her in the old catalogs first) and some touch-up.  One wrist is 'broken', but otherwise her body is in great shape.  She came with her stockings and shoes, which is a real plus as they are often missing on a doll of this age.

Her dress is in good shape on the front - luckily - but has moderate to severe moth damage on the back.  It will be interesting to see how the repairs progress on that.  It will be laborious and time-consuming, but well worth it in the end.

Well, enough chatter for now.  Here's the doll.  (She put on a borrowed wig for the photo below).

 

 

Note the distinctive Lenci zig-zag stitching on the top of the legs.

 The next photos detail the dress, underclothes, and stitching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now for the moth holes!

 Stocking and high-heeled shoes

 

 

That's the before pictures.  Come back and take a look and see her 'after' - hopefully soon!