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Doll
Doll
Doll

Doll

Period1840 - 1850
Place MadeGermany
MediumPainted composition head, wood, sawdust, leather, paper, velvet, cotton netting, silk
Dimensions11 × 3 × 2 in. (27.9 × 7.6 × 5.1 cm)
ClassificationsDolls
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Samuel Ely Perrine, 1931
Object number57
DescriptionA doll with a varnished composition head, painted with brown hair, dark eyes, and rosy cheeks, attached to a white kid leather body firmly stuffed with sawdust. Painted and varnished wooden forearms and lower legs are attached to the kid leather body, with serrated bands of bright blue paper glued around elbows and knees at attachment points. The doll is dressed in a dark green velvet bodice edged with a narrow white cotton collar, above a fine cotton net skirt and pale pink silk underskirt ending just above the ankles. The doll has bright yellow painted slippers.
Curatorial RemarksThis simple but charming little girl's doll is made of a variety of materials and features a brightly colored "composition" head. These were created of molded resin, glue, sawdust, paper, and a variety of other materials pressed together, painted, and varnished to create a sturdy, lightweight doll's head. Molded ceramic heads were also popular, but composition-headed dolls were less prone to breakage, were lightweight, and had the added benefit of affordability. This doll also has its original kid leather body, with painted and varnished carved wooden forearms and lower legs. The bright blue paper banding at elbows and knees are virtually identical to toy catalogues featuring German-made dolls.NotesThis was one of the first two toys donated to the Historical Association after the opening of its main museum headquarters in early October of 1931. Mrs. Samuel Ely Perrine gave two dolls, both made in Germany in the mid 1840s. The other doll (see accession number 56) retains a handwritten tag noting that one or both dolls were owned by "Aunt Sarah A. Hays." Katharyn Holmes (1880 - 1954) was the daughter of John S. Holmes of Holmdel. She married Samuel Ely Perrine in 1907.
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