I am convinced dolls must be like buses; none for ages then three come at once! Eliza walks a dog for an lady who lives near us and was telling her all about the previous doll, who is now called Isabelle. This lady then went and found two more dolls that she had as a child and had no-one to give them to so she gave them to us to love. This first one she got for her 5th or 6th birthday in 1945 or so and she came in a pink dress which has sadly been lost over the years.
She has a composite face, basically woodpulp and glue, and as you can see has been well-loved. I took all three to a doll hospital and she needs to have her head mended to prevent it cracking completely in half.
This second doll was rather a shock. She is in pieces as you can see and was made by British National Dolls in the 1950s. She was sold in Marks and Spencers along with a blonde version and is called a walker doll as her legs "walk" and move her head at the same time.
She too is rather pretty but needs a good wash and hair-do.
These are her original clothes too. Now here's for the shocker, she is quite valuable! In fact the most valuable of the three once mended so if you have any of your old dolls from your childhood DON'T just sling them out! I have some from the 70s that were mine as a child and in good condition they are worth £40 or so already.
I did take her back to the lady who gave her to us once I realised her value. She was amazed and delighted and is contemplating having her restored now.
3 comments:
uh oh! I threw mine away!
Beautiful and an interesting story.
I've got one in the loft in pieces. She needs new elastic inside to hold the limbs and the head together. I call her Heidi because she has plaits and I must have read the book about then. I think I was about 9 and she was bought from Woolworths
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