"Miss Unity"
 

click for full view "Miss Unity" by Sherman Smith

"Miss Unity"- The symbol of UFDC (United Federation of Doll Clubs) has been carved by Sherman Smith.

Bride Dolls
Bride dolls are universally popular. It should come as not surprise that you will find some fine examples in wood dolls. Often a small, simple doll (like a peg or penny wooden) will be dressed with fabric from someone's wedding gown - what a fabulous family keepsake!

Bride Dolls by Frank and Elizabeth Haines (NIADA) wrote several books about regional and historical bridal customs. They illustrated these books with their accurately dressed wooden dolls. What happened to Frank and Elizabeth Haines wood doll collection? Hopefully they are safe and all together in a museum that appreciates what they have and allows the dolls to be regularly viewed publicly. If anyone knows, please contact me.

• Early American Brides : A Study of Costume and Tradition - Elizabeth & Frank Haines
• Foreign Brides From Antiquity - Elizabeth & Frank Haines

Emperor and Empress Hina (Bina) Dolls

need a photo of a set of Imperial Wedding ningyo

Emperor and Empress Hina (Bina) Dolls found in Japanese Girl's Day Festival displays are dressed in the imperial fashions of a particular era. Special Seikon-no-gi (Imperial Wedding) Emperor and Empress dolls are dressed in replicas of the costumes worn at an imperial wedding as a commemoration of the event. Japanese wood doll page

Schoenhut Bride and Groom

photo thanks to Mrs. Tamye R. Smith

Albert Schoenhut created every type of popular type of doll, so it should be expected that Schoenhut Bride/Groom sets were also made available. One bridal set consists of the whole wedding party. This is a very special Schoenhut group. They are featured in the price guide "Doll Values" by Patsy Moyer and are located on page 192.  The owner says of the dolls, "They were given to me when I was a child, by a friend of my parents. They are in excellent condition, in their original clothes. They have carved hair and intaglio eyes. I have never seen any like them." Lotz Schoenhut Doll Page

Hitty dressed as a bride

Lotz Studio Hitty Bride photo by Jean Lotz

Hitty bride dolls are very popular. Hitty is a story book doll based on "Hitty Her First Hundred Years" by Rachel Field. There is a very fine illustration and a detailed description of Hitty displayed at the Louisiana Cotton Exposition dressed as a bride. Many Hitty artists and manufactuerers have created Hitty bride dolls: Jean Lotz, Mary Lee Sundstrom, Judy Brown, Ingeborg Tinius, and Collectible Concepts - to name a few.

Helen Bullard (NIADA FOUNDER) created quite a few celebrity dolls during her career and especially during the 50's. She carved them in chestnut, buckeye, or holly. See "My People in Wood - Autobiography of a Dollmaker" by Helen Bullard for more information.

Some of her wooden celebrity dolls represent:.

• Davy Crockett
• Margaret Truman - Helen Bullard and Matilda Boomfied teamed up to create a wooden portrait of Mrs. Truman in 1952.
• Lady Ottoline Morrell
• Virginia Woolf
• Gertrude Stein
• Alice B. Toklas
• George Sand

Michael Langton(NIADA) has created many portraits.

Floyd Bell (NIADA) has created many primarily portraits of African American celebrities.

True Celebrity Dolls:
Wooden Dolls that have been created as movie props or stars

Captain Budd??? a wood doll who starred with Shirley Temple in an early film. Please let me know if you know the name and have more information about this doll. I saw it on display in the 1998 UFDC antique competitive exhibit, but I lost my notes - OOPS!

Jane Fonda movie The Dollmaker where Jane portrays a miner's wife struggling to add income to the family coffers by carving wooden dolls. No specific dolls were the star in this movie but they played an important part.

Elmer is the Michael Langton wooden doll used as a prop in the movie "On Golden Pond" costarring with Katherine Hepburn. Michael Langton maintained ownership and copyrights of this doll so that he could reproduce his Elmer doll in wood/resin (this is NOT real wood) in a limited edition. (See Contemporary Doll Collector Oct-Nov/98 "Elmer" by Mary Kalishki)

Special Character Dolls and Those From the Comics:

Most of the Comic Strip character dolls were mass-produced to monopolize on the popularity of this market, but some were crafted on a much smaller scale or created as one-of-a-kind dolls.

Pug

Does anyone know more about this comic strip character? Please contact me with more information, scans of old comic strips, comic strip artist's name, dates that this character might have been popular, and etc.

This might be a one-of-a-kind or a limited edition doll by an individual artist. Unfortunately, there are no markings on this doll to give any clues to the identity of the artist. It is a really charming doll. She looks familiar with those fat legs and her cute face, but I can't place which cartoon I've seen her in.
 

Pug photo thanks to Gary Keller

The owner described this doll as: "Here's a neat little wooden, hand-carved doll from the funnies named 'Pug'. She has a tag on her from her original owner that says "hand carved 'PUG' of the funnies when a little girl". 'Pug' stands 10 1/2" tall. She is wearing her hand made dress with pantaloons and has braided yarn type hair. She is in excellent condition for an old hand carved wooden doll. My guess as to age would be from the 1920's-1930's." "It is joined at the arms and legs with elastic. There are no markings anywhere on the doll" More photos of Pug (photos thanks to Gary Keller): close-up of her face close-up of the jointing (butt joints with treaded elastic tacked to the outside of the arms and legs)

Felix The Cat photo thanks to private collector

"Felix the Cat "- The Albert Schoenhut Co. created some jointed wooden toys representing popular cartoon characters. Felix was one of his most popular.

"Mr. Common People"- The Albert Schoenhut Co. created some special order dolls representing "Mr. Common People", a cartoon character by Herbert Johnson. At one time these dolls were thought to represent the vaudeville comedy team of "Gallagher and Shean", but Carol Corson discusses their true identity in her book: "SCHOENHUT DOLLS - A Collector's Encyclopedia". Carol reprints an article announcing the creation of these dolls and several political cartoons from "The North American" newspaper featuring "Mr. Common People". The likeness between the dolls and the sour-puss character is amazing.

"Mexican-made cartoon characters"- Many popular cartoon characters from Disney, Warner Bros. and others were created in Mexico for sale in the US. They are cute, well-designed, well painted. Some of the characters that I have seen are: Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, The Roadrunner, etc. The dolls didn't have the required "license credits" printed anywhere on the earlier Mexican dolls that I have seen. Recently a doll dealer has been offering similar/same dolls on one of the major Internet auction sites. She has auctioned a great variety of really well designed, jointed cartoon dolls (Mad Hatter, Tinkerbell, Pinocchio, etc.). The doll dealer states that "they are made by a fine Mexican sculptor from a Mexican Art Institute". I would really like to give full credit to this artist and display some of his dolls, but unfortunately this doll dealer doesn't name the artist in her ads.

Clowns

need a photo

Polichinelle (Punchinello, Punch, or Kasper) These are dolls or puppets representing Pulcinella, the braggart from the Commedia Del'Art.  According to Coleman's "Collector's Encyclopedia of dolls' (pg 945), Insam & Prinoth produced wooden Polichinelle in 1890. Often these are simply strung so you could manipulate their limbs, but they were often played with just as dolls.

Punch and Judy

These are famous characters in a European hand-puppet show. They are ill-tempered, mal-contents that amuse people with slapstick humor. Some of the hand puppets had carved wooden heads.

Punch puppet (Index of American Design - National Gallery of Art)
Dated about 1870, Punch has a carved wooden head and hands, fur wig, and an elaborate costume of velvet, corduroy, and cotton. The puppet is manipulated by means of a stick that extends into the head.

Tiny Clown Photograph courtesy of Theriault's Annapolis, MD
This simple German doll or ornament is a small jointed painted wooden doll strung by a cord through a hole in the top. Although a lot of different characters were made, clowns were very popular.	Melancoly Clown by Hidegard Wegner beautiful and sensitive

click the photo for a full view Peddler by Dorothy Brower (ODACA) photo by Bill Fifer

Any kind of doll can become a peddler doll simply by dressing it as such. A tray, basket or box is held or suspended by straps to hold the doll's wares. This is a fun type of doll to collect. The collector can continue to add miniatures to the ware basket and it becomes more personal with each addition. Most often you will see a peg-wooden or a penny-wooden dressed as a peddler.  Some artists who have made peddler dolls: Dorothy Brower (ODACA) Judy Brown Helen Bullard (NIADA)

Schoenhut Santa with sleigh and reindeer  photo thanks to private collection

The Albert Schoenhut Co. created some special order dolls representing Santa in a sleigh. A few of the existing dolls have one-of-a-kind, hand-carved heads with carved eyebrows.  Later Schoenhut Santa dolls were made by modifying painted features and dress of the largest child doll in production at the time. See "SCHOENHUT DOLLS - A Collector's Encyclopedia" by Carol Corson for more information. Lotz Schoenhut Santa Page Schoenhut Santa Display Photo thanks to Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art

Santa's workshop by Eric Williamson - (Mid-WALES) use of photo permitted by Theriault's

Nursery Rhymes

Mary Lee Sundstrom has created a set of storybook and nursery rhyme dolls including: "Polly Put the Kettle On", etc.

Alice in Wonderland

In 1954 Helen Bullard made a set of Alice in Wonderland dolls in wood. An 8" Queen of Hearts and Alice in her three different sizes and shapes (2", 6-1/2", and 18" with a very elongated neck - "Good bye feet!"). Mary Lee Sundstrom also created an Alice in Wonderland as one of her storybook dolls.

Little Women

Anne of Green Gables
Mary Lee Sundstrom also created an Anne of Green Gables as one of her storybook dolls.

Cinderella

click image for full-length view Cinderella by Hanna Hyland photo from artist

Cinderella is a story book doll with two personalities: a poor servant girl in tattered clothes with a lot of character or an elegant young lady who is glamorously dressed - she's a winner every time.

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood is a favorite theme for doll artists. Some of those who have created "Reds" in wood are: Pat Brooks, Hanna Hyland, Mary Lee Sundstrom, and etc.

Hitty ("Hitty her first one hundred years" by Rachel Field)
 

The Original HITTY Photos by Conestoga Miniatures - What a pretty expression -

Hitty is the famous peg-wooden doll featured in Rachel Field's Newbery Award winning book. This book and all of the illustrations was inspired by an actual doll. Some of the oldest Hitty dolls especially by well-known doll artists are very collectible dolls. Many contemporary doll makers continue to produce reproduction HITTY dolls. Although Hitty is considered a peg-wooden because she is jointed using pegs and her arms and legs are locked together by those pegs, she does not have the typical body construction of a peg wooden. She does not have the typical tongue and groove construction at the hips instead her hips are slanted at the same angle as the tops of her legs. Also she is likely the work of an individual craftsman instead of the doll making industry producing the traditional peg wooden dolls. Visit the Lotz Hitty Pages - by Jean Lotz

Patty Reed's Doll

"Patty Reed's Doll - the story of the Donner Party" by Rachel K. Laugaard and illustrated by Elizabeth Michaels featured an actual doll which survived a horrible historical ordeal. Artists who have made repro Patty Reed Dolls are: Judy Brown, Bill Fifer and others.

Pinocchio

This is the classic tale of a little wooden marionette, made by an Old Italian toy maker, being turned into a real boy.
 

click image for larger view use of photo permitted by Leopoldo Benacchio Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova

A group of Italian wooden dolls representing Pinocchio which clearly shows how popular Pinocchio is in Italy and how many varied styles he is found in.  Note: This photo was taken from the wooden toys exhibition which is part of a set of web sites for children sponsored by Leopoldo Benacchio from the Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova in Italy.

This popular character was even made in Poland. The "Joli Dolls" version of Pinocchio has black club shaped shoes instead of the more typical red shoes of other Joli Dolls.

Modern doll artists continue to enjoy creating Pinocchio dolls. An 'un-named' Mexican wood doll sculptor has produced Pinocchio among his line of popular cartoon characters. Pat Brooks made a Pinocchio and Gepetto (who was modeled after Pat's father). Larry Tcyksen also carved Pinocchio, Gepetto and Jiminy Cricket.
 

Max & Moritz

These are two famous comic characters who got into a lot of mischief in a German children's story by Wilhelm Busch
 

need a photo

The Albert Schoenhut Co of Philadelphia, PA, USA made a Max & Moritz in a 7-1/2" size to fit the "Humpty Dumpty Circus".  Schoenhut also made a 14-1/2" Moritz with a hand carved head. This larger doll seems to be a one-of-a-kind, special order. Was there a 14-1/2" Schoenhut Max made and where is it?

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Dorothy Brower (ODACA) photo by Bill Fifer

Snow White (wood) and the 7 dwarfs (polyclay) by Hanna Hyland ~ photo coming ~ Miniature Snow White and 7 dwarfs (all wood) by Hanna Hyland   photos by Hanna Hyland Hanna loves these characters so much that she created 2 completely different doll sets that are dramatically different in scale!

Tottie Plantaganet from "The Dolls' House" by Rumer Goden
 

click image for full view by Sherman Smith photo thanks to Martha Cramer

click to see a larger view by the book Tottie Plantaganet  (based upon the Tasha Tudor illustration) by Bill and Pat Fifer photo by Bill Fifer