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The original Hitty doll is currently housed the Stockbridge, MA Public Library Museum. If you look at this original doll (shown later on this page) which inspired the book, you will note that she is made of ash, likely white ash. She is definitely NOT made of mountain ash as the story relates.

According to the book, Hitty was made of sturdy, "lucky", mountain ash wood. Over and over you read references to her lucky construction. In Hitty's own words from chapter one:

"As far as I can learn, I must have been made something over a hundred years ago in the State of Maine in the dead of winter. Naturally, I remember nothing of this, but I have heard the story told so often by one or another of the Preble family that at times it seems I, also, must have looked on as the Old Peddler carved me out of his piece of mountain ash wood. It was a small piece, which accounts for my being slightly undersized even for a doll, and he treasured it greatly, for he had brought it across the sea from Ireland. A piece of mountain ash wood is a good thing to keep close at hand, for it brings luck besides having power against witchcraft and evil. That was the reason he had carried this about in the bottom of his pack ever since he had started peddling."

photo permission requested 1/97 Peggy Mellinger who has dreamed of this Hitty all of her life expressed the sentiments of most Hitty lovers when she stated, "This is what Hitty should look like... this is the picture from my book."

SO WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT MOUNTAIN ASH (ROWAN)? The unavailability of Rowan is important and causes a problem for doll artists wanting to make Hitty dolls, since most collectors want an authentic (according to the story) Hitty doll made from mountain ash and only mountain ash! Although many doll artists advertise that their reproduction HITTY dolls are "made of mountain- ash" , often you will find that most are made of white ash - not mountain ash as advertised. Therefore I encourage you to look at the wood identification chart on these woods to decide for yourself what your Hitty is made of. You can tell by the distinct open grain of ash and compare it to the fruitwood color and grain of mountain ash.  But I am quite satisfied with a doll made of white ash like the wonderful antique folk art Hitty that inspired these two artists to create such a memorable book. Rachel simply took artistic license and added more romance and excitement to her story when she changed Hitty's wood type to "sturdy, lucky mountain ash  wood" therefore Hitty could state: "Why not, since the world is always arranging new experiences for us, and I have never felt more hale and hearty in my life? After all, what is a mere hundred years to well-seasoned mountain ash wood?"

How difficult is it to find Mountain Ash?

My friend, Bill, tracked down some Rowan in a firewood stack in England. The owner allowed Bill's Internet friend to send it to "a carver in the USA". Then I received a most pleasant surprise, when a box arrived at my door with some of this treasured wood. Thanks ever so much Bill! Sorry I do not sell any mountain ash Hitty dolls at this time!

Sandy Brehan relates that they wanted mountain ash and no other wood for "Sandy's Hitty". Living in the northwestern part of the USA they started scouring the area looking for large trees with the tell-tale bright red berries. Luckily they found someone willing to sacrifice their ornamental tree. The tree was downed and professionally kiln dried. She then asked her friend Dale Faulstich to carve some Hitty dolls to her specifications.

WOOD IDENTIFICATION CHART:
 

Mountain ash image thanks to George Hollovay Note the irregular grain pattern and blotches. On other samples you will see vertical very even grain depending how the wood was sliced. In all cases you should NOT expect a coarse texture to the wood. Freshly cut Mountain Ash stinks! It smells like the sap from a milkweed but stronger! It takes a long time to season a sappy wood like this. The smell gets less as it dries - Hooray!

White Ash image thanks to George Hollovay This is a very hard wood with a regular coarse grain. It feels a bit like oak

More On The Net about Mountain Ash wood:

George Hollovay's Wood Identification Page
Shrubs - Mountain Ash (Sorbus spp.) - Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project
European Mountain Ash - University of Minnesota, Northern States Power Company, and Minnesota Power.
Trees With Compound Pinnate Leaves - Mountain Ash
Visual Reference Guide - Mountain Ash Sorbus americana
Mountain Ash, Sorbus americana - The Gypsy Moth Server at Virginia Tech- Biology, Control, and Identification
Pests: Mountain Ash Sawfly - Michigan State University Extension Home Horticulture - 01701244

Reproduction Hitty dolls have been offered in many different materials:
• mountain ash (some labeled incorrectly as mountain ash)
• white, green or brown ash
• broomsticks (typically some type of ash)
• oak
• birch
• basswood
• cherry
• black willow
• holly
• maple
• Jelutong
• white pine
• fossilized ivory
• porcelain, paper, cloth, composition, polyclay, and wood/resin (these WILL NOT be featured on the Lotz Wood Doll Pages)

The Original HITTY Photo by Bill Fifer Conestoga Miniatures

Hitty is a folk art doll jointed with pegs! HITTY often complained that her arms and legs move together as pairs! They are locked together by pegs. The original Hitty doll does not have the typical body construction of a traditional "peg wooden doll". She does not have the typical tongue and groove construction at the hips. Instead her hips are slanted at the same angle at the tops of her legs.  The pegs are glued at the tops of each arm and each leg so they move together. They are locked together. DO NOT TRY TO FORCE the arms and legs to move independent of each other! This yanking and pulling will weaken the glue joints or break the pegs. She is likely the work of an individual craftsman instead of the doll making industry producing the traditional peg wooden dolls.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE ORIGINAL HITTY

By Bill Fifer

As to "discovering" Hitty, we've had a paperback copy of the book for a long time, and have been wanting to make one for quite awhile - just never got around to it, but now having seen the "real thing" and taking photos, I had to give it a try. My first attempt was in rock hard white ash.

We have gone twice up to see the original Hitty in the Stockbridge Mass public library. The Historic room curator kindly let us handle the original, take measurements and lots of photos of her. From the grain I could see on the original doll where the paint has worn off, I think she was actually carved from white ash, and not from mountain ash as Rachel Field's book says.

The current finish is glossy in places, which could be from an original over-varnish or from skin oils from years of handling. It is not clear whether a undercoat of gesso was used. If there was any, it was a very thin coat. It looks like only a flesh colored paint was applied directly over the wood.

Her head and torso were made of two pieces of wood and jointed together at the shoulders. I assume that the head is glued to the torso since it does not turn. Hitty's torso is rounded in the front and sides but flat on the back. Her limbs are quite smooth.

Hitty's hands have three flats across the back of the finger area and are described as "spoon-like." There are no lines or indentations to suggest fingers. Her forearms have slight flats and planes indicating knife cuts.

Her boots are not rounded, but are defined by flat planes. The boots are painted black and extend up to mid calf. The remainder of her lower leg is painted white to simulate socks, and there is a thin red line painted just above the knee to simulate a garter.
 
 

The Original HITTY Photos by Bill Fifer Conestoga Miniatures ~ What a pretty expression ~

OH WHAT A SWEET EXPRESSION! Despite the wear and tear of the years, Hitty still has a sweet, somewhat mysterious smile that radiates from the sparkle of her blue eyes and her tiny mouth. In fact she's a later-day, Mona Lisa, and you must wonder what she is thinking about. The original Hitty's face is sanded smooth, with no carving marks showing. Hitty has flesh colored paint, now almost all worn off. Her eyes have dark (Prussian) blue pupils centered in medium blue irises.  Hitty's hair is painted black. Hitty's hair is basically smooth, although there are occasional chips cut out above the forehead and along the top and sides of the head to simulate waves in the hair.

Jean Lotz adds:

Each time I carve a "Lotzalove Hitty" reproduction doll, I am even more impressed with this artist's capabilities. I feel Hitty was carved to be a portrait of a very well loved young girl. You can see how delicately she was carved in the 3/4 view photos of the original doll.

I also have a great respect for the unknown folk artist who carved this lovely doll after spending years carving white ash Hitty reproductions. White ash is very hard to carve! It hurts my hands terribly. The grain is erratic and will cause my tools to dig in the soft area, and they bounce off the very hard as rock areas.