Meet Sharon’s doll. She is the first doll that I’ve made from this mold of a very special early Izannah walker doll.
This is one of the new dolls that I made for the UFDC convention. I love this doll! She is a reproduction of a wonderful early Izannah Walker doll. The original doll is simply awe inspiring, with many amazing differences from Izannah’s slightly later dolls. Because this is the oldest Izannah Walker doll that I have had the privilege of studying, I have decided to simply refer to her and this mold as Izannah.
Izannah left today for her new home. Sharon purchased her at the San Antonio convention, and ordered custom made shoes for her ; so I got to have the pleasure of her company for a bit longer as I stitched her stockings and yellow leather shoes!
If you look closely you will see that the lines around the eyes of this doll are thinner than those of later dolls and brown rather than black.
Notice the difference in the way these ringlets are painted, including the tiny little waving tendrils at the bottom of the curls.
This doll has a very interesting seam line at the bottom of the hairline. The stockinette at the back of the head is a wider rib than that on the front of the head and back of the neck.
This is a very accurate reproduction of the paint surface found on the original doll.
As you can probably tell, this is a large doll. The original is 22-1/2 inches tall. My reproduction grew a 1/2 inch and measures 23 inches high. She has been bragging to me that it is because she has better posture 🙂
This was a fascinating reproduction to make and I am already eagerly looking forward to making another one!
My name is Paula Walton. I’m a working craftsperson. I’ve been self-employed since 1986, when I started selling the items that I make under the name A Sweet Remembrance. Among other things, I am a doll maker, a dressmaker that specializes in reproduction women’s and children’s clothing, maker of spun cotton ornaments and holiday figures, and a freelance designer. Upon occasion I write magazine articles and am a Craftsperson in Residence. I teach and do demonstrations quite frequently, plus I was previously the director and curator of a small museum in Connecticut.
View all posts by paulawalton
Izannah Walker Journal 