Paula Walton’s doll-making notes
I am very honored to have been named one of America’s top traditional craftsmen by Early American Life for the 44th time in the course of 23 years, in the categories of – Clothing and Accessories, Textiles or Needlework, Miscellaneous, Toys and Dolls, Miniatures, Santas, Other Holidays and General Christmas. I have been juried into the Directory annually from 2004-2023 and 1996-1998, many years in more than one category.
Thank you Early American Life!
For those of you who are familiar with the Facebook group Friends of the UFDC Doll Museum you will be aware that the theme for this week’s posts is PINK. My contribution to the challenge was a compilation of some of the many pink dresses I have made for my reproduction Izannah Walker dolls ❤ I’ve looked a little further back into my photo archive and found even more pink dresses! I hope you enjoy seeing them all again as much as I have.
… you may be able to tell that all the Izannahs and I are excessively fond of pink.
Think pink ❤
One of the extremely nice things about writing for magazines is the very interesting emails that people send me after they have read my articles. I recently received several inquiries asking me for information about how much boy Izannah Walker dolls are worth. Some of these correspondents were kind enough to share photos of their own Izannah boys with me and ask me my opinion about their dolls, which I was happy to give. If you have also been curious about what Izannah’s boy dolls have sold for, then this post is for you!
The first thing I do if I am trying to determine an approximate value for a particular doll is to look back at previous auction results where similar dolls were sold. In this case boy Izannah Walker dolls. Naturally if you are trying to compare prior prices realized at auction, with a doll you are trying to buy or sell, you will want to look for dolls with similar characteristics such as, pre-patent vs. post-patent, condition, clothing and or other accessories, etc. Because I received emails asking me about both pre-patent and post-patent boys I did get to refamiliarize myself with auction results for both. Below you will find links to the auctions I reviewed. When looking at auction results, remember that you will need to add any buyer’s premium to the hammer price to determine what the doll actually sold for. You could also try searching Ebay and Ruby Lane for past sales, though I don’t believe any of Izannah’s boys have been sold on those sites.
If you would like to look back at my original blog post about the day I met the dolls pictured above, and their very nice owner click here https://izannahwalker.com/2014/07/25/izzybelles-travel-journal-part-3-the-2014-united-federation-of-doll-clubs-convention/
Below you will find links to auctions of Izannah Walker boy dolls:
https://www.theriaults.com/extremely-rare-small-size-american-cloth-folk-doll-izannah-walker
(This is the post patent doll that also sold in the same auction: https://www.theriaults.com/wonderful-american-cloth-doll-izannah-walker-original-paper-patent-label)
This is an example of an 18 inch post patent Izannah Walker boy: https://www.theriaults.com/two-rare-american-pressed-cloth-dolls-izannah-walkerpatent-models
John Thayer is the most well known and most original example of an Izannah Walker boy. He is 15 inches tall and recently sold at the Withington auction of Carol Corson’s collection. You can see some wonderful images of him here: https://www.izannahwalkerchronicles.com/2022/08/john-thayer-antique-izannah-walker-boy.html
This is the Withington’s catalog from the auction, John Thayer was item number 100. : https://withingtonauction.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/October-20-2022-Doll-Catalog.pdf
There was a 17 inch Izannah Walker boy that sold at an Apple Tree Auction for $37,500, but the auction catalog is no longer available online. I’m attaching a photo of him.
The image above is a screen shot of the auction results for this particular Izannah Walker boy. I spent quite a long time searching for the original links to this auction, but unfortunately I could no longer find them available online, so I can’t provide a link to them.
15 inch Izannah Walker Boy Doll with paper label The Maurine Popp Collection of Dolls April 12, 2003 lot 207 $11,750: https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/auction.php?start=2&limit=90&op=lots&view=90&sort_lot=1&saleno=2196&display=list&noredir=1
and: https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2196/lots/207
I hope you have enjoyed looking back at some of these memorable auctions!
For those of you who may be wondering, sweet James the doll who was featured in my three part article in the February, March, and April issues of Antique Doll Collector, did find an extremely wonderful new home ❤
The April issue of Antique Doll Collector magazine is out, which means my final installment of James’ story and the accompanying patterns are now available for you to use. ❤
Emma Blue and Sarah Jane were quite excited when this envelope arrived in yesterday’s mail from the subscription department of Antique Doll Collector magazine! The pretty quilt block stamps made it feel like the magazine had been giftwrapped!
You’ll find my article on pages 38-44 of the April issue. The patterns themselves are on pages 43 and 44. To use the patterns the first thing you will need to do is to enlarge the pattern back to 100%. The short answer to “How much do I enlarge them?” is 14.3%, which is a pretty awkward percentage that you may not be able to program into your printer. If you enlarge the patterns by 15% they will be fairly close to my original size. “Why do I have to go to the trouble of enlarging them?” Good question! I provided the patterns to ADC at full size, but due to the space considerations, and the physical size of the magazine, the graphic designer needed to shrink the patterns down to fit into the allotted space.
When you enlarge the pattern to 100% of it’s original size it should fit perfectly on an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper. It’s very important to remember that I made these patterns to specifically fit a 17 inch Izannah Walker boy. If you would like to use the patterns to dress a different size Izannah Walker doll, or another type of mid-nineteenth century doll, such as a papier-mache, china, parian, or rag doll you will need to completely alter the size and fit of the patterns. Always, always, always make a muslin to check the fit of any pattern you are making from antique fabric!
Now that I have given you the short answer “how much do I enlarge the pattern?” let me walk you through how to get that answer:
I’ll be posting some more tips for using these patterns in the near future. ❤
A fun tidbit. Looking through the open doorway of the main floor “Bedroom”* can you spy the stenciled walls that inspired the stenciling in the second floor chamber, that the doll’s use as their bedroom, in their own very tall house? I painted both the full size walls, and the miniature versions, using historic stencil patterns.
*(The only chamber actually called a “bedroom” in the 18th century because these tiny rooms adjoining kitchens, next to the cooking hearths, were just large enough to hold a bed and little else.)
Read the final chapter of sweet James’ story in the April issue of Antique Doll Collector magazine. This article will tell you how I researched appropriate little boy’s fashions for him, plus give you ideas on where to look for antique fabrics and notions. Also included are patterns and instructions for some of the clothing I made him ❤ To subscribe to Antique Doll Collector, or order this single issue go to https://www.antiquedollcollector.com/subscribe.html For just this issue scroll down to US 2022-23 Single Issue Purchase for Antique Doll Collector, you may choose the month you are wish to purchase and complete your order online. ❤
Once you have the April issue you are invited to come back here to my Izannah Walker Journal for additional instructions including on how to size the pattern up to scale before printing it, and extra sewing tips. ❤
Read more about sweet, sweet James and his wardrobe in this month’s issue of Antique Doll Collector magazine. The subscriptions department at Antique Doll Collector has informed me that they do have a limited number of extra copies of the March issue, if you have been searching for one go to https://www.antiquedollcollector.com/subscribe.html and scroll down to US 2022-23 Single Issue Purchase for Antique Doll Collector, you may choose the month you are wish to purchase and complete your order online. ❤
This afternoon James, Emma Blue, Isabeau and Sarah Alice gathered in the parlor to make Valentine’s for all of their friends ❤
The rest of the little cloth girls were down in the kitchen, with the door firmly shut, though occasional giggles could be heard, along with the delicious smells of sugar and chocolate…
SWEET JAMES is A RARE 17 INCH IZANNAH WALKER BOY WHO IS AVAILABLE FOR SALE. HE IS IN ALL ORIGINAL CONDITION & COMES WITH A LARGE HANDMADE WARDROBE. SEE THE FIRST PART OF HIS STORY ON PAGE 18 OF THE FEBRUARY ISSUE OF ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR. THE CONTINUING TALE OF JAMES’ AND HIS WARDROBE WILL BE IN THE MARCH & APRIL ISSUES. $46,000. I AM HELPING JAMES FIND A NEW HOME ❤ INQURIES AT PAULA@ASWEETREMEMBRANCE.COM 203-313-5973
The dolls and I wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day ❤
Today I’m Celebrating 13 Years of teaching my Izannah Walker Dollmaking Class !
https://asweetremembrance.com/category/classes-by-mail/
The class is now 13 years old
I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by. When the class first came out my class member help site was on Ning… for all of you who were early members I’m sure you remember how crazy and chaotic that eventually became when Ning kept repeatedly announcing, and then retracting, that they were shutting down all of their small users. 
If you used the Ning site you will also probably remember how chock full of information it was, most of which was sparked by class member’s interests and requests.
In recent years the class member support has moved to a private facebook page, as new members have purchased the class. I know that most of you long time members don’t really need much in the way of help these days… You’ve mastered the class and no longer need to ask questions, but just in case you have missed chatting with other dollmakers who are working on reproduction Izannah Walker dolls, or if a stray question or two has popped into your head, you may still ask to join my Izannah class help group! Once a student, always a student. 
It’s super simple, just message me through my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ASweetRemembrance to let me know you’d like an invitation to the group, be sure to INCLUDE THE DATE YOU PURCHASED YOUR CLASS, and that’s all you have to do.
Activity on the class member support page ebbs and flows. Sometimes it is very quiet and then suddenly it will pick back up again. At the moment there are a few new students who are eagerly waiting for their class materials to arrive.
Happy dollmaking everyone! Today and everyday!
I’d like to introduce you to sweet, sweet James. He is a very rare, early 17 inch Izannah Walker doll. I’ve written an article all about James’ story for Antique Doll Collector magazine, that is just now on it’s way to subscribers. In March the second part of my adventures with James will continue. In part two I will relate how James’ came to be named James, how I researched clothing styles for the large handmade wardrobe I am making him, where I hunt for antique fabrics, and how I draft patterns. I’ll also be sharing patterns and instructions for select garments in James’ wardrobe. The patterns are suitable for Izannah Walker dolls, and can also be resized to fit papier-mache, china, parian, and other types of cloth dolls from the mid- 19th century.
I’m sure you will fall in love with James. ❤ (It is a bit of a family secret, so please don’t mention it… James the little painted cloth girls favorite brother!)
If you don’t already have a subscription to Antique Doll Collector, and would like to buy either the February or March issues that my articles will be in, you may order them directly by calling 631-261-4100 or emailing adcsubs@gmail.com.
THIS RARE 17 INCH IZANNAH WALKER BOY IS AVAILABLE FOR SALE. HE IS IN ALL ORIGINAL CONDITION & COMES WITH A LARGE HANDMADE WARDROBE. SEE HIS STORY ON PAGE 18 OF THE FEBRUARY ISSUE OF ANTIQUE DOLL COLLECTOR. $46,000. INQURIES AT PAULA@ASWEETREMEMBRANCE.COM 203-313-5973
Izannah Walker Journal 