On Friday I spent a wonderful day at the home of Peggy Flavin, who is a very talented doll maker and good friend. I got to know Peggy last year when she attended my Izannah retreat and from the very first moment we met I felt like I had known her forever!
Visiting Peggy was such a treat and definitely one of the highlights of my year. This was the perfect season to drive up to Cape Ann, as the leaves are just starting to show their true glory. Autumn deepened the further north I went. However even a fall drive through New England can not compare to the joys of visiting a true kindred spirit. Not only does Peggy make and collect dolls, but she lives in a beautiful 18th century home. Every bit of her house is filled with wonderful treasures, remarkable details, and love.
Since our mutual friend Susie couldn’t be with us on Friday, Peggy and I arranged the next best thing. Peggy’s doll Lucy and one of my Izannahs, that will soon be headed to live with Susie, had a nice chat by the hearth and tea party.Edyth and PeggyMy dolls asked Lucy to share her knitting tips, as they all admired her cozy warm shawl very much.Best friends ❤There is no better way to spend an afternoon than playing dolls with your friends! One of the Isabeaus that I just finished making is going back home to Texas with Edyth.
An added pleasure of my visit to Peggy, was getting to meet and spend time with Edyth O’Neil, extraordinary rug hooker, antique dealer and doll collector. The three of us spent all afternoon talking about dolls, dolls and yet more dolls! Listening to Edyth brought back memories of my mother, aunts and grandmothers, as they all shared her soft Texas drawl and expressions. In the evening we had supper at the remarkably cozy pub that Peggy and her husband Dennis own. Both the food and the company were amazing.
Haddock with salsa, panko bread crumbs and cheese at Halibut Point in Gloucester, Ma.
On Saturday morning we were all up early, so that Peggy and Edyth could attend a meeting of the Doll Collectors of America and I could head to Sturbridge to pick up some of my furniture that Angel House has been reupholstering.
I had a splendid visit to Gloucester and can’t thank Peggy and Dennis enough for making me feel so welcome!
I did manage to squeeze in a visit to the Wenham museum to see their remarkable 15 inch Izannah Walker doll. She is so small and perfectly delicate…Back home again with a full load and a happy heart!
** Peggy and Edyth both have wonderful blogs. Peggy is just getting hers set up. What she has so far is excellent. Edyth’s blog is long standing and always an interesting read!
The girls and I are on our way to visit one of our favorite people, doll maker Peggy Flavin. We are looking forward to a fun day of dolls, antiques and old houses with Peggy and Edyth O’Neil!
I’d like to say thank you to all of the wonderful members of the Jenny Lind Doll Club who made me feel so very welcome yesterday at their meeting! I have been thinking for some time of joining the UFDC and I was finally pushed into action by all the glowing accounts of doll club meetings and conventions that I have been hearing from some of the members of my Izannah Walker class 🙂
I went to the UFDC website and contacted Margaret Vitale, who is the Regional Director in my area, and among other things helps interested people find a local club. Margaret was great. She put me in touch with the Jenny Lind club, one of the oldest clubs in the UFDC. Shelly, the Jenny Lind member in charge of membership has been wonderful and I can’t thank her enough. She has been very attentive, welcoming and even arranged for me to car pool to my first meeting!
I greatly enjoyed the afternoon spent in the home of Jenny Lind president Pixie, and her interesting program on Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, plus the delicious lunch she served. I could not have asked for a better beginning in the UFDC!
🙂 As a footnote somehow I wound up agreeing to host the May meeting at my house!!! It should be fun, as Pixie is planning to speak about Izannahs!
My antique Izannah Walker doll holding an antique child’s lace-up boot.
I often buy antique items to use as research materials. I find that having an original item to study is so much better than having to rely on photographs, paintings and sketches. Last weekend I found a single black lace-up child’s boot in a style that will immediately be recognizable to anyone who is familiar with Izannah Walker’s dolls. Izannah painted very accurate representations of common children’s footwear that was worn in her time. The black lace-up boot shown here dates from the 1840-1850’s, although I am sure that this style of shoe was passed down to younger children and continued to be worn into the 1860’s.
Here you can see the painted version on the doll and the real life child’s boot side by side. The ankles on this Izannah Walker doll have given way over time, with the painted fabric splitting near the ankle seam, where the leg is weaker. I have conserved the legs by affixing thin bands of leather to the ankles, using rubber cement. This holds the legs and feet together, but is a repair that can be removed without causing damage to the original antique surfaces beneath.A close-up of the painted boots on an original Izannah Walker doll. Compare them with the child’s boot in the following photo.c. 1840-1850’s child’s black lace-up leather boot.A side view of Izannah’s painted boots. Notice how the top of the boots are higher at the front of the leg and lower in the back.Compare this side view to Izannah’s painted version. Notice how closely they match.Note the characteristic shaped sole on the bottom of the boot.Here you can see the sole of the boots that are echoed in Izannah’s painted cloth version.This photo shows the bottom of the boot sole. You can tell that these boots were worn by a child that had not yet learned to walk.Another style of boots that Izannah Walker painted on her dolls were scallop top, side button boots like these, shown in a c.1870-1880’s portrait that I own.
Izannah’s dolls kept up with current fashions, and when scallop top, side button boots became part of children’s attire, she painted this later style of footwear on some of her dolls. When considering the age of an Izannah Walker doll, you can take the style of their painted boots into account. I would not consider this to be a fool proof method of dating the dolls, because young children’s styles often lag behind those of older children and adults, Izannah’s dolls have a tendency to retain the look of the 1840’s – 1850’s no matter when they were made, and then there is the issue of the rarer bare footed dolls… However when looked upon as a supporting bit of evidence along with the rest of the doll’s history and clues to be found in her construction and clothing, painted boot styles can be quite helpful.
Another type of painted boots that can be found on Izannah Walker dolls are the tall black leather boots with red tops that she used on her rare boy dolls. I don’t own an example of those boots to show you, but if you follow this link to the Wisconsin Historical Society Children’s Shoe Collection you will be able to see the boy’s boots, as well as additional dated examples of lace-up and scallop boots.
Three little maids all in a row! My two antique Izannahs are on the left and Mary’s doll, Anna, is on the right.
I’ve had a wonderful weekend. On Friday Mary and her antique Izannah Walker doll, Anna, came to visit. Mary and I had an excellent time comparing our dolls to one another, talking about Izannah Walker and her dolls, and planning a wardrobe for Anna.
Here is a treat that I don’t often get to see! Four antique Izzies all tucked up together in an antique cradle!
All of my Izannahs were just as excited as can be when Anna got to stay for a sleep over! It was hard to get them to settle down for the night. They had so much to talk about! The girls and I hope that Mary and Anna had as much fun as we did 🙂
My three dolls just hated to say good-bye to little Anna!
SOLD Possibly Bess, Bountiful, Bettany, or ??? My latest doll reminds me of the charming Izannah Walker doll at the South County Museum in Narragansett, Rhode Island. There is something about the shape of her head and her expression that calls to mind the Rhode Island doll of a century and a half ago…
NOW SOLD – THANK YOU FOR LOOKING For the past few days I’ve been sewing on clothing for this doll, that I’m affectionately calling “B”. I’ve been working on this doll for months, and for almost the entire time I’ve been thinking that she reminds me of a particular Izannah that I had seen somewhere… Yesterday I finally remembered exactly which one of Izannah’s dolls that “B” resembles. To me, she looks like the Izannah Walker doll at the South County Museum in Narragansett, Rhode Island. View the doll owned by the South County Museum here at the Izannah Walker Chronicles.
One of the magical aspects of pressed cloth heads is the way that heads made from the same mold are each unique. I am constantly filled with wonder when my dolls follow the same path that Izannah’s did. It is such a reaffirmation of the way I work to see that 170 years later I can take stockinette, cotton, and paste and turn it into faithful reproductions of Izannah’s dolls. *
SOLD Back of split pantalettes, showing contrasting white cotton waistband and piecing.SOLD Close-up of darning on linen pantalettes.SOLD Close-up of detail on pantalettes, chemise, petticoat and painted boots.
Because the doll has a very time worn appearance and aged paint surfaces, I wanted to use special fabrics that would reflect and enhance the feel of this doll and help tell her story. I used antique natural colored linen for her pantalettes, chemise and petticoat. I added vintage white cotton waistbands to the pantaletts and petticoat because I wanted the color contrast that is often seen in antique wool/cotton baby petticoats. Her pantalettes have been carefully pieced and darned. It took much longer to make them this way, but it helps to preserve the illusion of a much loved family doll that has been well taken care of and preserved to be passed down through succeeding generations.
“B’s” dress is made from an amazing piece of madder brown fabric c.1850 that has never been washed. The color of the dye is so vibrant, with a crisp print and the original sizing intact. The dress has straight short sleeves and is trimmed with narrow velvet bands around the sleeves and skirt. It closes with an antique glass “china” button at the waist and a thin 1/8-th inch cotton tape drawstring at the neck. The dress skirt has been carefully darned and mended in two places and the inside of the waist band has a bit of contrasting fabric pieced in as a “make-do” detail. This is the ideal dress for a collector who loves early primitive cloth dolls and is a serious student of 19th century textiles. I’m strongly suggesting that this dress should not be washed to preserve the pristine documentary condition of the fabric dye and print.
Carefully mended skirt.
Inside of waistband showing “make-do” pieced lining.
We still have some snow on the ground here in Connecticut from Friday’s storm, so today I’m going to make “B” a pair of detachable long sleeves to help keep her warm on chilly spring days.
SOLD Sweet “B” needs her long sleeves to ward off the chill in the air today. She thinks they make her look very “Little Women”ish!SOLD “B’s” cuffs button on the inside of her wrists in the mid-19th century manner .
SOLD Sweet “B” may be purchased on my website A Sweet Remembrance. Please feel free to email or call me if you are interested in purchasing “B” and have any questions about her or would like to see additional photographs. Paula@asweetremembrance.com, 860-355-5709. Lay away is available in terms to fit your budget. All payments, including lay away, may be made through Paypal, or by personal check or money order. You may pay using your credit card through Paypal, even if you do not have a Paypal account. Free Priority Mail shipping, with full insurance and signature confirmation, to any location within the United States. 6.35% sales tax is charged on dolls shipped to a Connecticut address. Exact postage charged on dolls shipped to other countries.
There was a wonderful antique Izannah Walker doll very briefly available for sale on eBay today. It was only up long enough to get 29 views before it sold for $10,500.00. If you didn’t get a chance to even see this doll before it was gone, here is the link to the auction.
“Welcome to our Valentine’s Day Tea Party! I’ve poured you a cup of violet tea. I hope you like mace shortbread cookies.”“Yesterday we baked cookies all day long.”“These are my very favorite cookies! They smell so good. Would you write the recipe down for me?”“If I hurry!”“Let’s pose for a family portrait while we are all together, so that we’ll always be able to remember today!”“One more! Everyone smile and say TEA!”… Three little sisters join their elders in wishing you a very happy Valentine’s Day.“Now that we’ve eaten and taken photos, let’s make make Valentine presents.”“My heart is in your hand.”“I’ll keep it on my desk so that I can see it every day and think of you.”“One last cup of tea?”
– Savannah is slaving away on a very special heartfelt letter to Charlotte.
– Ruthie is on her way back home to Brooklyn after visiting for a “spa day” to have the damage caused by the post office repaired. She says that she is ever so much better now and that she feels beautiful again. Plus she loves her new warm flannel petticoat and can’t wait to show it off to Paula C.!
– I’m getting ready to go on a double date with my husband and our very dearest friends Joy and John…
One of the members of my Izannah Walker Reproduction Dollmaking Class was kind enough to share photographs of her 17 inch antique Izannah with the class.
If you are a member of my Izannah Walker class, be sure to drop into the class member site to see all the photos that Mary has shared of Anna, her tiny Izannah Walker doll.
On Friday I spent a wonderful day at the home of Peggy Flavin, who is a very talented doll maker and good friend. I got to know Peggy last year when she attended my Izannah retreat and from the very first moment we met I felt like I had known her forever!
Visiting Peggy was such a treat and definitely one of the highlights of my year. This was the perfect season to drive up to Cape Ann, as the leaves are just starting to show their true glory. Autumn deepened the further north I went. However even a fall drive through New England can not compare to the joys of visiting a true kindred spirit. Not only does Peggy make and collect dolls, but she lives in a beautiful 18th century home. Every bit of her house is filled with wonderful treasures, remarkable details, and love.
Izannah Walker Journal 