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.
Sharing a bit of red, white and blue for Flag Day…
I bought this doll last week when I visited Rainie Crawford. Rainie purchased the doll from the original owner’s family in New Briton , CT. The doll has lovely child like proportions, a spectacular wool challis print dress and very sweet little red leather shoes. She has promised to share all of her dressmaking secretes with my Izannahs!These glorious Prussian blue leather baby shoes were another purchase from Rainie. They are very simply the BEST shoes I have ever seen in my life! I am particularly drawn to them because of their resemblance to the shoes I make for my Izannahs. I plan to study their construction for insights on how to improve my 19th century shoe making skills.Surprise! Rosy red leather soles!!! I can just picture these shoes on tiny wiggly, waving baby feet…
Artist Rainie Crawford shares an adorable antique bear from her collection.Paintings by noted artist Rainie Crawford.You may remember seeing Rainie’s dolls and bears in these and many more magazines.Rainie will be selling these dolls, as well as many more of her prototype cloth dolls and bears in the upcoming months. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing one for your collection.More of Rainie Crawford’s original prototype cloth dolls and bears, soon to be offered for sale.
I had a whirlwind week last week. So much so that I’m still not caught up and only getting around to posting this now 🙂 Last Monday I had the chance to visit with Rainie Crawford, she is a wonderful artist and doll maker, who designed an entire line of cloth doll and teddy bear patterns. You may remember seeing her ads for mail order patterns in many women’s magazines over the years. My friend Joy and I spent an entire day with Rainie. She gave us a tour of all of her collections and we had a lovely time talking about doll and bear making, among many other topics. The day just flew past. I took lots of photos of Rainie’s collections and dolls which I will be sharing in a later post. Rainie is going to be selling her prototype dolls. They are all of the models used in her magazine ads. She has not worked out all of the details just yet, but if you would be interested in adding an original Rainie Crawford prototype cloth doll to your collection, you may contact me at paula@asweetremembrance.com and I will gladly put you in touch with Rainie.
Some of my favorite purchases from the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY. I bought 4 yards of grey polka dot Moda fabric and a whole bag full of vintage grey rick rack, piping and bias tape. I’ve really been attracted to grey lately when sewing clothes for myself.
On Friday, a group of friends and I braved the rain to go to the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY. We had a fun, but very wet, day and came back home with a head full of ideas and bag full of treasures. I have been wanting to go to a Country Living Fair for several years, but hadn’t been willing to drive to Ohio to attend.
A view of the Harwinton antique show last weekend. Notice the puddles 🙂The fair grounds in Harwinton, CT. Home of the twice a yearly Antique and Design Weekend.
The rain finally cleared enough on Saturday for me to go to an antique show in Harwinton, CT, which is held at the local fair grounds. That meant I was traipsing around poultry and livestock buildings two days in a row 🙂 I’ve been going to the Harwinton show, which was previously held at the polo grounds in Farmington,CT, for twenty years. Unfortunately the show is much smaller than it was in it’s heyday. The show has been plagued with bad weather for quite a few years, which may have kept some dealers away. Even though there was less to see, I did enjoy looking at the offerings presented by some great long time antique dealers, and managed to unearth a few wonderful bits of doll clothing and accessories.
Sunday at the Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market.Wear comfy shoes if you go to the Elephant’s Trunk because there are acres of things to see every Sunday.
On Sunday morning it was back to the Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market for my weekly antique fabric hunt. I shop all summer long, searching for enough antique fabrics to tide me over through the lean shopping months of winter. At times I feel like a busy squirrel, frantically burying seeds in every possible nook and cranny. Needless to say, my studio is now piled high with stacks of tattered quilts, bits of lace, well worn linens and the surviving remnants of once beautiful antique garments. All of them waiting for me to gently take them apart, wash and air them, then fold them safely away and store them on the shelves in my studio, where they will wait until I bring them back to life as part of my dollmaking.
I promise to share photos of some of my best finds in upcoming posts. Until then I wish you all luck with your own summer treasure hunts!
I hit the lace mother load last Sunday at the flea market!Little bits of this and that, all waiting for me to clean, repair and remake…Well worn antique wool shawls, destined to become doll clothing for a special doll.I was thrilled to find part of a very early tied quilt. This practically pristine 18th century chintz is going into my Queen Anne doll making supply stash.Another very early antique chintz fabric.Two tattered and worn antique quilts that are stacked up in my studio waiting for me to take them apart and turn them into little Izannah dresses…
I’m very pleased to announce that I have been juried into the Early American Life Directory of Traditional American Crafts for the 29th time! This year you will find me listed in the Toys & Dolls category of the directory. “Thank you!” Early American Life staff and directory judges!
It was a very sad occasion last night when my faithful, ailing little laptop finally succumbed to the ravages of old age and died, somewhat peacefully. After a lengthy autopsy, my two IT authorities have declared that my laptop is in no danger of becoming a zombie and returning from the dead. I’ve ordered a new laptop that will be arriving late next week. In the mean time it will take me longer to answer emails and reply to comments, as I am having to beg, borrow and steal online time from some fiercely protective computer lovers who are almost constantly connected to their keyboards. If you should need to reach me with immediate questions about a purchase or class, please call me at 860-355-5709 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time.
We returned last night from the most successful buying trip we’ve had at Brimfield, MA ( a town wide flea market/antique show comprised of 21 independent venue/field owners) in years. In two days we were able to shop all of the fields, plus a great multi-dealer shop, go
I found some wonderful fabrics and trims that I will be turning into clothing for my Izannahs in the upcoming months. During the warmer months of the year I spend several hours each week searching through estate sales, tag sales, flea markets and antique shops for the fabrics that I use to make my dolls, augmented by a few longer buying trips, in the hopes that I can stock pile enough antique textiles to last me through the winter.
This year the weather was much better on Friday and Saturday than the day we went last May.
Even if I hadn’t bought a single item, the trip would have been worthwhile because of all the interesting things I got to see and the inspiration that they provided!
Some of our best purchases were the three full hides of glove leather (that I will be turning into many, many doll shoes) and three antique canning jars – all for $10 total. Then there were our great $1 buys, a grain painted side chair from the first quarter of the 19th century for me, a vintage Pepsi bottle for my husband, and three T-shirts for my son. My best fabric deal was undoubtedly when I scored a full bolt of very fine antique cotton sheeting, which is destined to become chemises, pantalettes and petticoats. Since I was furniture shopping for myself, it was only fair that I did the same for my dolls. I bought some very nice doll size chairs and dressers, that I will be listing for sale in the future… and of course I did find just a few purple things for my house, seven transferware plates and a cache pot for the kitchen and an early lindsey-woolsey coverlet for our bedroom 🙂
Read my latest article in the Summer 2013 issue of Prims magazine and look for my ads in Prims and Art Doll Quarterly.
I’m very pleased to announce that the Summer 2013 issue of Prims, which features an article about three of my bears, will be on sale tomorrow. If you would like to see more of my bears please visit my website, Paula Walton’s A Sweet Remembrance, or go to my blog, Paula Walton’s 18th Century Home Journal, for photos and tips on restoring antique and vintage teddy bears.
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!
Izannah Walker Journal 