HITTY, OTHER CARVED DOLLS, AND EXCITING NEWS!

I have some exciting news!! I've been asked to be a special guest doll artist at a doll show and sale in Georgia! It is October 15 and is sponsored by The Peachtree Doll Collectors to benefit the Campus of Georgia Baptist Children's Home. http://www.gbchfm.org/apps/calendar/?scheduleid=132907. I am hoping to have some Hittys to sell at the show so I'm going to be doing a lot of carving, sanding, and painting between now and then.

Also, I have carved a Hitty out of wood from a catawba/catalpa tree that was blown down during the tornadoes in Pleasant Grove, Alabama. I'm going to put her on ebay with the proceeds to go to First Baptist Church Pleasant Grove to assist in repairing the church and/or go to their fund to help people affected by the tornadoes. This is the church where I carve on Mondays. One of the guys I carve with, Condie Lowry, is going to make some Hitty furniture for the auction too, and some of it will be made out of fallen wood. When we get it all finished, I'll post the link to the auction in case anyone wants to check her out :). Here's her picture (she's the doll with lots of grain) and pictures of other dolls I've carved in the last few months including two Hittys with oil paint (long hair Hitty painted by the wonderful and talented Hanna Hyland and me), and my version of a wooden papier mache type doll. The wooden papier mache is wearing the dress from the pattern in Doll News, and the long hair Hitty is wearing a dress made by Patricia Brooks.

Sharon

DOLL PARTS USED IN ASSEMBLAGES - EXHIBITION IN NEW ORLEANS

"Athena"

Here is one of a group of assemblages by artist Audra Kohout, who has an exhibit of her work currently in a New Orleans art gallery (Riard-Cimino Gallery on Julia Street, the happening place for artists).  Though some works seem disturbing, they are after all reflecting life, which includes the light and the dark sides.

http://www.heriardcimino.com/kohout/kohout.html

Click on the URL above to view all the works in the exhibit.

FINISHING TOUCHES TO A DOLL OUTFIT

I dressed this sweet 12" Bru in a vintage dress. I added silk ribbon streamers, and ran satin cording and ribbon through the lace . I added matching silk ribbon trim to the vintage French lace bonnet. Shoes are Bru style, but not old.  Socks are hand crocheted.

PROGRAM ON CHINA DOLLS

Covered Wagon hairdo, about 1840-50, pink tint.

Flat top hairdo, about 1860, rare brown eyes.

Highland Mary hairdo on left made by Kling, about 1880. Alice in Wonderland hairdo on right, about 1870-1880.

China dolls (glazed - shiny - porcelain) were made mostly in Germany beginning in the 1700's, but didn't become popular until the 1840's. Literally billions were made, and though they were play dolls and many were broken, there are still good examples today for collectors to treasure. Many hair styles were made, depending on the styles of the times; it's possible to date a china within about 20 years. A hair style was made as long as it was popular. Blonde chinas were made in the 1880's, whereas before that, they had black and brown hair, brown being rare. Pink flesh tints were used early on. Chinas lost popularily during the latter part of the 1800's, due to the popularity of bisque (unglazed) dolls; also child-like characteristics in chinas appeared in competition with bisque child dolls. The low brow common type china doll was made from the 1890's to the 1930's. Bodies were either handmade fabric at home or purchased fabric from a manufacturer of bodies such as Goldsmith; many of the manufactured ones had corsets. Some china dolls had leather bodies or leather arms. Many had china legs and arms; early hands were spoon-shaped, and later ones were cupped.. Boots before 1870 were flat-soled and with a heel after 1870. Chinas came in many sizes and with various hairdos; most of the original prices were just a few dollars. Most chinas are unmarked.  Some collectors say they are cold and serious-looking, which is true, but during the time they were made, it was a serious business to be a child, with many adult lessons to be learned.

REGION 9 NEWSLETTER FROM UFDC WEBSITE

http://www.ufdc.org/ufdcregion9.htm

CLICK ON THE ABOVE UFDC WEBSITE AND THEN CLICK ON REGION 9 NEWSLETTER.

FREE DOLL APPRAISALS AT OUR ANNUAL DOLL SALE

Here is the proud owner of an 1860 lady china (shiny glaze) and boy china of approximately the same period (he has replaced body and limbs).

Here is Linda with Jean by J.D. Kestner. Our expert doll doctor Dorothy repaired the sleep eyes, which was a difficult job since there is only a small opening in the neck.

Here is Colman, he proud owner of French and German antique all-bisque dolls. She is holding a French "Mignonette," a much-desired doll by collectors.

Here are the all-bisques up close. Wouldn't you like to have a pocket-full?

BIRMINGHAM DOLL CLUB OF ALABAMA ANNUAL DOLL SALE

Here are some of the variety of antique and modern dolls at our Annual Doll Sale, which occurred last weekend, May 14.

NANCY ANN STORYBOOK DOLLS - PHOTOS AND INFORMATION

NASB dolls from 1937 through 2011 (overview notes for doll club meeting on 4-10-2011)

On February 22, 1901, Rowena Haskin was born in Lake County, CA. As the years went by, she attended CA School of Fine Arts, changed her name to Nancy Ann Abbott, and moved to Hollywood. She danced and acted in Universal Studios silent movies, and became a Hollywood studio designer.

Her zeal for costume design became a consuming passion. By 1936 she was designing costumes for small bisque baby dolls that were made in Japan and giving them as gifts. Soon she was operating an actual business selling these small dressed dolls. Allan Leslie Rowland and Nancy Ann Abbott purchased a 400 sq. ft. shop with 4 employees and incorporated The Nancy Ann Dressed Doll Corp. on Feb. 23, 1937. In 1938, the company opened its own pottery plant in Berkeley, CA, to make its own bisque dolls, using its own molds. Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls were now being sold nationally. If you were a little girl growing up in the 1940s/1950s, you probably owned a Nancy Ann Storybook doll. These little dolls were made of bisque pottery.

Beginning in 1947 the company converted to plastic dolls. However, the wonderful costumes were still outstanding. Also, the dolls came in recognized boxes, which were white with either pink or blue polka dots. As always, there were doll companies who cam out with NASB look-alike dolls. K&H (Kerr & Heinz) looked closer to the real NASBs; one of the main noted differences is K&H dolls' feet were larger. Princess Dolls and Mayfair Dolls were also look-alike dolls.

Nancy Ann Abbott died of cancer on Aug. 10, 1964. Without here leadership the company closed its doors in 1965. Mr. Albert Bouria obtained the right to the name of the company in 1966 from the bankruptcy court at an auction. The Albert Bouria years of owning the company was from 1966 through 1973. After using all the dolls that were produced during the last years of Nancy Ann Abbott's life, Albert Bouris began using hp dolls with sleep eyes and painted eyebrows, and they were produced in Hong Kong. Production then transitioned to a 5 l/2" vinyl doll with rooted synthetic hair (instead of mohair) and black plastic slilp-on shoes. He used several kinds of boxes, usually with see-through lid or covering.

In 1986 the Jesco Co. marketed dolls using the name of the Nancy Ann Storybook Doll Co. These dolls were removed from the market when Mr. Bouria's attorney informed the company to "cease and desist" the use of the Nancy Ann Storybook Co. name and trademark.

In 2003 2 sisters, Claudette Buchler and Delene Budd legally purchased the rights to the company's name from Mr. Bouria (after the co. was listed on Ebay). These 2 sisters wanted to keep the innocent child of the original Nancy Ann bisque mold. They made the new 6 l/4" dolls of porcelain and fully jointed. The costume designer hired was Londie Phillips; the doll designer brought on board was Diane Effner. Claudette and Delene were delighted with the new little Nancy Ann Storybook dolls.

You may purchase one of these new wonderful little NASB dolls on the internet listed http://www.nancyannstorybookdolls.com. And you can still bid on old Nancy Ann dolls on ebay.

NANCY ANN STORYBOOK DOLLS

Janet gave an informative and interesting program on Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls, which many of us owned during the 40's (I, for one). Here are some of her examples.

'NEW' DOLL CLOTHES; VALENTINE BOX DISPLAY

 Here is Christine's (former member) Frenchy Simon Halbig (has pink kid body) wearing her ebay antique bonnet.  Think it's over the top?  Never mind.  She can carry it off.

I found this AM Mabel at the Tupelo, MS Doll Show.  Also bought the dress.  A dealer had lots of doll clothes for sale made by an Englishman from antique cloth and lace.

 My SFBJ has been without an outfit for years, and I found this at the Tupelo Show.

Here is an idea for doll display using valentine candy boxes.  The dolls are wired in through holes punched in the box.  NOTE:  I just realized they could benefit from a lacy or doily edging.

HINA MATSURI (DOLL FESTIVAL) EXHIBIT AT UNIV. OF AL

(Click on photos to enlarge)

These precious dolls representing the royal court have been handed down from generation to generation.  Originally a purification ritual, Hina Matsuri (March 3 in Japan) represents a day of hope for the growth, happiness and future of young girls. One legend says that if a girl displays her dolls for more than 3 days, she will marry later in life.

WOODEN DOLL CARVING CLASS BY JANET CORDELL

The Birmingham Doll Club of AL sponsored a Wooden Doll Carving Workshop March 3-6, led by Janet Cordell. There were many happy and talented carvers working, and with her direction, turned out some amazing works. A few had never carved before, and were doing an excellent job. Someone years ago found an old wooden doll in an antique shop named Hitty, and this inspired a book HITTY, HER FIRST HUNDRED YEARS, which has inspired many to carve their own wooden dolls.



Here is the group of proud carvers.

Some carved the Hitty doll, but Sharon learned to carve a tuck comb doll.

Here is Janet with her tuck comb doll, partially finished.

Here is the Hitty book surrounded by finished examples of Hitty dolls and a Grandmother doll.

WOOL FELTED ANIMAL SHAPES FOR YOUR DOLLS OR YOURSELF

We saw these marvelous wool felted animals by Kathy Bailey (from Oklahoma) at the Tupelo, MS Doll Show. By using long felting needles and continuously poking while shaping, you can come up with some realistic shapes. Our doll club had a felting workshop last year, and we were amazed at what we could do. Here are sites that give tips on felting and a felting tutorial:

http://chushka.com/felting_tips.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcfbgtyrz2U