”The most expensively gowned dolls in the world.”
Just one of the phrases used to describe the costumes on the Display Sets of the Effanbee Historical Dolls. The gowns were elaborately and exquisitely made of silks, satins, tafettas, velvets and brocades. The Indians’ costumes were of genuine leather and hand beaded.
There appears to have been some variation in the colors of the costumes between the three DIsplay Sets. For example, two of the three Exhibition models of the 1841 Pre-Civil War Period doll feature red velvet gowns, while the other wears an identical gown of emerald green velvet.
The costumes were constructed with many detachable parts, overskirts, bustles, jackets, lace and satin trim…and at last one doll in the series wore colored undergarments. Most wear white satin ruffled pantaloons, and full slips with a round neck and ruffled, full skirt. Long white stockings are held up at the hips with two-sided tape. Shoes were leatherette, generally either black or white, and featured real buckles with satin bows on the toes and cut-outs on the sides. Several dolls have been found with tan shoes with a snap closure and no cut-outs on the sides. One of the Indian models is barefoot, the other wears leather, hand-sewn moccasins.
The fabrics used for the costumes on the replica dolls were not as fancy as on the Display Dolls, but according to an Effanbee promotional booklet, they are ‘faithful in every detail and historically accurate.’
Indeed, the outfits are far more elaborate than on most composition dolls of the time and feature the same detachable parts as on the corresponding Display Dolls. Most of the gowns are of a heavy cotton, while the undergarments are of a white organdy and feature ruffles on both the slips and pantaloons.
The replica dolls feature the same long white stockings, held up with double-sided tape at the hips. Shoes are leatherette, black or white and feature three cutouts along with a side snap.
Who was she….or was she…a he? That’s one question that will probably never be answered. Whoever it was…that person or persons were responsible for writing the year in the series that each doll represented on the bottom of her respective shoe! Nearly all the of the dolls, both in the Display Sets and among the replicas, has this notation and oddly enough, the handwriting one each looks very, very similar. Could one person have noted the year on ALL those shoes?
