Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com
The American Cloth Doll, shown in the picture above, sold on Theriaults.com for $15,500. When I first saw this I wondered why this particular doll was so expensive. What was it about her that drove that price so high?
According to her description: 19" All cloth doll with flat dimensional face, having oil painted facial features and hair, blonde hair with softly swirling curls at the forehead, painted brown eyes with large black pupils and white highlights, single stroke brows, defined nose, closed mouth with outlined lips, blushed cheeks, stitch-jointed body (see photo) with oil-painted lower arms and legs, original costume.... MARKS: Columbian Doll Emma E. Adams, Oswego Centre N.Y.. COMMENTS: Emma Adams, circa 1892, the doll was awarded the Gold Medal at the Chicago World Fair of 1893, the first American doll to be awarded that grand prize. VALUE POINTS: Extraordinary original condition of the rare doll, with outstanding artistry of painting. Realized Price: $15,500. Lot Number: 14.
The reason she was so expensive was she was an original Columbian Doll circa 1892 by Emma E. Adams, whose doll was awarded the gold Medal at the Chicago World Fair of 1893.
I found her face totally enchanting and had to find out more. Here's what I found out:
According to Cloth Dolls From Ancient To Modern by Linda Edwards: The Columbian rag dolls were first made by Emma Adams in 1891. They were made of muslin and had flat faces which were oil painted by Emma. The eyes were painted blue or brown. Their bodies were stuffed with cotton or excelsior, with an inner core of sawdust in the heads and torso. The limbs were painted flesh color and were stiffened with sizing.
According to The Ultimate Doll Book by Caroline Goodfellow: Emma E. Adams of Oswego, New York began making dolls in the 1890's. In 1893, at the Chicago World's Fair, the Columbian Exposition Commission gave one of her dolls a "Diploma of Honorable Mention," and named it the Columbian Doll: "Columbia" is the female personification of the United States. Among the very first American patriotic dolls, the Columbians were produced until 1910.
Also: Miss Columbia is perhaps the most famous of the Columbian dolls. Made in 1899, and given by Adams to a wealthy Bostonian, Elizabeth Richards Horton, for her International Doll Collection, it toured the world raising money for charities, especially those benefiting children.
So, not only did Emma's dolls win an award, but one in particular, Miss Columbia, toured the world in 1899 raising money for children's charities. Seems like an extraordinary doll. I had to know more.
The Columbian Doll, shown in the picture above, is part of The Strong National Museum of Play doll collection. I find her totally enchanting. How about you?
Credits: 1891-1906, Artist Emma E. Adams, Material cloth | painted, Origin Oswego, NY, Object ID 79.9982
According to their description: Artist and entrepreneur Emma Adams from Oswego, NY, set out to make a sturdy cloth doll for child's play. She made her dolls of muslin and stuffed them with excelsior and cotton. Emma's practiced hand artfully painted the doll's curly hair, large expressive eyes, and distinctive rosebud mouth. Emma's sister Marietta contributed the clothing for the dolls, which sold in four sizes: 15, 19, 23, and 29 inches through the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago. The Adams sisters exhibited their dolls at the 1893 Columbian Exposition and received a diploma of honorable mention, which gave the dolls some deserved prestige and the name by which they became known. The Columbian Doll later travelled around the United States and the world in an exhibit used to raise money for children's charities. The sisters continued making Columbian Dolls for children until Emma's sudden death in 1900; Marietta carried on for another 10 years or so.
So, Emma painted the dolls and her sister, Marietta, made the clothes and the dolls were sold through the Marshall Fields department store in Chicago.
There is a wonderful "Miss Columbia" article from the Wenham Museum about Emma Adams, her dolls, and the original touring Miss Columbia doll. The original touring Miss Columbia is part of the doll collection at the Wenham Museum.
According to their article: The Original Story of Miss Columbia’s voyage 1900-1902 - Miss Columbia was a doll ahead of her time. In an era when few Americans could hope to travel abroad, she went around the world. At a time when no proper young lady went anywhere alone, she set out on her travels unchaperoned. To all appearances just a simple (if highly charismatic) doll, she was in reality an ambassador with a mission.
Miss Columbia’s travels began in December 1899, when she left the home of her creator, Miss Emma Adams, in Oswego, New York, and journeyed to Boston to become part of the International Doll Collection belonging to Elizabeth Richards Horton. Ms. Horton’s collection numbered around 600 dolls and since 1896 had been widely exhibited throughout the country to raise money for children’s charities.
As the newest member of this large family of dolls, Miss Columbia had been designated to journey across the continent and then board a ship to circle the world. Her mission was to continue Mrs. Horton’s charitable work for needy children, and in the process to create a history for herself. Columbia’s appearances on her trip would be free to anyone who requested her presence. The only stipulation attached was that at each of her stopping places a tag was to be placed on her dress telling the circumstances of her exhibition and how much money she had raised........
I can only imagine that Miss Columbia must have had a delightful adventure all over the world. If you'd like to read more about her and her travels please click here for the Wenham Museum article and here for her travel journal.
In the year 2000, the Wenham Museum re-created "Miss Columbia's" original journey with a replica "Miss Columbia" in order to commemorate the trip’s 100th anniversary and provide a learning opportunity to all the students and schools across the U.S. that she would be visiting. Her travel journal is here. The picture shown above is from the Saugus Public School's .pdf Lesson Plan for Miss Columbia's visit. Their .pdf lesson plan is here.
Image Courtesy of Antiques Almanac
I wanted to see more of what this Miss Columbia Doll looked like and found a picture and article of her on the Antiques Almanac website. The picture shown above is from their website.
If you'd like to see an amazing amount of pictures of beautiful 19th century dolls Theriaults has a wonderful "The Backler Collection" October 2014 Theriaults issue on Issuu.com. There is a wonderful picture of Miss Columbia Dolls on Page 4, Page 7, Page 71, Page 138, and Page 162 .
Here's some more of Emma's beautiful dolls:
Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com
The RARE LARGE SIZE AMERICAN "COLUMBIAN DOLL" BY EMMA ADAMS WITH BABYLAND RAG DOLL, shown in the picture above, is from the Theriaults.com website.
According to their description: 29"All-cloth doll with stitched-on shoulder plate head over muslin form,flat-dimensional face with oil-painted complexion and facial features,oil-painted brown curls,outlined brown shaded eyes,short-stroke brows,outlined nose,painted mouth with upturned lip corners,blushed cheeks,muslin stitch-shaped body with oil- painted lower arms and legs,nice antique costume,undergarments,antique photograph brooch,shoes..... Comments: Emma Adams of Oswego, New York.......
Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com
The AMERICAN CLOTH COLUMBIAN DOLL BY EMMA ADAMS, shown in the picture above, is from the Theriaults.com website.
According to their description: 22" All-cloth doll with flat-dimensional face having oil-painted complexion,hair and facial features,shaded brown hair with scalloped curls framing the face,shaded blue eyes with white eye dots,arched brows,outlined nose,closed mouth with outlined lips,stitch-jointing of arms and legs.....Comments: Emma Adams who presented her cloth doll at the Chicago Columbian World Exposition of 1893.......
Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com
The RARE AND IMPORTANT AMERICAN CLOTH, shown in the picture above, is from the Theriaults.com website.
According to their description: 22" All-cloth doll with oil-painted face and forehead curls,flat-dimensional face with shaded complexion,outlined blue eyes with defined pupils and white eye dots,short-stroke brows,outlined nose,painted mouth with shaded and outlined lips,brown scallop-edged curly bangs,muslin stitch-shaped body with oil-painted lower arms and legs,nice antique costume is likely original......Comments: Emma Adams of upstate New York.....
Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com
The AMERICAN CLOTH "COLUMBIAN DOLL" BY EMMA ADAMS, shown in the picture above, is from the Theriaults.com website.
According to their description: 19" All-cloth doll with oil-painted complexion,hair and facial features,shaded light-brown hair with curly shaded-blonde bangs,large brown eyes,brown eyeshadow,feathered brows,outlined rounded nose,closed mouth with heart-shaped lips,blushed cheeks,muslin stitch-jointed body.....Comments: Columbian Doll,the Gold Medal winner at the 1893 Chicago World"s Fair was the first American doll to be award this international prize,designed and made by Emma Adams of Oswego,New York....
Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com
The AMERICAN CLOTH "COLUMBIAN DOLL" BY EMMA ADAMS, shown in the picture above, is from the Theriaults.com website.
According to their description: 17" All-cloth doll with stitched-on shoulder plate head over muslin form,gusset crown seamline,flat-dimensional face with oil-painted complexion,facial features,and short brown curls,outlined brown eyes with short-stroke brows,outlined nose,painted bow-shaped mouth,muslin stitch-shaped body,nice antique costume,undergarments,shoes.... Comments: Emma Adams of Oswego, New York.....
Image Courtesy of Theriaults.com
The EXTREMELY RARE LARGEST SIZE OF THE IMPORTANT AMERICAN CLOTH "COLUMBIAN DOLL", shown in the picture above, is from the Theriaults.com website.
According to their description: 30"All-cloth doll with stitched-on shoulder-plate head over muslin form,flat-dimensional face with oil-painted complexion and facial features,oil-painted short shaded brown curls,outlined blue eyes with defined pupils and white eye dots,shaded brown encircling eye shadow,short-stroke brows,outlined nose,painted mouth with shaded and outlined lips,muslin stitch-shaped body with oil-painted lower arms and legs,nice antique costume,undergarments,brooch,shoes.....Comments: Emma Adams of Oswego, New York....
Here's what they had to say about their pattern; Miss Columbia Doll Pattern - Miss Columbia 19" Doll and Clothing Pattern. Re-create the beloved traveling doll from the Wenham Museum Collection.
I just love the expressions on all of Emma's dolls. Can you image the expression on a little girl's face when she received one. Pure joy!
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