SALE Antique, American Flat-Faced Cloth Doll c 1890

Dolls : Antique : American : Flat Faced, Cloth

 

I would like to introduce you to "Faith." Faith is an American flat-faced, all-cloth, hand-sewn 14 inch doll with drawn on and painted features, and it belonged to my mother-in-law who grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She said it sat high on a shelf in the nursery and she was never permitted to play with it, but was allowed to hold it now and then if she sat quietly with it and was gentle.

Faith had been her mother’s and came into the family somewhere between 1881-1910. These dates coincide with the birth of her mother and the year my mother-in-law turned 6; this is the age when she remembers it being taken down from the shelf for her to see for the first time. When my mother-in-law passed away in 2000, Faith came to me. Faith is such a wonderful doll that I had her professionally appraised by the Association of On-Line Appraisers, and her certificate information, which confirms her origination date is c 1890, will be included with the purchase.

Faith is in very good condition. There is some slight damage on the top front of her dress, but it is the only spot I have seen. She is made of muslin, I believe, and her entire body—arms, legs, hands, and feet—are of cloth. She has black leather shoes with soft brown leather soles; one shoe is missing the drawn on buckle and the stitching is coming undone on that shoe. She has grey thread, some of which is a little loose, wrapped around her ankles above the shoes to look like stockings. Her dress and slip look to be made of silk, and there is some age discoloration on the slip. Her black wool cape has a silk lining and is slightly longer in the front then in the back. Her face is slightly faded, but retains the deep red lips, pink cheeks, and overall peach coloration of skin. She has black hair, with either wisps of hair or bleeding from the original hair line, which is light and faded.

Because of the fine stitching on the other parts of the doll, I believe the face was sewn to the rest of the head to make it look as if she is wearing a bonnet. She is holding a folded piece of leather to look like a book in one hand, and the other hand is holding up her skirt, as if she is walking, which shows the slip underneath. The book she holds has been bent out of shape over the years.

Her legs are straight and joined across at the hips—this allows her legs to swing back and forth, but not side-to-side. I have not removed her clothing to see how the arms are joined, but it feels the same as the legs however, the arms do not move because of being sewn in place (holding the book and skirt). There is an old square of paper pined to her cape that reads: “Faith1620,” and I believe this is to identify the doll by name and the period style of dress, for she is dressed as someone from Plymouth would have been. There is a small brownish spot on the doll's torso bottom, and faintly on the head in the hair—it shows up much darker in the photo than it does under normal light.

I have held her under a black light and she does not Flores. This means all of the material in faith is consistent with my description of her age. She was originally appraised at over 1,000.00 dollars and was made from a kit sold at that time so that women could sew dolls at home. (I never knew they had kits to make dolls like they do these days. I love the history one finds out when studying these items.)

Item ID: 10300660

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Indulge your child within with this wonderful doll.