Over the past few hours I have been putting up for sale a variety of dolls house dolls on KT Miniatures website. Amongst them are a set of antique Pomona wooden dolls and some dolls made by Susan Dumper, who was an artisan around in the 1980s. Susan's dolls are so stunning that they have once or twice been mistaken for antique dolls! And then finally there is a truly unusual but simply magnificent Georgian style doll, which is a bit of a mystery, as to date I have not been able to find out the maker.
c1920s-1930s Pomona Dolls
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| Set Of 1920s-1930s Pomona Dolls |
These Pomona wooden dolls made around the 1920s/30s era, are utterly charming and evoke such nostalgia. They were made by London based Pomona Toys, whose shop was firstly based in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea and then subsequently Holland Street in Kensington. So one assumes from their location that the status of their clientele were supposedly the higher end of the market. They were known for their wooden toys, including these little dolls.
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| Mother Pomona Doll |
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| Larger Pomona Girl Doll In Red Dress |
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| Pomona Doll's Distinctive Painted Facial Features & Hair |
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| Painted Hair & Facial Features On Larger Boy Pomona Doll |
Each doll is of carved wooden construction with movable jointed limbs. Their hair and facial features are painted on a spherical head. Mother doll is the tallest at 4 1/4" high. The two little girls are the smallest and measure 2 1/2" high.
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| Pomona Doll's Carved Shaped Wooden Arms |
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| Side View Of Young Pomona Girl Doll Standing Freely |
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| Some Pomona Dolls Have Black Painted Shoe Detail On Feet |
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| Pomona Doll's Carved Shaped Wooden Legs & Feet |
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| View Of Pomona Doll's Leg Joint |
The arms and legs are beautifully shaped, along with the feet. Some of the dolls have black painted feet to represent shoes, but some are just plain wood. The ends of the feet were a little fragile and prone to splitting. Seen directly above is the mother doll, who has lost both of her toe caps.
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| Pomona Ink Maker's Mark On Back Of Pomona Doll |
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| Another Example Of Pomona Ink Maker's Mark On Back Of Pomona Doll |
Two of the dolls have the PAMONA ink stamped on their backs. I am curious as to why not all of the dolls have an ink brand stamp on them?
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| Young Pomona Doll In Yellow Dress |
The little girl doll in the yellow dress, in comparison to all of the other Pamona dolls, is in the most worn condition, in so much as nearly all of her painted features have been worn off. But she still has charm.
These little dolls would enhance any little old dolls house.
SPECIAL NOTE: An excellent article by Rebecca Green with further information on Pomona dolls history can be found on the following link: https://www.dollshousespastandpresent.co.uk/Magazine/Issue-7-November-2010/Page-5
c1980s Susan Dumper Dolls
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| Set Of Four c1980s Susan Dumper Dolls |
Susan Dumper was a highly regarded bisque doll artisan, who used to sell her dolls through the famous Singing Tree Dolls House Shop in London, back in the 1980s.
She was also known for making the dolls that reside in the old Pembroke Palace dolls house, that is on display at Wilton House in Wiltshire. Seen above is part of an article about Pembroke Palace that appeared in Issue 49 (October 1996) of Dolls House World Magazine. Susan's dolls were given a mention and can be seen in residence.
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| c1985 Susan Dumper Mignonette Doll With Blonde Hair |
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| c1985 Susan Dumper Mignonette Doll With Brunette Hair |
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| c1981 Susan Dumper Sailor Doll |
These three Susan Dumper bisque mignonette dolls are truly stunning, with moveable limbs and wobbly heads. The two taller dolls measure 5" high, and the little sailor mignonette doll measures 4".
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| Susan Dumper Mignonette Doll With Glass Eyes |
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| Susan Dumper Mignonette Doll With Glass Eyes |
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| Smaller Susan Dumper Doll With Glass Eyes |
They each have beautiful facial features and glass eyes. And all have tiny bead earrings dangling from their ears. The two larger dolls have long crimped hair, the little sailor girl has her hair up.
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| Susan Dumper Dolls Have Distinctive Painted Laced Boot Detail |
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| Back View Of Susan Dumper Doll With Painted Lace Boot Detail |
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| Blue Painted Version Of Susan Dumper Doll Lace Boots |
The Susan Dumper dolls have unique and distinctive painted weeny boots with lace up detail. The little sailor girls weeny boots are blue and the other dolls have beige boots. How cute are they?
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| c1989 Susan Dumper Soft Body Doll With Bisque Head & Limbs |
The mother doll is a little different again,, as she has a soft body with a bisque head and limbs. Her dress is long and lacy, plus she has a hat and matching bag.
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| Beautiful Susan Dumper Mother Doll Close Up Facial View |
Her lovely facial features are very much like the mignonette dolls, she too has glass eyes.
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| Susan Dumper Mother Doll With Blue Earrings |
Her hair is styled in a bun and she has pretty weeny blue bead earrings.
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| Side View Of Susan Dumper Mother Doll |
Her clothing is styled quite differently to the mignonette dolls and she is taller at 5 1/2" high.
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| Undergarments & Feet Of Susan Dumper Mother Doll |
However, she has weeny boots very much in the same style as the other dolls.
Pre-loved Georgian Style Doll
This doll is a mystery, she is very unusual and I have yet to discover who made her. She has been skilfully created and is just fabulous!
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| Stunning Georgian Style Doll - Maker Unknown |
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| Rear View Of Unknown Georgian Style Doll |
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| Side View Of Unknown Georgian Style Doll |
This doll has a fabric head and torso, with woollen bound wire limbs and white painted lead shoes. She is dressed very much in the Georgian style, her hair too is very much in the style of the Georgian era.
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| View Of Embroidered Eyelashes & Mouth, Plus Slightly Protruding Nose Of Unknown Georgian Style Doll |
Her eyes and eyebrows have been drawn on, but her eyelashes and mouth have been embroidered. Her nose is slightly protruding within the fabric.
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| View Of Georgian Style Doll's Undergarments & White Painted Lead Shoes With Blue Ribbon |
Her undergarments have also been beautifully created and her white painted lead shoes are adorned with a blue ribbon bow.
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| Georgian Style Doll Holding Lace Fan & Tiny Fabric Bag |
In her right hand she is holding a lace fan and a weeny fabric pouch in her left hand. She also has tiny bead decoration on her bodice.
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| Stunning Detail Of Georgian Style Doll's Dress |
Her dress is stunning. It has been made from different fabrics and heavily embellished with lace, braiding and even embroidered stars with bead decoration...gorgeous! NB. If anyone out there reading this can shed light on who the maker of this mystery doll is, please don't hesitate to get in touch, I would love to hear from you.
Well I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek at these. If you are tempted enough to find out more about any of these dolls then at the time of writing this blog posting, they are currently up for sale on the following page:
2 comments:
What a lovely and fascinating selection of dolls - such an interesting blog. I think the little Pomona doll has lost her features because she was loved to bits! The Georgian lady is totally my favourite and she has been created and dressed by such a talented artisan, it would be lovely to know the maker, as you have said.
Rx
Thanks for stopping by Robin. The Pomona dolls were snapped up pretty quick by the same buyer, so is nice to think that they will all remain together and have certainly gone to a good home. I think you are right with regards to the little girl doll with the lost features..she is well and truly in the "well played with" category :)
I am still at a loss as to the maker of the Georgian style doll, am hoping someone could come forward and enlighten me as to who made her...she is gorgeous, the photos just don't do her justice.
Celia
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