Izannah Walker Chronicles: Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that all you Izannah lovers out there have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family and gratitude for all we have. That's something I've been thinking about. This blog, which started on a whim on January 1, 2008, is an expression of gratitude, really. I created it because I wanted to share pictures of the wonderful Izannah Walker dolls I've been able to study and document. I'm so glad I did. It is a wonderful joy to be able to create and study and read and learn. And I am so glad that there are so many of YOU out there who love Izannah Walker dolls as well. Have a safe and happy day tomorrow!

Who Is Izannah Walker?

Izannah Frankford Walker is a dollmaker who lived in the nineteenth century. She first patented her dollmaking process in 1873, but she may have been making dolls as early as 1840. Her dolls have the look of primitive folk portraits from the mid 1800s.

Born September 25th of 1817, orphaned at seven years old, Izannah and her sisters were raised by relatives in Somerset, Massachusetts, not far from her birthplace of Bristol, Rhode Island. There is not much information about Izannah until later in life, when she is listed as a dollmaker living in Central Falls, Rhode Island as of 1865. In 1873 she applied for a patent for her particular process of making an unbreakable doll. Izannah lived in a way that not many women did in the nineteenth century, if oral tradition about her is accurate. Linda Edward states in Cloth Dolls Ancient to Modern that Izannah "became a skilled carpenter, was active in real estate, raised canaries, designed her own parlor heater, and liked to tinker with household gadgets. Fortunately for us, she also made dolls."

Pictures of Original Izannah Walker Dolls Taken by Dixie Redmond

Click on the thumbnails to be taken to the album with more pictures of each doll. You are free to right-click and save copies for your personal use as inspiration in creating Izannah inspired dolls but please don't use the pictures themselves for commercial purposes.

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Special thanks goes to Lucy’s Doll House of Camden, Maine for allowing me to take pictures of these original Izannah Walker dolls before they were sold. Their generosity has been such an encouragement to me as a learner and a dollmaker and prompted me to create this site for other Izannah Walker enthusiasts. It's a great shop - every doll lover and doll maker should visit!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

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Izannah Walker Chronicles Pictures

Who Is Izannah Walker?

In Izannah's Own Hand

Pictures of Original Izannah Walker Dolls Taken by Dixie Redmond

Pictures of Izannah Dolls in Museums

Pictures of a Well Loved Izannah Doll

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