Izannah Walker Workshop

Dixie here - I've been writing this site for almost two years to share pictures, images, links, etc with others who are Izannah enthusiasts. I generally don't refer to my own artistic works here, other than putting a link in to my site. But my next project is on Izannah Walker dolls, so I want to give readers the opportunity to know what I've been up to. Later in December I will release my Izannah Walker type pattern and offering an online Izannah Walker Workshop in January.  (This class has finished but the pattern is available).  Click here for more information on the Izannah Walker Workshop.

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!

Monica Bessette's Izannah Doll

I received the following email from Monica Bessette, who has graciously shared pictures of her well-loved Izannah doll with us. I find these well-loved dolls very interesting, because you can often see more about the construction of the dolls because of the wear. Here's the email, and pictures following. Monica has said she will share some additional detailed pictures as well. Thank you, Monica!

Hi Dixie,

Well, I missed the end of the month, but here I am. Attached are some photos of my Walker doll that I named Joy. Her namesake is Joy Kelleher, of Special Joys Bed & Breakfast in Coventry, CT.

Joy Kelleher was instrumental in bringing me together with Maurine Popp, one of the the premier Izannah Walker collectors of our time. Back in 1998, just prior to the publication of my article, Walker Dolls: A Family Business, Joy invited me to speak to her doll club's upcoming meeting. The meeting was to be held in her doll museum, which was then part of the Bed & Breakfast. I jumped at the chance to speak in this intimate venue, but I wasn't prepared for the surprise guests and the wonderful response to my research. I had always wanted to meet Maurine Popp. Her comprehensive collection of Walker dolls, which she was collecting in the 1960's or even earlier, were some of the first I had ever seen in print, as she was always very generous in sharing her collection in books and magazines. We can all thank Maurine for bringing these fascinating dolls to the attention of collectors.

Not only did Maurine Popp come to my slide lecture at Joy's invitation, she also brought two of my favorite Walker dolls with her to display. Since we were both staying at the bed & breakfast the night of the meeting, I was able to have a personal chat with her and Joy over tea beforehand.

Six years later, when Joy decided to sell part of her museum collection, I took a chance and called to see if there was any way she would consider selling me her Walker doll. She said she'd give it some thought, but I didn't think I had a chance. About two weeks later, I received an email from Joy playfully asking if I knew anyone who would consider purchasing an old rag doll with missing limbs and cracks all over her face. I was overcome with emotion. Could this be true? Would I actually have an Izannah Walker doll of my own? After I stopped crying, I called Joy to thank her for her kind offer and make arrangements to pick up the doll--the next day before she changed her mind!. Included is a photo of me on that day, and you can see that I'm a little disoriented holding my new treasure.


Joy Kelleher has given me so much pleasure in her friendship and her confidence in my research, that I immediately named the doll after her so I would always be reminded of her and the special times I've spent in her bed & breakfast and museum, which is now her shop.

I've included photos of different angles of the doll. One photo is interesting in that it shows that the arms were stuffed with hair. It's probably horse hair, since that was plentiful in Izannah's early Central Falls neighborhood, but it's hard to tell exactly. You can see from the full side view that the body was sewn together and then the arms were attached at the shoulders. She's 18 inches tall and has the typical repaired breaks in the mid-calf area of the legs. She's in rough shape, but I couldn't love her more than I do.

Please write if you have any questions.

Monica Bessette

The arms appear to be stuffed with horsehair.

Many Izannah dolls legs seem
to have needed repairs...
too much dancing?

Thanks so much, Monica!

In Izannah's Own Hand - A Letter to Her Sister

Dear Dixie,

As we have discussed, I am in the process of writing a piece for the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s Spring 2010 publication of New England Ancestors. The article focuses on our ancestor, Captain David Walker, and the discovery of one of his whaling ships, Candace, unearthed in San Francisco’s financial district in 2006. When I began to research David’s brothers and sisters, I came across another amazing find…Izannah’s beautiful dolls!

The first time I pulled up your website and saw pictures of her dolls, I had chills. It was like looking into my own son’s eyes. There is a uniquely handsome shape to the eyes with one eye that seems to look ever-so-slightly off to the side. I had traced the characteristic back through old pictures to the Walker side of our family when he was just a baby. For me, part of the allure of the dolls and their simple innocence is the way Izannah painted the eyes. I can only wonder if some of the Walker nieces and nephews were models for her dolls.

In support of your goal of providing a central repository of information about Izannah and her dolls I am providing a scan of a letter written by Izannah that has been passed down in our family. Included are two examples of her signature. The letter was written in 1850 to her half sister Bridget addressing arrangements between the two regarding a family plot at Palmer Street Cemetery in Somerset, Massachusetts. The intention of sharing the letter is not to focus on the details of her parent’s burial, but to point out that although she was an orphan, she was close to her many half brothers and sisters, visiting and communicating with them even 25 years after her parent’s death. She was not alone, Izannah was one of the nine surviving children of Gilbert Walker.

Thank you for building such a wonderful website honoring Izannah’s dolls, and for loving her work. Thank you to all of your readers who have generously contributed and shared information and images in an effort to build a comprehensive catalog of her work. I look forward to checking in to admire new pictures of dolls as they become available.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Raymond

Cohasset, Massachusetts

Jennifer's email contact

Click on images to enlarge

Dixie here: I am thrilled that Jennifer chose to share these wonderful documents here. Jennifer and I have talked by phone quite a few times, she is passionate about researching and understands the intent of this site. Through what Jennifer has offered, one gets a sense of the way Izannah's mind worked in the sketches and handwriting in the letter. I added the copyrights onto the images that Jennifer sent - the intent is for them to be available here, but not to be republished without Jennifer's permission. Thank you, Jennifer!

The Richard Wright Collection: Rare and Important Dolls

On Saturday, October 10th Richard Wright's collection of rare and important dolls was auctioned by the Skinner auction house. When I heard that three Izannah dolls were going to be auctioned, I decided to drive the 5 hours from Bangor, Maine to Marlborough, Massachusetts to see the dolls in person.

From the outside the Skinner Auction building looks
unassuming, but oh the treasures that were inside!

Inside there was a sense of camaraderie as people who had known Richard Wright reconnected with one another and viewed the spectacular collection he had crafted. Andy Ourant, consulting specialist and auctioner, commented that the friends and acquaintances of Richard Wright were privileged to gather to compete for something from Richard Wright's collection. There were so many wonderful things in this collection. But since this is a blog about Izannah Walker dolls, we will focus on those.



When the bidding was opened for the first Izannah doll above you could feel some excitement in the air. The doll was small - 14 inches - and was wearing a dress that was described as a "cotton dress with frail silk blue and white check trim." One theory is that the dress would have originally been all silk blue checked trim, and that the white was the lining of the dress. Bidding went along at a fast clip until it ended at $11,000, within the estimate printed in the auction catalog. As the gavel came down, a cheer went up. It was clear that many of the people were rooting for the prevailing bidder to win that Izannah doll!



The doll above is a classic Izannah Walker doll with two side curls in front of the ears.This doll was won by the same bidder as the doll above with a final bid of $10,000 - the auction estimate range being $15,000 - $18,000.

Finally, the "Lady" Izannah Walker Doll was auctioned.

Now these dolls go on to their new loving homes.

The Wonderful Primitive Izannah Walker Doll at Lucy's Doll House

This past Friday I took a drive down to Lucy's Doll House in Camden. It is always so much fun to go, but especially fun for me as they have another Izannah in the house. It's about an hour and a half from me, but would be worth a cross-country trip. Sharp eyes will know where this doll was acquired from. I was able to get some pictures, and take some measurements of her, which is wonderful. This doll is for sale at Lucy's Dollhouse. While I was there I also took a peek at the wonderful Columbian doll they have, and the sweetest little Babyland Rag.

Here are pictures of the Izannah doll - courtesy of Lucy's Doll House and my camera. :-)

This sweet primitive doll
had 4 layers of clothing on:
her dress, an embroidered white underdress,
a petticoat and a chemise and pair of pantaloons.

Lucy's Doll House
is located in Camden, Maine.

A Mystery Indeed...

Reproduction doll or an original Izannah Walker doll that has (ahem) been "helped and helped and helped"?

The seller of the Izannah doll above ended the auction with this note:

"I am ending this listing early due to MANY INQUIRIES on this doll as to what is UNDER HER SHOULDER PLATE fabric. There is a possibility this is an ORIGINAL IZANNAH WALKER DOLL that has had repair with the pink fabric that you see put OVER an existing shoulder plate and blended into the neck and then repainted...This could explain the thickness at her neck. In order to truly check this, I have to end the auction and relist it, with the new buyer only having to RESTITCH the pink material back onto the body. There will be nothing else done to her from the original listing...I will POST all PHOTOS with new ones of what I find."

I love a mystery! We've all read about those paintings that were put under a special devise only to discover a long-lost Rembrandt or Titian. Again, mostly likely this is a reproduction doll, but what if it were an Izannah doll underneath? Maybe one with a crackled face? But I also have an active imagination which may mean that underneath that pink cloth is more pink cloth that's been painted.

Underneath view of the pink cloth of the shoulderplate

Click here to see the relisted doll at auction

Izannah Walker Dolls - Pictures of Shoulderplates

Because a generous collector shared pictures of the Little Red Riding Hood Izannah Walker, we can compare a post-patent Izannah shoulderplate with a pre-patent shoulderplate. Apparently the post patent Izannahs are more rare. I never would have guessed that. The first 3 pictures are of pre-patent shoulderplates, where the 2nd skin is glued over the edge of the shoulderplate. The last picture is of the post-patent shoulderplate, where the shoulderplate was sewn onto the top of the body.

A Closer Look at an Izannah Walker Doll

The pictures that Mary of Bertoia Auctions sent were of such great pixel size that I'm able to take some crops to see the details of this doll. I just love doing that. Wonderful pictures! Isn't it amazing how simply the eyes are painted and yet they have such expression! And for all you dollmakers - did you notice that the right eye is smaller than the left eye? ;-)

Don't forget that this Izannah Walker doll will be auctioned April 19th by Bertoia Auctions. Call your bank to get a second mortgage! :-)

Thank You, Mary for Izannah Walker Doll Pictures!

Mary, of Bertoia Auctions, was kind enough to send these additional pictures of the Izannah Walker doll that will be auctioned on April 19, 2008. Thank you, Mary!

I am so happy to be able to get some new pictures of an Izannah Walker doll. The dress is sooooo beautiful! I've never seen an Izannah picture with boots that are scalloped at the top edge.