Barbara Spadaccini-Day at the American Museum

Barbara Spadaccini-Day
will be speaking on
"Izannah Walker 1827 - 1888: American Doll Maker"

July 20th at 2 p.m.
The American Museum
Bath, England

Learn of the fascinating and varied life of one of America's earliest known, female doll makers. Those of you who are within driving distance of Bath, England will not want to miss this! For more information please check telephone the American Museum at 01225 823014.

Reproduction Izannah Walker Dolls - Paula Walton

Paula Walton's Izannah Walker Reproduction doll is made using a pattern she drafted from her original, antique Izannah Walker doll. This site is focused on original antique Izannah Walker dolls and what's going on in the "Izannah World." It's not a discussion site for repro dolls - that happens in the Maida Dolls Group. However, when someone uses an original Izannah Walker Doll for a pattern or head design, it is worth talking about here, as I did with Kathy Patterson's dolls in May Paula says,

"This painted cloth doll is a reproduction of one of the pre-patent c. 1850-1860 Izannah Walker dolls in my personal collection. Made specifically for the Izannah purist, who values a strict adherence to original construction methods and materials. This is an 18-1/2 inch tall all cloth doll. Her head is made from layers of pressed stockinette and cotton. She has bare feet with individually stitched toes, and applied thumbs. I drafted the patterns directly from my antique dolls and made the molds for the pressed cloth head using the original dolls. The doll’s body is made from 100% cotton fabric, her head is stiffened silk stockinet, and her “second skin” is made from glazed antique linen. She is stuffed with organic cotton stuffing to match the stuffing in the original dolls. All painted areas on the doll were first painted with gesso and then several layers of artist oils."

Paula's inspiration is below:

Paula Walton's Original Izannah Walker Doll, above.

You can visit Paula's website
for more information about her creations.

Update on Reuben Bates' Molds - Monica Bessette to the Rescue!

Monica Bessette is an incredible treasure trove of information about anything related to Izannah Walker.  After I asked the question "Where are Reuben Bates' molds?" Monica emailed me and said they are owned by the Rhode Island Historical Society.  So I emailed Kirsten Hammerstrom, who replied 

"We do own doll head molds made by Reuben Bates. We have two, one of a female and male face, but not the back or cranium side if the molds. The accession numbers are 1987.29.1A, the female mold and 1987.29.1B, the male."

Unfortunately the Rhode Island Historical Society is in the middle of a renovation which has necessitated moving many items, and so so they will not be able to accommodate a research visit for some time to come. But now we know where they are, at least. 

Where are Reuben Bates' molds?

"Hey!" you say, "This site is about Izannah Walker, so why are you talking about Reuben Bates?"

Well, dear reader, here is why. I was reading in Janet Johl's 1952 book Your Dolls and Mine, and again saw the picture of a "Reuben Bates" doll and the iron molds used to make it on P. 39, above. Some time ago the members of the Izannah Walker Dolls group (now on Maida Today) were wondering what the connection between Reuben Bates and Izannah might have been. The Reuben Bates doll looks remarkably like an Iznanah Walker doll.

Last year I did a little sleuthing on Ancestry.com to find out more about Reuben Bates, and found him living in Providence, Rhode Island in the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses. He was listed as a "pattern maker" which may translate to mean mold maker.

The often quoted Providence Bulletin written by Philomena Hart quotes a Mrs. N. M. R. who was a neice of Izannah's saying that "Izannah designed a parlor stove that beat Ben Franklin's." It can be assumed that Izannah did not have an iron works in her back yard, and that in designing a parlor stove may have visited an iron works or stove manufacturing company. Could it possibly have been the Barstow Stove Manufacturing Company where Reuben Harlow Neal Bates was employed?

Here is what is written about Reuben Harlow Neal Bates' molds and dolls in Your Dolls and Mine by Janet Johl:

"This additional information about a highly cherished example of an early American doll is indeed welcome. Collectors can, however, be doubly grateful to Mrs. Singsen for she has added to the data of this particular era of doll by making the amazing find of a rag doll with its original mold. Although undoubtedly inspired by Izannah Wlaker, this doll was created by a man named Reuben Harlow Neal Bates who was born in 1802 in Attleboro, Massachusetts. He was a pattern maker all his life residing for a number of years in Providence, Rhode Island probably about 1840 until his death. He was employed by the Barstow Stove Manufacturing Company and it may have been during hs work there that he developed the mold from which the "Bates" doll was made.

This mold is most unusual and interesting for it is of iron and therefore very heavy. One half, fitting down firmly and tightly on to the other, pressed the features and head into the desired shapes.

Izannah Walker commenced making her cloth dolls in 1840 and the similarity in type is what makes one believe that Reuben Bates had her dolls in mind when he made his own mold. So far as is known his dolls were never offered for sale. Perhaps they were made for his own large family, or for his friends.

"The body of this most interesting specimen," writes Mrs. Singsen, "is well made and is covered with blue cloth. The pattern for the body was in the possession of the lady from whom the doll was obtained as well as the mold, her husband having been a descendant of Reuben Bates, but at the moment she could not locate it. In the photogrpah, the mold to the right, is of rouse, the hollow part. Note also that the doll's mouth is slightly crooked and that one eye is higher than the other."

One wonders how many of the Bates dolls are out there and are identified as Izannah Walker dolls? These are the kinds of mysteries that may never be solved but are interesting to try to solve. Could Reuben's mold have been the first trial mold taken for Izannah? Or did he see an Izannah doll and try to copy it? Is this why Izannah felt she needed to get her patent? When I was talking with my husband about this he said, "Maybe Izannah WAS Reuben Bates." He's such a jokester.

All of these questions bring up the question of WHERE are Reuben H. Neal Bates' iron molds.? They were last written about by Janet Johl and documented by photograph in her 1952 book Your Dolls and Mine as being owned by Lila Singsen (aka Mrs. Edward Singsen), who was a noted doll collector of the time. This is why keeping track of where the antique dolls have been is important - it sometimes gives clues to present mysteries to be solved. I bet some of you out there should look in your basement for some iron molds.

Frances Walker, Collector

Today I began putting a list together to thank all the people who have shared images of Izannah Walker dolls and articles about Izannah Walker dolls. Please see the list to the left. This is an ongoing task, and I will continue to add to it. Listing these made me think about how collectors, museums, auction companies and shops contribute to the preservation of these wonderful dolls, and to the history of our country. And also how all of these have contributed to the development of this site dedicated to learning about Izannah Walker dolls. You all have shared in large pixel ways. Thank you.

I learned about Frances Walker, who is quoted in the article above, from another collector who remembers seeing her first Izannah Walker doll at the auction of Frances Walker's collection. The article above was posted in the St. Petersburg Times in 1972, and quotes Frances Walker.

Of course, seeing that Frances had the last name of Walker gives rise to the question of how Frances' family might have been connected to Izannah's. Click the image above to go to the Google News site where you can read the article at full size.

Izannah Walker Dolls at Lucy's Doll House

The antique Izannah Walker dolls above
are available for purchase at Lucy's Doll House:

Click here for contact information
for Lucy's Doll House

To see current dolls available from dealers,
click the tab at the top of the page that says,

"Original Antique
Izannah Walker Dolls
for Purchase"

Izannah's Elbows?

Izannah skillfully hid much of the connection points of her doll's jojints underneath the body covering. Those of us who are dollmakers are always wondering what's underneath that covering! Up until recently, I had always assumed that Izannah's dolls had no jointing at the elbows, and if there were joints, that's because the doll had been repaired. Jackie Hendricks asked Kathy Patterson in the previous post if her original doll is jointed at the elbows as she has made her Izannah reproduction doll's arms. The following three pictures are courtesy of Kathy Patterson, who sent pictures of her original doll's elbow joints below:

Picture courtesy Kathy Patterson

Picture courtesy Kathy Patterson

Picture courtesy Kathy Patterson

Of course we also don't know what has been done to some dolls which have been with us for well over 100, and sometimes 150 years. Below are elbow areas of dolls that I have taken or that I've been given permission to post. It's up to the reader to look carefully and decide is this how Izannah originally made the doll or has it been "helped".

If any of you collectors or museums have pictures of original joints, please share!

Kathy Patterson's Izannah Walker Reproduction Dolls

Reproduction Izannah Walker doll
by Kathy Patterson

This blog is focused specifically on original Izannah Walker dolls, not on reproduction or Izannah Walker inspired dolls. So why is this post about someone making Izannah Walker reproduction dolls?

Reproduction Izannah Walker doll by Kathy Patterson

Because Kathy Patterson, known for making wonderful wooden reproduction dolls, has purchased original Izannah Walker dolls and had molds made of the original Izannah Walker dolls' faces. She is using these molds to make copies of the original Izannah Walker dolls she has purchased. The mold-making process takes an impression of the original doll in its worn state, right down to the ridges of the stockinette in the original dolls and any wear spots on the face. After Kathy makes the head from the mold, she paints the copy of the head and shoulders so that it resembles the original doll. Kathy makes the bodies to closely follow the lines of the specific bodies she has purchased. I think it's big news in the Izannah world that someone has been able to do this. Of course, Kathy signs the works to distinguish them from original Izannah Walker dolls. To read more about Kathy's process, visit her site called Babes from the Woods.

Pictures of Izannah Walker Dolls: Feet

For the Izannah Walker Workshop online class I've been giving, I put together an album of the feet of dolls that have been posted here on the Izannah Walker Chronicles. So I thought I would share the Feet Slideshow here as well. Enjoy!

Izannah Walker Overseas: The American Museum and Selvedge Magazine

If you live in Great Britain, and you love Izannah Walker dolls, you'll want to pay attention to this...

Barbara Spadaccini-Day will be giving a talk on Izannah Walker at The American Museum in Bath, England on July 20, 2010 at 2 p.m. An expert on dolls, a past curator of the toy department at the Musée des Art Decoratifs in Paris, author of A Celebration of Enchantment and co-author of The Dolls of Jules Nicolas Steiner, Ms. Spadaccini-Day writes for many publications both in Europe and the United States. If you are interested in attending the lecture, please check The American Museum's web listing or telephone 01225 823014 for more information. Be sure to check out The American Museum's lovely online collection.

For more Izannah news in Great Britain, the Izannah Walker Chronicles has been mentioned in Selvedge magazine, published in Great Britain. You can find the magazine on sale here in the States or you can subscribe for an online digital subscription.

Little Compton Historical Society's Izannahs

Jennifer Berkeley, a member of the Izannah Walker Dolls group, went on an Izannah tour recently in the Rhode Island, Massachusetts area.

Jennifer with the Izannah doll -
I recognize the happy look on her face!

Little Compton Historical Society was one of Jennifer's stops on her Izannah tour. I've posted small pictures of the Little Compton dolls here before, but Jennifer was able to get some larger closeups of the dolls at Little Compton. Thank you, Jennifer for sharing these epictures with the Izannah Walker Chronicles. Be sure to go to Jennifer's blog to see more - the links are at the top of the page of her blog. Beautiful! It makes me want to do an Izannah tour as well. Plus I have ancestors from Little Compton from early colonial times.

Little Compton's site has an improved online collection where you can read more about these dolls. Type Izannah into their search bar and information about the dolls will come up. The doll in green is a barefoot Izannah and is wearing Bru shoes.