Izannah Walker Dolls - A Holiday Display

Joy Harrington sent this charming holiday display of Izannah Walker dolls and friends a few years ago.  I thought it would be fun to share again.  Thank you, Joy.

Picture courtesy of Joy Harrington

Mary Ann Spinelli Presents a Family of Izannah Walker Dolls

To see more images and read more about the dolls above, 

visit Mary Ann Spinelli's site.  

Rebecca Hawkin's Early Izannah Walker Boy Doll

I saw this doll in pictures from a UFDC conference from a couple of years ago.  I asked the photographers if they knew who owned the doll, and they said no. I really wanted to know!  Imagine my delight when Laurel Parker put me in touch with the owner of this doll recently!  Laurel sent my contact information to Rebecca Hawkins, a collector in the south.  I thanked Laurel kindly and went on my way.  I've learned not everyone wants to share their original Izannah Walker dolls on the internet.  

But I did hear back!   Rebecca called me on the phone and told me all about her Izannah Walker boy doll, and how he came to her.  He won  We had such a fun time discussing old dolls in gereral and Izannah Walker dolls in particular.  When I asked if I could share images here on the Chronicles, Rebecca said, "Oh, yes!  I believe in sharing and learning."   Oh yes!  I believe in that, too!

When Becky sent the pictures by email  I said out loud, "The Izannah Gods are smiling on me today."  And my teen son said, "Mom, you are so weird.  You know there are no Izannah gods, right?"   Ha ha!  

So without further ado, here are the images Rebecca took of her antique Izannah Walker boy doll.   Rebecca purchased this 17" doll from Tennessee.  It reminded me of a doll I saw in person at Richard Wright's auction collection.  There is a similarity in shape and feeling.  And he also brings to mind Paula Walton's doll, seen in this post, which was also shown in the book American Rag Dolls, Straight From the Heart on p. 21.  Doll makers know that you try new things with each creation.  Sometimes the new attempts work and sometimes they don't.  Which is why you can see some variations in these old folk art dolls.  

Rebecca's boy wears his awesome original clothing.

I asked Rebecca some questions about body construction.   She said she had never removed his clothing, but did so that we could see his body construction.   Usually in pre-patent Izannah dolls, the body covering comes up over the cloth shoulderplate.  Some post-patent dolls have a shoulder plate that is attached.   You can see an image here of a post-patent doll's shoulder plate.  Rebecca'sdoll's shoulderplate is shown below:

Here is the top of the head: 

The back of the head and neck: 

Some marvelous boots, which Rebecca has never removed. 

I wonder if he is barefoot underneath those boots, 

or if he has painted boots underneath? 

And here he is again, in all his earnestness.  

Thanks so much to Rebecca Hawkins for sharing her antique Izannah Walker boy doll.  

Folk art appreciators appreciate it!  

Morphy's To Auction Izannah Walker Doll

On Tuesday, December 4, 2012, Morphy's will be auctioning this Izannah Walker doll. This would be an interesting doll to see personally as she is a large doll, measuring 24" tall. She appears pristine, but is described as good condition.  Be sure to read the auction description  at Morphy's site for more details.

Someone emailed me that the hammer price for this doll was $8,000.   

The price realized at Morphy's is $9,600, with the assumption that includes the auction premium. 

Izannah Walker Doll Collection Featured in November 2012 Antique Doll Collector Magazine

Izannah Walker doll enthusiasts will want to order the November 2012 Issue of Antique Doll Collector Magazine, if you are not already a subscriber.   This issue features Kelly Harpster's fabulous doll collection which includes many Izannah Walker dolls.  

Izannah Walker Doll Hope Gets An X-Ray Picture

Yesterday I took the Izannah Walker doll to get an x-ray picture.  It's stuff like this that makes my family members shake their head.  But the vets office personnel were awesome.  They had a good time doing this.  

We didn't find anything earth shattering.  Izannah Walker details in her patent her process:

"After they are taken from the press the forms are filled with hair, cotton, or other stuffing, and a piece of wood having been centrally and longitudinally laid between the two for stiffening they are tightly pressed together and secured by sewing, pasting or gluing their edges to each other. "

What was surprising to me was the size of the piece of wood that was giving the doll structure. I hung the x-ray in the window of my office.  Hopefully I will get a better image of this printed off, but for now I kind of like the blue sky and autumn leaves peaking through.  

Izannah Walker Doll Sold on Ebay

An Izannah Walker doll with some repaint and some repairs sold on Ebay for $6,599.00.  The seller was raredolls.   On the last day of the auction the bidding went up dramatically.  

Izannah Walker Doll Auctioned at Skinner's Discovery Auction

Skinner's Discovery Auction sold the doll above and below Izannah Walker doll for $12,500.  In addition to the hammer price, there is a 20% commission. So that makes this doll's final price $15,000 (add tax if you live in Massachusetts).  

Skinner's has many more images 

as shown by the screen shot below.

Visit the Auction Description

Izannah Walker Doll Sold on Ebay

This lot of mixed dolls sold on Ebay today for $3,680.  The Izannah doll was labeled as a leather doll. The poor dear is missing an arm and a foot and has multiple breaks in her paint on the head.  She was purchased at an auction in northern Vermont.  But she is all original (what's left of her). 

I hear there is an Izannah Walker doll to be sold at Skinner's Discovery Auction next week.   As I find more information, I will post it.  

A Kind Collector Shares Pictures of Her Izannah Walker Doll

A kind collector has shared images of her Izannah Walker doll for those of us who love to study them.  I'm sharing the images just as she shared them.  This doll was featured in the DCA exhibit which was written about in Antique Doll Collector.   This doll wears her story in such a charming way.  Just as a doll that is 150+ years should.  The collector believes she is a pre-patent doll (made before 1873) and is likely from the 1860's.  Enjoy!

This doll is 15 1/2 inches tall. 

The collector believes this attached paper says, 

""Exhibited by Miss Alice Wood"

Thank you so much to this collector for sharing!

Early American Life Christmas Issue 2011

If you missed the Early American Life Christmas 2011 issue with the article Edyth O'Neill and I (Dixie Redmond) wrote about Izannah Walker Dolls you can order a back issue through Early American Life.    There are some amazing images in the article, provided by collectors.