Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Withington's to Auction Izannah Walker Doll August 2018


Withington Auction Company will be auctioning off an Izannah Walker doll at their August auctions which begin tomorrow!  I love dolls like these, where you can see the construction details. I hope someone wonderful gets to bring home this lovely girl made by Izannah Walker.

Thank you, Withingtons!  Over the years your generosity has been appreciated. 









Tuesday, April 10, 2018

1865 Izannah Walker Doll Offered by Withington Auction, Inc.

This Izannah Walker doll, said to be made in 1865, is to be offered the April 11-12-13th Withington Auction.  Two charming dresses with apron’s of the period are also to be auctioned.  The description of the doll is as follows:

“Izannah Walker Doll, purchased in 1865 by Eastwood Eastwood, for his adopted daughter, Maude Rouse, age 3 years old, Central Falls, R.I. (note of the doll's provenance stitched to the hem of her slip) - purchased in Connecticut about 25 years ago.”

Read more about Eastwood Eastwood here

https://politicalstrangenames.blogspot.com/2013/06/eastwood-eastwood-1834-1900.html?spref=fb

The doll is 18” tall, and has a center parted hairstyle with wisps coming forward at the temples.  The name of the neck is artfully painted feathery ringlets.  Here are image Withington’s sent:
















Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Izannah Walker Doll for Sale at Alderfer Auction

On April 4, 2018 the following Izannah Walker doll will be offered for sale at auction at Alderfer Auction.  The auction will feature the doll collections of Rosemarie Snyder and Regina Steele.

The hammer price was $16,000.

15.5 inches tall













Monday, September 25, 2017

Happy 200th Birthday, Izannah!

Izannah Walker would likely be surprised at the hoopla 200 years later on her birthday.  Being born a woman and orphaned as a child were not causes for celebration in the early 1800's.  But they were a part of life.  She grew up on her aunt and uncle's farm. Living on a farm she likely learned many of the skills which led her to become a property owner, an inventor and a businesswoman. That was quite something to say for a woman at that time! We know her because of her doll creations, but I have loved thinking about the kind of woman she likely was while studying and emulating her creations.

I don't typically promote my own creations on this blog, but I am blown away by many of the creations made by artists to honor Izannah on this day.  Many of them started their Izannah journeys with my pattern. So, to honor Izannah on this day, I will be offering the pattern at a sharply reduced rate of $10 from September 25th to September 30th. If you know of someone who has been wanting this pattern, now is the time to get it.




Monday, August 21, 2017

Calling All Artists and Izannahphiles to Celebrate
Izannah Walker's 200th Birthday in September 2017


I'm bumping this post up which I did in January, as a reminder to artists working on something. We have a little over a month.

Celebrations take planning. On  September 25th of 2017, we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Izannah Walker's birth. Inna Razuvaeva, Russian doll maker,  suggested in the MAIDA Dolls Group that we plan to celebrate by creating something for September 25th this year.

I created this blog as the resource I wish existed when I first started studying Izannah Walker's dolls. I had bought all the books that had Izannah Walker doll pictures in them. At that time, there were very few pictures of Izannah Walker dolls online, less than 10 dolls.  So I started traveling to document dolls and post them here as a resource for doll makers and those who love folk art. That's how this resource was created.

So, in 2017, let's plan to make creations to be finished by September 25th. I'll create in September which will allow us to post our special creations.  Here are some ideas to think about in terms of a creation:
  1. Make an Izannah inspired doll
  2. Make an Izannah inspired painting
  3. Design an Izannah inspired fabric through Spoonflower.  See mine here
  4. Write a poem.
  5. Write a song.
  6. Make a graphic.
  7. Make a doll sized quilt.
  8. Designs a new piece of clothing or accessory to go with your Izannah Walker Doll.
  9. Make a modern one of a kind doll which uses Izannah Walker's techniques but does not look like an Izannah doll.
These are just ideas to prime the pump. Come up with others and leave a comment.

Ready, set, go!

Izannah Walker in the Providence Census of 1870

This was an interesting tidbit to see!  Izannah Walker is listed as "homemaker" and her friend Emmeline Whipple is listed as "doll maker."  Hmmm.  Should I rename this blog?




Monday, January 9, 2017

Izannah Walker's Will

Two posts in one day!   ;-)

In searching online I found a transcription of Izannah Walker's Last Will and Testament.




Izannah Walker's Central Falls, Rhode Island Was a Happening Place!

The internet keeps adding resources.  In 2006I often would read  through all the pages that had Izannah Walker listed.  At that time there very few images and very little in the way of information. Genealogical research has provided a lot of resources for studying past decades.  It's my hope that someday there will be a photo of Izannah Frankford Walker uploaded by someone who bought a box lot of pictures at an auction.  It will happen, it's a matter of time.  There is an image of her brother, David Walker, online.

In the Maida Dolls Group we were discussing what it was like for Izannah to live as a woman in Rhode Island in the 19th century.  In the sidebar of this blog are links to articles by Monica Bessette, who has researched Izannah's life and her town intently.  Take the time to read those articles.  Here also is an article focused on what life was like for women in Rhode Island in the Industrial Revolution.

https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/jackson-lincoln/essays/women-and-early-industrial-revolution-united-states

In trying to do a little more research recently, I happened on this information on rootsweb. Thank you historians and genealogists!  You can get a sense of the richness of Izannah's community by reading the descriptions of the area at the link below.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rigenweb/articles/247.html

Pawtucket was a sister city to Central Falls.  Here is an illustrated history of the towns, published in 1897.

https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00grie

A map of Central Falls from 1877 can be found here:

http://oldmapsofthe1800s.storenvy.com/collections/1006920-birds-eye-view-maps-united-states/products/11802966-pawtucket-central-falls-ri-in-1877-birds-eye-view-aerial-panorama-v

And another map which can be zoomed in on:

http://www.mapsofthepast.com/pawtucket-central-falls-rhode-island-vogt-1877.html?utm_source=bingshopping&utm_medium=shopping&utm_content=ripa0001&utm_campaign=mapsofthepast

Monday, September 12, 2016

Antique Izannah Walker Doll Available for Purchase



SOLD.  

From time to time owners of antique Izannah Walker dolls generously offer to share images of their dolls here on the Izannah Walker Chronices.  I'm always happy when they do, because it's why I started this blog back in 2008. 

Occasionally, people share images of a doll which is available for private purchase.  The owner of this doll wanted to be sure the doll goes to someone who loves Izannah Walker dolls, and what better place to find those people than the readers of this blog?  

This doll is now sold, but here is the seller's description prior to the sale. 

Endearing 18" circa 1865 Izannah Walker cloth doll with beautiful face and finely painted features. Pressed and oil-painted complexion and facial features, blue grey eyes, feathered brows, pink closed mouth and cheeks, brown hair with two ringlet curls in front of applied ears. Muslin body with oil painted arms, stitched fingers, and legs with painted black ankle boots with red trim, antique dress and undergarments which may be original in cream colored cotton. Condition: Very good-Good. Paint wear and cracks in paint associated with age and normal use. Some old in-painting on hair and face and old repairs of brown tape around ankles and two spots on back of head. Slight split on forehead, wear on tips of boots. Provenance: From the family of Evelyn Ackerman, a well-known doll collector, researcher, and author.










Saturday, September 5, 2015

Withington's to Auction All Original Izannah Walker Doll

Withington's will be auctioning this near mint, all original 17 1/2 inch Izannah Walker doll at their October 21-22-23 auction.
















Miss I. F. Walker's Dolls in Period Newspapers

Kathy Duncan, a genealogist, has researched Izannah Walker in newspapaers from Izannah's time. We know Izannah is listed in a Central Fa...