Some Vintage English Wax Dolls and Their Special Physical Attribute
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Learn About This Antique English Wax Dolls Little Secret "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Hey, they are beautiful! Two early wax dolls, both of English origin. The wax is over a paper mache or composition. Their features were painted before they were covered with wax. You will find a variation of dates as to manufacture, but the average is circa 1830 through 1860's.
Many fine examples of wax dolls find their way from England into our own collections. Thankfully, the English take great pride in their heritage and have preserved their childhood possessions for generations. The "lovely lady" with the strawberry pink human hair is commonly referred to as a slit head wax doll. Her hair is inserted in a slit at the top of her head.
I am strongly attracted to her...and often wonder if her hair was a flaming red in her youth. Her original pink silk bow is still adorning her thinning curls. I think only the melting of the wax through the years has adhered it firmly. Her intellectual friend who reads the classics eternally has brought much laughter to those who have viewed her over the years. She has a "special" physical attribute that has brought smiles to all of her admirers. Purchased many years ago at a doll show where she constantly flirted with me every time I passed the sellers table, at first glance she appears to be a typical English wax doll with all of the familiar attributes. A very large 30", she has the thick wax over hands and legs. But, oh her secret! After purchasing her...she sat in my lap for the remainder of the doll sale.
This is where she succeeded in winning the hearts of all who passed. As she
has a lever in her body which controls the closure of her eyes. It is positioned
in such a way that I could manuever it without being detected. Engaging more
collectors in conversation as they would stop to admire her...the expressions
on their faces when she coyly opened and closed her eyes was delightful to
all who observed and already knew her secret.
If you wish to locate similar literary accessories for your wax dolls, the very old little books displayed with her can be found frequently by searching...Ebay-----> books---->antiquarian OR Ebay------>dolls and bears---->doll clothes, furniture---->clothes, accessories---->antique, vintage. The books are "Little Leather Library" and display beautifully with antique dolls.
Careful display is required of the delicate wax child. Aside from the most obvious damage of accidental falls, changes of temperature are probably the most common threat. Moving to the frigid winter climate of the Northwest from the dry desert of the Southwest, it had not occurred to me that the indoor climate was also altered. Sadly, the first year we were here, the dedicated student acquired a new fine line crack down the side of her face. All wax are now in the warmer room of the house and no further damage has been observed. Did you ever chew wax as a child? Remember those ugly wax lips? Well, children had the same attraction to wax in the 1800's and would often scrape wax from their dolls face and insert into their own. Don't you ever wonder how your wax dolls acquired their rubs and abrasions. I do. Probably the best place to look for present "doll and accessories" value is on the Internet, primarily the auction sites--my favorite is eBay... in the completed Wax Dolls section of eBay you can browse the past 30 days of completed auctions of wax dolls and accessories. On the left side, in the box named "Display", you can selsect "Active Items" to see the "wax dolls and accessories" presently up for auction. Also, if you have a doll or doll accessories you would like to find out about...eBay is the place to start... in the Dolls and Bears Category, just type in what you have in the search window just under "Dolls & Bears" on the left, and "Shazam", there appears a list of present, up for auction items--in the "Display" box on the left select "Completed Items", a new list will appear, displaying completed items going back for 30 days. eBay has a rather large set of listings of vintage WAX dolls for sale, if you are interested in a purchase, or to find values, click here-- There are always some bits of information regarding wax dolls in the current price guides. My favorite is :
Blue Book of Dolls and Values, 15th Edition by Jan Foulke
Click here to return to the Top of the English Wax Dolls Page Click here to return to the Antique Doll Advisors Home Page eBay is a great wedsite for "value" information about dolls, or most anything else for that matter--however, in order to see what something has sold for, registration is required, so if you are looking for past sales of any particular doll, please register Attention Future and Current Webmasters---this web site was built with the tools, Masters Courses and guides provided by Site Build It! We have been online since July 22, 2003, as of June 3, 2004, we are now listed in the major Global search engines. You experienced webmasters understand the significance of that! We DID NOT pay for inclusion in any of these search engines, what we did was to follow the Masters Courses and guides, and we used the tools provided by SBI! As the webmaster of this web site I highly recommend you take a few minutes to take a quick tour of what all is offered. You could learn how to analyze Internet Traffic and get into its "flow" using value and ease of use, combined with effective traffic building strategies. Should your plans involve a future web site, a look at what SBI! has to offer could save you time and money, and also make you money! Powered by Site Build It! "Web Building of the Future...Now!"
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Years ago, many collectors shied away from these magnificent antique
dolls because of the imperfections and flaws that the facial wax developed
after over a hundred years of existance. Today, a devout lover of true
historical antiquity does not see their lines, cracks, discolored or missing
wax as undesirable. They see the soul of the 19th century.
