Doll
Period1840 - 1850
Place MadeProbably Germany
MediumPapier mache, kid leather, sawdust, cotton, silk, lace, human hair, coral
Dimensions14.5 × 9 × 7 in. (36.8 × 22.9 × 17.8 cm)
ClassificationsDolls
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Francis W. McMenimen, 1974
Object number1974.29.4
DescriptionA lady doll with molded and painted papier mache head, with a tiny painted red mouth, brown glass eyes, and dark brown human hair glued tightly to the doll's head. Gold and coral drop earrings are attached to the sides of the head. A turban cap constructed of wide woven silk ribbon wraps around the doll's head. The doll is dressed in a gown with a fitted black bodice with bishop sleeves edged in jet beading, with layers of net and hand-made lace bertha, and a dark blue silk brocade over a small hooped petticoat, held out by a reed or willow band inserted into the hem.The outfit is completed with knee-high stockings and off-white silk slippers. Accessories include a large white silk handkerchief and a small blue silk reticule, both attached to the doll's hands.Curatorial RemarksThis doll, most likely made between 1840 and 1850 in Germany, uses papier mache for the head. Papier mache (literally "chewed paper") was used for dolls' heads as early as the 1540s. The concoction varied from maker to maker, but relied upon basic ingredients including diced, shredded, or pulped paper, flour, glue, a coloring agent such as whiting, and sometimes linen or cotton for added strength. By the very early 1800s, dollmakers were fabricating doll's heads using papier mache and pressure molds. In 1858, Ludwig Greiner of Philadelphia received the first United States patent for the making of dolls' heads using his own papier mache recipe.NotesDonor Vivian Warne (Mrs. Francis) McMenimen was an avid doll collector. Born in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1906, McMenimen lived in Rumson for twenty years. McMenimen collected dolls of all types, gathering an almost encyclopedic assemblage of dolls, doll clothing, and related artifacts for over three decades. Mrs. McMenimen donated the majority of her doll collection to the Historical Association in 1974. She died in 1978 in Boca Raton, Florida, and was interred at the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Rockaway, Morris County, New Jersey.
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