Antique 10" Petite Minerva Attic Find Doll Blond/BROWN Eyes Orig Homemade Body

Description: Welcome to my ebay store Recently I purchased a box of attic dolls from a New England sale. There was an 1840 china head, a very early wax over, and two Minerva tin heads ca 1880s. While I can not make out the mark under the flesh tint paint its definitely there. I assume she is a Minerva. This one is adorable little 10" doll with it's homemade body-- especially the flat oilcloth boots and flat legs! I have many many dolls and love to see how 19th C family made doll bodies, often using patterns or winging it; of all shapes and sizes and all kinds of stuffing. As typical she has those small what I call Trex arms, folks not being too concerned with proportions apparently! By 1886 the majority of metal head dolls were made in Germany, best known to doll collectors today are: Buschow & Beck, Minerva dolls (1888-1930s), Karl Standfuss, Juno dolls (1898-1930s), Alfred Heller, Diana dolls (1901-1910). Around 1902 the United States was producing metal head dolls, best known is probably Atlas Doll & Toy, Giebeler-Falk plus others and Bucherer of Switzerland (1921+) made character dolls with a metal body.German metal doll heads were made from stamped sheet metal that is welded together and then painted. Metal doll heads were primarily made as replacement heads for bisque or China doll heads that were easily broken. The German word metallpuppenköpfe means metal doll head maker. She has decent thick original paint of pinkish flesh color with blonde painted hair and very rare brown eyes. There is obviously the typical paint loss. She wears a cleaned but worn chemise and handmade slip/skirt over that, pinned on back. Definitely showing how people would just repurpose clothing and fabric scraps to make the primitive but functional doll clothing. She could use a top over the worn chemise.I supposed someone could actually open a seam and stuff the legs as well but I think they were always like this and I kind of found her 'Flat Stanley' look appealing. She is all original and worn but still a great little display doll showing the handiwork of a family years ago and well loved no doubt, she even has a little beaded necklace. She measures around 10" tall. See all the photos please, other than the paint wear she is a nice little piece of doll history. *(I am also listing a larger Minerva with helmet mark in not great shape but a fun piece for someone who likes to use dolls as parts of their art work. That one has the vivid blue painted eyes and blonde hair but was extremely well loved- the face has been quite dented front and back and the kid body is missing legs and has some unusual hand made substitute arms. Definitely a bit put together for a child to play with. This doll has a #6 on back plate, lots of dents and remnants of the original deeper flesh colored paint. Parts of the tin show a brassy coloring. This doll at one time wore a very worn mid century brown gingham dress which sadly had fading, tears and very worn spots so it's possible the dress predated the doll. Look for that doll in my store). This listing 10" doll sells as is, again see all the photos please. NO smells or issues and clothing always cleaned carefully by hand.Ships from my smoke free home, thanks for shopping!

Price: 30 USD

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

End Time: 2024-12-19T21:06:13.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD