QUEEN ANNE STYLE AND ANTIQUE STYLE WOODEN DOLLS
by Anne Reiss
For information about purchasing a doll email me at
thecameoqueen@gmail.com
The Queen Anne wooden doll is born on a lathe. Her general shape is roughed out of a block of basswood.
The blank figure then has her face carved and separate arms and legs carved. The legs are jointed at the hips and at the knees. Each joint is made by hand.
Here is Lady Agatha in progress.
After the face has been carved and gessoed and sanded it is then painted. I use hand dyed mohair or human hair to create the wig. Lately I've taken to braiding the hair and wrapping it around the head. I think this makes for a very neat, long-lasting look and is suitable as an antique style. I usually use dark brown glass eyes since so many of the older dolls had black "pupil-less eyes".
Once the doll is fully assembled, complete with wig she is ready for her close fitting antique style dress usually made from silk or cotton. I sew the dress closed to insure a perfect fit.
I use no fillers to smooth my dolls, just layers of gessoe and sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding in between layers. The problem with using fillers to attain a smooth complexion is that because of climate conditions wood shrinks and swells. Fillers will shrink too but at different temperatures and humidity levels. This means that over the years, even if the doll is kept in a humidity controlled environment the fillers will loosen and fall off revealing the uneven surface below. It takes a lot more work to sand the wood smoothly but it is worth it to know that the doll will last a very long time in the same condition as when she was carved.
My goal is to make my dolls as authentic as possible and to that end I have studied many, many pictures of these lovely old creations.
It is also very important to me that the faces be carved with sensitivity. Many of the Queen Anne wooden dolls still in existence today have rather simple, sometimes even crude faces. However the earliest hand carved wooden dolls were carved with great sensitivity by talented artists. I've been an artist for most of my life and it is my goal to give these little ladies real personalities. I'd like the wood to simulate the softness of flesh and for me that is the greatest challenge of all in the creation of this unique art form.
I've been sewing since I was 18 years old and that has helped me in a great deal in dressing these dolls. I hand stitch every part of the dress that will be visible to the eye. Internal seams are machine stitched. Recently I was fortunate enough to obtain a Singer 503 Slant-O-Matic at our local Goodwill store. You can see a photo of this wonderful old machine to the right of this article. What a treat to sew on. My hems shall now be "blind-stitched", making for a very neat edge. I have also added a Singer "Featherweight" to my little collections of antique sewing machines.
My dolls are art objects and made with as much love as were the original old dolls. I am not trying to fool anybody into believing my dolls are authentic antiques (although I'd be flattered should such an error be made). On the back of each doll's neck is my signature and the date they were made. Machine stitching too is a dead give-away for a modern object and I believe some machine stitching is necessary for this very reason.
My dolls are dressed in only the finest of fabrics. I use mostly vintage silks, cotton and lace although sometimes I will find a new piece of fabric with a lovely pattern.
Another wonderful tool I acquired recently is a spinning wheel which can be used to spin mohair roving for the dolls' wigs.
In summary, it takes many different skills to complete a Queen Anne Style doll. In the past an entire family would be involved in their creation. The husband would turn the figure and carve the face, the wife would inset the glass eyes and dress the turned doll. Last but not least it would be up to the children to paint the face. I am doing all these steps on my own. If I work six days a week for five or six hours a day it can take take me anywhere from ten days to two weeks to complete a doll.
Here is the newest addition to my collection of antique tools: a gorgeous Great Wheel spinning wheel. This will come in handy for spinning mohair roving into dolly's wigs.
How They Are Made
The Queen Anne wooden doll is born on a lathe. Her general shape is roughed out of a block of basswood.
The blank figure then has her face carved and separate arms and legs carved. The legs are jointed at the hips and at the knees. Each joint is made by hand.
Here is Lady Agatha in progress.
After the face has been carved and gessoed and sanded it is then painted. I use hand dyed mohair or human hair to create the wig. Lately I've taken to braiding the hair and wrapping it around the head. I think this makes for a very neat, long-lasting look and is suitable as an antique style. I usually use dark brown glass eyes since so many of the older dolls had black "pupil-less eyes".
Once the doll is fully assembled, complete with wig she is ready for her close fitting antique style dress usually made from silk or cotton. I sew the dress closed to insure a perfect fit.
I use no fillers to smooth my dolls, just layers of gessoe and sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding in between layers. The problem with using fillers to attain a smooth complexion is that because of climate conditions wood shrinks and swells. Fillers will shrink too but at different temperatures and humidity levels. This means that over the years, even if the doll is kept in a humidity controlled environment the fillers will loosen and fall off revealing the uneven surface below. It takes a lot more work to sand the wood smoothly but it is worth it to know that the doll will last a very long time in the same condition as when she was carved.
My goal is to make my dolls as authentic as possible and to that end I have studied many, many pictures of these lovely old creations.
It is also very important to me that the faces be carved with sensitivity. Many of the Queen Anne wooden dolls still in existence today have rather simple, sometimes even crude faces. However the earliest hand carved wooden dolls were carved with great sensitivity by talented artists. I've been an artist for most of my life and it is my goal to give these little ladies real personalities. I'd like the wood to simulate the softness of flesh and for me that is the greatest challenge of all in the creation of this unique art form.
I've been sewing since I was 18 years old and that has helped me in a great deal in dressing these dolls. I hand stitch every part of the dress that will be visible to the eye. Internal seams are machine stitched. Recently I was fortunate enough to obtain a Singer 503 Slant-O-Matic at our local Goodwill store. You can see a photo of this wonderful old machine to the right of this article. What a treat to sew on. My hems shall now be "blind-stitched", making for a very neat edge. I have also added a Singer "Featherweight" to my little collections of antique sewing machines.
My dolls are art objects and made with as much love as were the original old dolls. I am not trying to fool anybody into believing my dolls are authentic antiques (although I'd be flattered should such an error be made). On the back of each doll's neck is my signature and the date they were made. Machine stitching too is a dead give-away for a modern object and I believe some machine stitching is necessary for this very reason.
My dolls are dressed in only the finest of fabrics. I use mostly vintage silks, cotton and lace although sometimes I will find a new piece of fabric with a lovely pattern.
Another wonderful tool I acquired recently is a spinning wheel which can be used to spin mohair roving for the dolls' wigs.
In summary, it takes many different skills to complete a Queen Anne Style doll. In the past an entire family would be involved in their creation. The husband would turn the figure and carve the face, the wife would inset the glass eyes and dress the turned doll. Last but not least it would be up to the children to paint the face. I am doing all these steps on my own. If I work six days a week for five or six hours a day it can take take me anywhere from ten days to two weeks to complete a doll.
Here is the newest addition to my collection of antique tools: a gorgeous Great Wheel spinning wheel. This will come in handy for spinning mohair roving into dolly's wigs.