Oh! You Beautiful Doll!

There is a first time for everything.

My latest garage sale discovery is a bisque doll from the 1960s. The head and bust section of the doll was marked with the name “Pearl Lewis” who was either the designer of the bisque head or the name of the doll itself. The clothes were made by Frances Davis, who was also active in doll making in the New York area at that time.

I found Pearl in a box of other dolls, most of which were well-used. With her dirty face and clothes she looked like a “fallen” woman that had been forced to lie, cheek by jowl, with the grubby and broken low-life denizens of the penal colony/container. After purchasing her freedom I took her home and carefully disrobed her to see the extent of her injuries, if any. She may have been blushing from my masculine touch, but if she had I couldn’t see it under the grime.  I was looking for water damage, insect infestation, or mold. Fortunately, she was in pretty good shape. A few of the stitches holding her undergarments had unraveled, but there were no tears or other damage. After hand washing her clothes, I let them dry while I constructed a simple stand with a block of wood and a dowel (I’ll let your imagination figure out where the dowel went!) A slight “tea stain” remained on the shoulders of her frock, but otherwise everything looked like new. Her prim smile indicates that she is most pleased with her restoration:



My first doll.  

One doll.

Not a collection.

Yet.