Martha Chase Antique Doll 19” Labeled Painted Stockinette Baby Pre- or c.1920,

Description: Martha Chase Doll. 19” Painted Stockinette Baby Doll, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Pre- or c.1920, with original label. Not in great condition, but a nice example of her work. This Martha Jenks Chase doll is a pre-1920s made of cloth stockinette with stitch-jointed elbows and knees, hand painted facial features and the body is stuffed with cotton. She has molded and painted features with blue eyes, light-brown brush stroke hair, closed mouth, cheek coloring, applied ears. Her fingers and toes have stitching to show separation. She is in well loved condition, with staining, rubs and some paint wear. One leg, is nearly detached. It is the one with the faded (see last photo) Martha Chase label In 1899, Martha Jenks Chase of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, began applying her talents as a seamstress to making cloth dolls and the collection of the National Museum of Play includes 37 examples of her creations. A doctor’s wife with progressive ideas, Chase objected to the American-made mechanical dolls that filled store shelves. She felt the inventors’ interest in technology overwhelmed children’s imaginative capacity to make the dolls “come alive.” Chase also judged the fashion dolls manufactured in Europe inappropriate because they encouraged children to crave material things. She pronounced most dolls too fragile and too heavy for children’s play. To counter these deficiencies, Chase made her own dolls of stockinet (a cotton knit used for undergarments), stiffened with sizing, and molded into the likeness of real-life children. She painted her dolls with insoluble paints to make them washable. Their cotton stuffing (many dolls of the day were filled with sawdust) also made the dolls lightweight, soft to the touch, and more desirable for the doll play Chase observed in children. Chase’s dolls encouraged children to display affectionate and nurturing behavior in their make-believe play. Source: Strong Museum of Play

Price: 250 USD

Location: West Lebanon, New Hampshire

End Time: 2025-01-16T02:41:02.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD