National Republican., 1883-07-19
DOLLS.
How tIio Name OF the Initiative Baby Had
Its Origin-speaIslng Dolls ana Dolls

How tI,o Name OF the Initiative Baby Had
Its Origin-spenklng Dolls ana Dolls
eyes.
Thomas j. Bowdtch writos in the Troy
Times: Doll, the name of an initiative baby
used as a toy of girls, is said to be a con-
traction for Dorothy, the diminutive of
which is Dolly. Todd says the word may
have been adopted from the old French
dol; trumpcry, u trick or IL may be an abbrc-
Walton of idol, Another author says that
perhaps IL came from the Dutch dol, stupid,
scnscloss. Dolls, as childrens playthihgs,
are of greater antiquity than many may
imagine. They are traced back TO their
probable" first appearance in puppot shows,
Whether in tho torrid, the temperate, or tho
irigid zone, equally among the Africans
and EsquimauX, the doll has long been
n plaything. The practice of sending them
from France to foreign countries was of very
early date. In the royal expenses for la0l
figure so many "livres for u doll sent to the
queen of England in 1865 another sent to
the queen of Spain, and in 1911, u third tu
the duchess of Bavaria. Henry lN writes i'll
1900, before his marriage to Marie dc Modicis
Frontenac tells me that you dosiro patterns
of our fashions in dress. | send you therefore
some model dolls" The maturity of women
remember in their childhood OF ouddling and
comforting u doll, and unconscously learned
to make and manage the dresses of their pets,
and often prescribed medicines for fear their
dolls would be liable to colds.
At one period the manufacture of dolls was
almost limited to the Netherlands. These
old Dutch babies, rs they were called, wero
made of wood, with faces of plaster of paris,
rudely painted, tho cheaper kind having arms
aud legs of wood. Within tho last forty
years the manufacture has greatly improved
and largo numbers of dolls are made in tho
United States. Still there are largo importa
tions from France, Germany, Switzerland
and the Tyrol. There are many sorts of
dolls-wooden, gutta pcrcha, sewed, waNen,
&c. The prices range according to these
classes the first being by far the cheapest, as
also the most ordinary. In fact, the price
can easily be run up to almost
any extent. A few years ago u doll
was for sale IN New York, dressed III
white silk-the cost of the robe being Sl5.
1t had on u corset and hustle, and three
embroidered skirts. 1t had stockings of silk
and exquisite shoes. 1t had u shawl worth
$25, a handkerchief worth 80, u fan that
was a miracle Of elegance, lace covered
paraso, aud gold chain about its neck.
| The eyes would move and wink ut pleasure.
| The price was $50.
A vast number of gutta percha aud India
rubber dolls are made in the United States.
Some of these preserving the natural dark
color, are in considerable request among
| girls "of African descent" but tho great
number of these gum dolls are painted.
Dolls eyes constitute curious and difficult
department. of dol-mnkng. They are two
kinds-the cheap and the costly, The cheaper
dolls eyes are simply small hollow glass
beads or spheres, made of white enamel, and
colored black or blue, without any attempt ut
variety or effect. The better kind of ey s,
called natural eyes" by the Makers are made
in the same manner SO far as concerns the
glass or enamel, but the iris is represented by
a painted or stained ring The introduction
of wires and mechanism, to make the eyes
move or wink, was great improvement.
speaking doll was invented by London
workman, who, after nine years of expert
mental trial and failure, succeeded in making
his doll utter two favorite words, "mamma"
and "papa." One of these dolls was sent to
st. Petersburg, where there is a sort of mania
| for mechanical curiosties When the doll
arrived in st. Petersburg it was discovered
that, having been injured on the way, it had
lost its speech 1t was placed in the hands
of an ingenious Russian doll-maker, but 1t
was beyond his powers to make it speak. So,
at enormous expense, the English inventor
was engaged to proceed to st. Petersburg and
repair his work.
In the worlds fair of 1851, held in London,
there were several doll stalls. Madam Monta-
niri eclipscd all competitors, and was specially
mentioned by the jury, rs follows: 1T CON
sists of IA series of dolls, representing all ages,
from infancy to womanhood, arranged IN
several family groups, with suitable and ele-
CANT model furniture. These dolls have the
hair, eye lasles and eye lids separately in
serted in the wax, and are in other respects
modelled with life-like truthfulness. Much
skill is also cvinced in the variety of express
sion which is given to tho figures, in regard
to the ages and stations which they are in
tended to represent" ~ ,.,r.