The Savannah morning news., 1900-09-23
RAG DOLLS AND THEIR MAKERS.
An Appropriate Employment for
Women

From the New York Post
There Is a certain appropriateness IN a
woman's entering into the business % 30 J.
manufacture Memories % her childhood
DAYS will tell her how best 20 please and
attract the small peTsons for whom her
wares are intended. This "a more than
ever true when % comes 20 the making
OF so-callcd rag dolls. which are, in real
sy not rag dolls az all bus dolls made
entirely from top 90 toe Of q very COOL
quality of muslin. and warranted 20 out
wear many moro expensive dol be-
cause OF the lasting qualities Of their ma
tcrlal Several establishments for tho
manufacture OF these dolls are now being
managed by women Ga different parts 81
the country. But the most interesting
OF these. since 81 was the first iu che field.
g. that carried on by two young women IL
Brooklyn
Some six years ago one 81 the managers
OF the present establishment conceived the
idea % making cloth dolls for a church
fair They We're altogether = success and
found numbers OF eager purchasers There
were then no dolls Of the kind OF sale
IN che shops. and the experiment which
had proved so successful on small
scale gave promise Of larger profits. From
80 small beginning. the originators OF
this rog doll have seen the business grow
until the dolls are now found IN all parts
OF the country. Large orders are received
from the West and South. and competing
firms have sprung up. which turn out
dolls thas are largely patterned after
those Of the BROOKLYN make.
Women are employed almost exclusively
also In the various processes OF mauufac-
ture. There Is very little machine work
used in tho BROOKLYN shop The cutting.
however. Is done by machinery. ana IL Is
a curious sight 90 see the neatly stacked
piles OF fiattened-out arms. legs and bod
les. just as they have issued from tho cut
ters. The dolls never leave the work
rooms undresscd. Yet that they may make
their apps arance Ia the showroom. or on
the counter for which they are destined.
in fresh or spoflcss attire. no doll Is
clothed until she is ordered from the fac
tory. Consequently the work-rooms dis
play shelf after shelf Of closely packed
articles Of dolls apparel. and the piles
OF small bonnets and dresses would doubt
less nIl childish beholdcr with ecstasy.
Somewhat gruesCme. though. Is the as
pect OF the big bin where thc dolls them
selves are stacked. In the dim light, the
heap Of white limbs aud slender bodies.
falling over one another Ia every imagin-
able attitude forcihly recall the prophets
vision OF the valley OF bones. At this
time or inc year TOYS or All kihnf are
less "a demand than at any other. aud the
hin now hut half full. Will be FILLED 10 the
top as the Christmas season approaches.
The most interesting part OF the making
OF these doth dolls Is the putting OF and
the nolnting ~ the face The faces are
painted on the finest OF white muslin
his work. as also the stitching OF che
dresses. may he taken away from the
workrooms. one woman employed by tho
Brooklyn house has become an expert al
doing the faces. and has supported her
self for some time by that means. re.
fore the painted cloth IL put on. queer IT.
lie pads. covered with pink muslin. are
fastened 10 the head 10 give the Well
rounded checks and the slight pinkish
tlnge 60 the implanted parts OF the face
over this the face Is pinned IN the cheap
or dolls or sewed In the more expensive
ones. Cotton batting Is used here ex.
ciusively for stufiiug the dolls, although
snwdust or excelsior Is preferred by some
firms as less extensive.
The work required 81 making the dolls
is neat aud by no means difficult. and a
large number Of girls and women have
been enabled to find employment IN this
way We are told that a slightly differ
ent kind OF cloth doll i made abroad. bat
"a has not yet reached tho degree OF excel
lence TO which the American women have
brought their invention