Evening star., 1901-12-07
A Happy Possession Nowadays to
Critical Owners.
some ARE HISTORIC And FAMOUS
But the Latest Novelty is the
Bread-Winning Throng.
FINE HOMES AND CLOTHES

hIAAhfh loi Iut Evening StaT
To possess an heirloom doll is the present
ambition Of the little up-to-date girl; 1t
is the distinction for her that the title %
Colonial Dame is for her mother.
At a recent doll sale under the manage
ment of famous artists, precocious little
girl. who had been brought there 10y her
maid to make her own selection OF a
Christmas doll looked rather contempti-
opsly at small copies OF fashionable hu-
manity on view. After passing several
tables without showing any delight she
halted in palm-decorated corner where
dolls in carriage costume were seated in
tandem carts and automobiles or. in smart
riding habit with little whip in hand. SEEM
ed TO be waiting for horse and groom.
Where are the old dolls? she asked OF
one of the patronesses In charge. "Cornelia
Van Throop says that every well-born girl
should have an heirloom doll. and I want
to buy one. Please tell me If children al
ways-long ago-had dolls?"
The person questioned was not Informed
on the subject Of dolls beyond those she
had to sell. But I'm the group around the
table was a Boston woman who sympa-
thized with a thirst for Information So
she invited the quaint little girl to a seat
beside her and told the story Of ''old dolls
An Old Doll Tale.
mo one can tell" she said. who was
the first child to play with dolls. but it is
probable that children in Moses time pos
sessed those delights. for lying in Egyptian
tombs. beside the little mummies there,
tiny limitations Of them have been found
believed to have been placed by loving
mothers near the baby hands that had
played with them in life.
Dolls were carried from Holland into
Britain many centuries ago, though they
were very different from the almost human
little personages you see about you here.
Then from Britain to America, more than
one hundred years ago, came a very beau
tiful doll maiden, which is still i'm existence.
When she made her appearance i'm Boston
in 1773 she wore the splendid court dress
of the time-a gown of rich brocade. stand
ing out stiff and grand over large hoop.
and on her head cap with curling ostrich
plumes. She looked so irresistibly pretty
standing in the window of a shop on Corn
hill, where English goods were sold. she
soon found purchaser and made the
Christmas happiness of Boston child.
When Toys Were Rare.
'In that olden time toys were too rare
to be quickly cast aside; so, thirty years
later, Polly came into the possession ofa new
generation, looking quite fresh and young
in dress OF the period-a blue merino
gown. pantalettes and white open-worked
stockings
"In still later years the grandchildren OF
her first young owner claimed her, and
treated her with great respect and venera-
ton. They loved her too, though she had
lost legs and arms and all her color. Quite
recently she was sent to a doll hospital.
where her missing members, originally OF
English oak We're replaced with limbs OF
kid and cloth. Now, dressed in QuakereSS
attire, which is most becoming to her age
of one hundred and twenty-eight years.
Miss Polly Summer rests in retirement,
never venturing forth except for the BEN
eft of church fairs or doll shows.
Aged a Hundred and Seventy-Seyen.
But the oldest doll in the United States
is Mehitable Hodges. who was brought
from France to be the playmate of a little
Salem girl one hundred and seventy-seven
years ago; she still wears the original pink
silk gown made in the fashion of the time
of Louis XIV"
How / wish [ could have my grand
mamma s dolls' was the plaintive apprecia-
tion that was the reward for the story of
historic dolls.
Queens Rag Doll.
The pet OF Queen Victorias childhood
was a rag doll, and this old fashion has
come back. The rag doll of today some
times resembles its prototype in costume
a gingham gown and Slated sunbonnet-
but the face is so artistically painted and
lie lOIDl Is 80 SA the royal rag
doll is quite surpassed. Moreover there are
rag dolls this season which have raised
features modelled as perfectly as those Of
a bisque doll and baby dolls are made after
the measurement of a five-months-old
child. Their lifelike appearance, combined
with their indestructibility, makes them
exceedingly popular.
The Bread Winners.
The latest novelties in dolls are both
pretty and sensible. They are cooks,
gardeners, housemaids and other bread
winners each in box with a suitable
outfit. The housemaid has cap and apron,
duster, dustpan and pail; cook has -four
barrel, stove and fascinating utensils; the
laundress is provided with tubs, Clothes
horse, pegs and ropes; the gardener has
seeds and tools; the dressmaker has q doh
and all the necessary paper patterns, cot
ton and scissors: the nurse has a portable
bed and medicines.
Have Mansions, Too.
And for homes these charming dolls have
mansions in colonial style. which are three
stories in height, have an upper balcony,
supported by the pillars of the front porch,
stairways with broad landings, and the
corner cupboards that our ancestors con-
sidered so essential to comfort; but they
have the modern addition of electric bells
and lights. ALETHE LOWBER CRAIG.
Lace and Fur.