Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-04-05
About Dolls.

ABOUT DOilss
The origin of the word doll is Curl
GUS. Centuries ago, when saints
names were much in vogue for chill
dren, st. Dorothea was the most popu-
lar, and her name the best and luck
lest that could be given to a little girl.
The nickname was Dolly, or Doll, and
from giving babies the nickname, it
was an easy step to pass it on to the
little images of which the babies were
so fond
The word doll is not found in COM
mon use in our language until the
middle of the eighteenth century, and
as far as can be discovered. first ap-
pears in the Gentleman's Magazine for
September, 1851, in the following:
Several dolls, with different dresses,
made in st. James street, have been
sent to the czarina, to show the man
ner Of dressing at present in fashion
among English ladies'"
Previous to this the word used to
describe the favorite plaything of III!
girls in all countries and in all ages
Was baby" which is to be found, to-
eether with ''poppet," or ''puppet," in
this sense in the works Of most of the
earlier writers.
The wax and china doll originated
in the middle Of the seventeenth CEN
tury. There were no ladies' fashion
papers as now. and in order to show
what was being worn on the continent
dolls were beautifully and expensively
dressed and sent to the various Euro
pean countries. and from the models
orders were taken. The dolls, to show
Off their costly garb, must be made of
more precious stuff than wood, so wax
and china and even ivory ones were
made.
Thuringa is the land where most
dolls are born-puppetland, it is called
on this account About 200 years ago
most of the dolls were made in Elan
ders, and they were called, not dolls,
but Flanders babies. There used to
be an old English couplet which ran
thus:
The children of Holland take pleasure
in making
What the children of England take
pleasure in breaking.
At one European doll factory Of the
present day 100000 dolls are produced
annually, some 500 men, women and
children being employed. To make one
talking doll requires the joint labor
of thirty men. Dolls eyes are made
in underground rooms, into which the
sunlight rarely peeps, and violet orbs
are the most difficult color. There is
one town in Germany where three
fourths OF all the dolls eyes in the
world are made. Only in the case of
the most expensive dolls is human hair
used In a doll factory are wood
carvers, headmakers, leg and arm
makers, eyemakers. portrait artists,
hair dressers, doll sewers and doll
suffers, also a small army of fashion
able dressmakers and milliners.
The Hindu child is probably the only
doll-less child in the universe. The
little Egyptians have their wooden
"Ushabti"-the same in style as 1000
years ago. These were sometimes made
of porcelain. When child died its
dolls were buried with it, in the ex-
pectation that their spirit forms would
rise and do service in another world.
The paradise of dolls is Japan, where
they are most elaborately and gorge
ously attired affairs; SO are the dolls
of genroku," as they are
called. They are often valuable wood
carvings, enameled in colors, or statu-
cites of great artistic merit.
One of the most interesting collec-
tion of dolls in this country is that be-
longing to the bureau of ethnology,
Washington. They are dolls of the
Zuni Indians Of Arizona, and are made
from the roots or subterranean
branches of the cottonwood tree, being
whitfield out with knives; they are
decorated bright red, yellow, green and
represent the gods of the tribe-the
god OF the snow; the god that eats
up the rain clouds; the fire god; the
sun god and the corn goddess. The
Zani children play with these dolls as
other children do Any one who goes
into a Zani habitation is certain to see
a row of these dolls suspended from
the ceiling-not being in use they are
hung up until wanted.
La lnlantlla If doll WIN n history.
1t is made of clay and is considered by
it's owner-a Mexican lady-and by
hosts of other people. to be a worker
of miracles, and quantities of costly
gifts are constantly being offered to it.
A room in the house of its owner is
set aside for its exclusive use; here
it reclines in a canopied bed of solid
silver; it has beautiful tresses and
rich jewelry, valued at thousands Of
dollars. Among its latest gifts is
magnificent Iiauo, which is played by