Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1901-02-23
FACTS ABOUT DOLLS.
CAUSE OF THE ORIGIN OF THE WAX
AND CHINA VARIETIES.

4
Models of Costly Dresses and in the
| Seventeenth Century Were What
Fashion Papers Are To-day.
The origin of the word doh is curl
| Gus. Centuries ago, when saints names
were much in vogue for children, st.
| DOrothca was the most popular, and
| her name the best and luciicst 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 APP
| pears in The Gcntlcman's Magazine for
| September 1TJ1, in the following:
Several dolls with different dresses,
made in st. James street, have been
sent to the cZarina to show the manner
of dressing at present in fashion among
| English ladies'"
Previous to this the word used to
describe the favorite plaything of all
| girls in all countries and in all ages
was 'baby," which is to be found,
together with 'pOppct," or ''puppct,"
in this sense in the works of most of
the earlier writer's.
The wax and china doll originated
in the middle of the seventeenth CEN
| fury. There were no fashion papers
as now and in order to show what was
| being worn on the continent dolls were
| beautifully ard extensively dressed
and sent to the various European cOun-
| tries, and from the model 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.
Thuringia is the land where most
dolls are born-puppetland, as it is call
ed on this account. About 200 years
ago most of the dolls were made in
Flanders, and they We're 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 800 men, women and
| children being employed. To make
one talking doll requires the joint labor
of 80 men. Dolls eyes are made in I'M
dcrground rooms, into which the sun
light rarely peeps, and violet orbs are
the most difficult to 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 real human
| hair used.
In Il doll factory are wood carvers,
hcadmakers, leg and arm makers, eye
makers, portrait artists, hairdresscrs,
doll sewers and doll suffers; also
small army of fashionable dressmakers
and millincrs.
The Hindoo child is probably the
only doll-leSs child in the world. 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-
pcctation that thclr spirit forms would
rise and do service in another world.
The paradise of dolls is Japan, where
they are most deliberately and gor-
geously attircd affairs. SO are the dolls
of KiOtO-''gcnroku," as they are call
ed. They are often valuable wood
carvings, enamcled in colors or statu-
cites of great artistic merit.
One of the most interesting collcc-
tons of dolls in this country is that
belonging to the bureau of ethnology,
Washington. They are dolls of the Uni
| Indians of Arizona and are made from
the roots or subtcrrancan branches of
the cottonwood tree, whitfield out with
knives. They are decorated bright red,
yellow, green and represent the gods of
the tribc-thc god of the snow, the god
that eats up the rainclOuds, The fire
goa. the sun god and the corn goddess.
as other children do. Any one who
goes into Il Uni habitatiOn is certain to
see row of these dolls suspended
from the ceiling. When not in use,
they are hung up until wanted.
La Infantla is a doll with n history.
1t is made of clay and is considered by
its owner, a Mexican lady, and by
hosts of other persons to be n worker
of miracles, and quantities of costly
gifts are constantly offered to it. A
room in the house of its owner is set
aside for its exclusive use. Here it re-
clincs in canopy bed of solid silver
1t has beautiful dresses and rich jew
elry, valued at thousands of dollars.
Among its latest gifts is a magnificent
piano, which is played upon by those
who visit the doll, as part of the serv-
ice of adoration.-New York Sun.
Quasi Relationship.
| In Franklin county the other day n