Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-10-25
RARE AND CURIOUS DOLLS.

Who was the first child that ever
played with a doll? For though dolls
always bear a resemblance in dress
to the nation they hail from and in
disposition are facsimiles of their
owners some little girl must have been
the possessor of the first doll, and
many tiny sarcophagus in Egypt re-
veals pathetic children mummies by
whose side rest little limitations OF
themselves.
Among the wild Indians Of our
country are found quaint ivory dolls
carved from walrus tuslis, with eyes
nose and mouth of black enamel. They
are stiff in their joints, but as the
children prefer them in the sitting
posture this makes no difference, and
if white teeth show and black hair is
stuck in the holes in the top of the
head the little Esquimau girl is de.
kghted and prefers the doll to a Paris
creation.
One of the most curious collections
OF dolls in the world has been arrang.
el in the Peabody museum at Har-
verd. These figures are carved out OF
the root Of the cottonwood tree by the
Mok6 indians of New Mexico and
were collected by the late Frank Cush.
ing, who attended the sacred dances
and ceremonials in which they were
used. AS they were made for religious
ceremonies, the dolls are painted to
represent nature in her various
phases-thunder, lightning, the sun.
moon and stars-and the dolls are
cared for by the Indian children as
50 mnay sacred relics and are care
fully hung in rows on the tepee walls
when not in use. 1t is curious to note
in this connection that the dolls in
Java also represent neurological char
acters and the children are taught
history in this manner.
Bnt it is to Japan one must turn to
see the doll in all its glory, for this
country might be called the land OF
dolls. Here the shops are, before the
Feast of Hina Matsuri, or the Feast OF
Dolls, are filled with dolls of all sorts
and conditions, and when a daughter
is born two of these dolls are pur-
chased for her. These hina are dress,
ed to represent nobility, and the Mi
kado and his suite appear in rich and
royal robes. On the Matsuri all the
family Join in the festivities, and
from the grandmother down each fe-
male brings her dolls, which are dis
played in all their glory. A great
feast is prepared for them, and the
house is decorated with fragrant ap-
pie blossoms.
Though we associate Japan and
China together as regards traditions
and customs, strange to say there the
few dolls in China. AS to Europe,
they are supposed to be of recent orr
gin, going from Holland to Great
britain. IduCc Call udIc lcI lC'C loi
dolls to the time when an italian took
images of court ladies to the court OF
Charles VI The king ordered some,
and as a result the new plaything be-
came all the rage.
Today France and Germany make
the most dolls, though there are i'm
ages of darning cotton, clothes pins
and tin which seem essentially Amer
lean. In the doll factor 6 every kind
is represented. from th maronettas
OF Italy to Sisters of Charity, Quak
ers, negroes. French clowns, Tyrolesa
peasants and Turkish merchants.
France and Switzerland make dolls
by the hundreds of thousands and it
is considered one of the most profit
able industries of these countries.
So far we have not in America the
proficiency of our German friends,
whose whole villages are interested
in the manufacture of dolls, each