Doll, carved wood, dressed as a baby

Doll, carved wood with gesso and paint, inset glass lozenge eyes. Bald head, made to represent a baby. Forked hands on cloth arms and one-piece straight lower legs jointed at hip. Wearing a cream silk baby gown open down the front with pleating at the back, over a lace-edged shift, a linen bodice, cream wool flannel petticoats, linen petticoat (all of which are open from waist down, enabling easy access to lower region.) Pink mittens, lace-edged scarf around neck, fabric pinned around head and lace-edged cap on top.

Historical significance: This is an extremely rare example of an eighteenth century wooden doll made to represent a baby. The majority of surviving 18th century wooden dolls appear to represent adults in fashionable dress, making this doll - which is constructed in the same manner, apart from having short one-piece legs which do not bend at the knee, shorter arms, and a less finely defined body - an extremely unusual survival. Although dolls were frequently described as "babies" throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, dolls deliberately made to represent babies did not become widespread until the mid-nineteenth century.
- Daniel Milford-Cottam

W.42:8-1922