Layette pincushion in the form of a baby doll made in the UK in 1826

Layette pincushion in the form of a doll, representing a Caucasian baby with black curls and blue eyes, dressed in long clothes. The shoulder head is of moulded, painted and varnished papier-mâché. The body is dressed in a long gown of ivory-coloured satin, trimmed with lace robings and edgings and padded to form the pin cushion. The wrist-length sleeves are finished with ivory-coloured satin 'hands', and the skirt is closed with a circle of vellum. The sleeves are stuck with single pins to form a spot pattern, and the skirt with groups of three pins forming trefoil motifs; the skirt front bears the phrase 'Welcome Welcome Little Stranger' and the back the date 'Decr [December] 13th 1826', also picked out in pins.

Bought at Christie's (South Kensington) sale of Dolls, Dolls Houses and Soft Toys 24/03/1988

The doll’s head is of moulded, painted and varnished papier-mâché - pulverised paper bound with an adhesive. The body is padded to form a pincushion. The skirt front bears the phrase ‘Welcome Welcome Little Stranger’ and the back the date ‘Decr [December] 13th 1826’, picked out in pins. The use of the phrase ‘a little stranger’ to mean a new baby was already in humorous use in the English language by the early years of the 19th century. As the century progressed, it became particularly popular as part of the phrase ‘expecting a little stranger’ - a euphemism for pregnancy, replacing even more obscure phrases such as ‘spraining an ankle’.

MISC.62-1988