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The Family Dolls

As a little girl on a remote ranch in south Texas, I became intrigued with the old dolls that my aunt kept wrapped up in their own blankets in her trunk. As an adult I remembered those dolls when I heard the Robert Service poem, “Dolls.” The dolls now reside in my trunk still wrapped in their blankets.

Dolls

by Robert Service

She said: "I am too old to play
With dolls," and put them all away,
Into a box, one rainy day.

I think she must have felt some pain,
She looked so long into the rain,
Then sighed: "I'll bring you out again;

"For I'll have little children too,
With sunny hair and eyes of blue
And they will play and play with you.

"And now good-bye, my pretty dears;
There in the dark for years and years,
Dream of your little mother's tears."

Eglantine, Pierrot and Marie Claire,
Topsy and Tiny and Teddy Bear,
Side by side in the coffer there.

Time went by; one day she kneeled
By a wooden Cross in Flanders Field,
And wept for the One the earth concealed;

And made a vow she would never wed,
But always be true to the deathless dead,
Until the span of her life be sped.

More years went on and they made her wise
By sickness and pain and sacrifice,
With greying tresses and tired eyes.

And then one evening of weary rain,
She opened the old oak box again,
And her heart was clutched with an ancient pain

For there in the quiet dark they lay,
Just as they were when she put them away...
O but it seemed like yesterday!

Topsy and Tiny and Teddy Bear,
Eglantine, Pierrot and Marie Claire,
Ever so hopefully waiting there.

But she looked at them through her blinding tears,
And she said: "You've been patient, my pretty dears;
You've waited and waited all these years.

"I've broken a promise I made so true;
But my heart, my darlings, is broken too:
No little Mothers have I for you.

"My hands are withered, my hair is grey;
Yet just for a moment I'll try to play
With you as I did that long dead day...

"Ah no, I cannot. I try in vain . . .
I stare and I stare into the rain . . .
I'll put you back in your box again.

"Bless you, darlings, perhaps one day,
Some little Mother will find you and play,
And once again you'll be glad and gay.

"But when in the friendly dark I lie,
No one will ever love you as I . . . .
My little children . . . good-bye . . . good-bye."

Back row: Becky, William, Clemmie;
middle row: Frances, Larkin, Belle, Vina; front row: Rosie, Charlie

This photo above continues to be a favorite of mine. Clemmie, standing in the back row, is my grandmother. Her mother died when she was two years old leaving her to be raised by her mother’s sister, Belle, seated holding the baby. At marrying age, Clemmie and her cousin William (standing beside her) married a brother and sister and this always confused me but may have been the spark the ignited my love for genealogy. My Great Uncle William would always tell me that he was my Double Great Uncle just to try and confuse me and to stress that he was two times better than my other uncles.

China Doll

This is the doll that my aunt always showed to me when I was a little girl. As you can see this doll is wearing a “home-made” suit with black velvet cuffs and collar. If you compare the head of this doll and the head of the doll held by Rosie in the group photo, the heads look much the same. The bodies are different. Perhaps the body was replaced because the cloth became dirty or worn from play. I had always assumed that this was my aunt’s doll but after research I think that she belonged to someone in another generation.

The heads of china dolls are of glazed bisque, thus the shiny appearance. The hair and eyes are painted. This type of china doll usually has a cloth or leather body. This type of doll, produced from the 1830’s until about 1930. Many of the dolls were made in Germany.

The dolls are identified by their molded hairstyles. The covered wagon style has hair flat on top and sausage curls around the head, 1840’s. The Alice in Wonderland sports a molded headband, 1850’s. The Dolly Madison, I think this describes the shown doll, has curls all over her head.

Bisque Doll

My aunt has a note pinned to this doll’s dress stating this was her first and only doll given to her by Frances. Frances is the girl on the left side of the group photo.

This type of bisque doll was born around in the 1880’s. They had molded or real hair, many times the hair was human hair. They could open and close their eyes and had a partial open mouth with teeth. This doll has molded legs, hands and feet. Her dress is now a faded pink and the material is very fragile. Her shoes and socks are just precious.

Bisque Doll

This little bisque doll does need clothes but she does show how the bodies of these dolls looked. She is bisque with molded hair, arms, legs and shoes. You can see that her shoes are painted and there is a blue line to indicate the top of her socks. She has the Dolly Madison hair style with painted eyes, brows, mouth and tinted cheeks. This doll has her own blanket but I don’t know the name of her little mother or her story.

Linda Kirkpatrick and the Tiny Tears Doll

I remember when this photo was made. For some reason I was being my usual obstinate self about having my photo made (funny but I think that photographer Jeri Dobrowski would agree that this has followed me all these years). I finally gave up and stood there with the doll that belonged to the photographer’s daughter. I am not sure that I even had a doll at that time. I do remember that my dress was pink and the doll had on green. This Tiny Tears doll appears to have on a home-made crocheted cap and sweater.

Linda Kirkpatrick and the Saucy Walker Doll

Here is the prize. My Saucy Walker doll and my yellow cowboy boots with red stitching. This was Christmas 1951. Again I remember opening the doll and then crawling under the tree to find the boots. I wonder if that doll could ride?

(Thanks to Cindy at Vintage Dream Dolls for helping identify the Tiny Tears and Saucy Walker Dolls.)

Linda Kirkpatrick has shared other interesting Picture the West photos:

Photos and a story about the wild hogs of Frio Canyon in Texas Hill Country

Sheep and goat ranching photos from the 1950s and later

1930s photos from her Texas hometown's history

A 1905 family photo, Texas Ranger family history and contemporary photos

A 1930s-era photo of cowboy polo team