Author: Charles

Above are three clergy clothespins: a priest holding a wafer and a cup, a monk carrying hymns and a nun carrying a rosary. A foil is cut out of paper and glued to one On the other hand I glued a small plastic communion cup filled with colored wine paint. This was cut from the inside of a recycled plastic egg carton. Since the Catholic clergy wear customs/uniforms, they are easier to identify than the mostly Protestant ones. Here I have provided some simple representations of this church for children who would like to include them in their play or […]

Astrid, dressed as a grandmother, lives in a small wooden house near the Hardanger Fjord in Norway. Throughout the long winter Grandma dressed up dolls to sell to tourists next summer. She enjoyed sewing with Astrid because she thought the doll looked like her grandson Borghild, who lives with her. Grandma cut Astrid’s black woolen skirt with red braid and tied her red woolen stockings. She sewed colored beads on Astrid’s bodice and hat. The beads sparkle like Christmas tree ornaments.

Gosbo is from Lapland, that arid country that stretches across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. There the winter is long and cold, with twinkling stars and a pale moon of light. Few Lap Kids have dolls quite as good as Gospo.

These dolls from Hungary are colored like peacocks. The two boys, István and Ferry, wear red shoes. Their aprons are decorated with lace and brightly embroidered. Each boy’s jacket sparkles with gold braid and glittery buttons. They both wear feathers and red roses in their hats. Really, there’s enough fabric in their oversized sleeves to make dresses for little dolls. Their accordion-pleated trousers are as wide as skirts. Maria Theresa was named after a famous Hungarian queen. The wonderful thing about her method The dressing is that she wears eight petticoats. Young girls often wear a larger number. These dolls […]

Alexander and Helen from Greece. They came to this country to represent Greek dolls at the Century of Progress Exposition held in Chicago in 1933 and 1934. When the sun’s rays hit Helen’s shiny costume, the shimmering colors shine like sunlight on the sea. Costumes like this are worn by women who live near the Mediterranean. Alexander is dressed like members of the royal guard. In Scotland his pleated skirt was called a petticoat, but in Greece it is called a “fastanella”.

Freddy Schoenhot is of German descent, although he himself is American. Sad to say, even though Freddy is a handsome boy, he’s kind of a cape. Perhaps this was only expected, since his head was made from a solid block of wood.

All Japanese love flowers. Girls are taught how to arrange flowers at school, where every girl must know the art of flower arrangement before becoming a bride. The Japanese have rules for arranging flowers, just as we have rules for playing games. One of the rules is that the tallest flower in the bowl or vase symbolizes heaven, and the shorter, the earth, and the medium-sized sprinkler, the man. Little Japanese girls sometimes try to teach their dolls how to arrange flowers. Nellie, a flower arrangement doll, was given to an American girl, the daughter of an American missionary living […]

No country in the world honors puppets more than Japan, where a puppet festival has been held every year for over a thousand years. The festival lasts three days. It starts on the third day of the third month. This is the third of March in our calendar. The Doll Festival is the happiest time of the year for Japanese girls. Then the festival puppets are shown. Then the girls put on their best clothes and serve the dolls and adults as if they themselves were adult hosts in their homes. That’s when the shops are filled with Festival Dolls […]

Olga’s mother lived in Russia when she was a girl. Olga has never been to Russia, but she enjoys Russian stories. Every day or so she comes to her mother and coaxes a story. Last winter when Olga got mumps, her mother was busy telling Russian stories. “Olga,” said the mother at great length, “if you’ll give me a break from storytelling long enough for me to do a little shopping, I’ll surprise you with something.” “What will be the surprise?” Olga wanted to know. Her mother replied, “As if I could tell you and be surprised.” Olga was very […]

This is Clara with blue eyes and blond hair. Like some other lucky dolls, Clara has a chest full of pretty things. She has a black velvet coat, a fur-trimmed hood, a white fur coat and hat, a black fur coat, a raincoat and an umbrella. She has a pink dress with ruffles on the shoulders. This dress is decorated with white lace and blue ribbon bows. She has a pale blue dial watch to wear when she is wearing a pink dress and a pink purse by her side. She has a blue dress, a red dress, and the […]