Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

EATON'S SPECIAL

Date

1923

Materials

BISQUE, COMPOSITE, COTTON & SILK

No. Pieces

2

Length

50.8

Description

COSTUMED DOLL WITH BLUE GLASS SLEEP EYES, BISQUE HEAD, OPEN MOUTH (4 TEETH), LIGHT BROWN FLAX WIG. ARTICULATED BALL JOINTED COMPOSITION - WOOD BODY AND LIMBS. COSTUME INCLUDES SILK HAT WITH WIRE BRIM, LINED WITH BADLY FADED BLUE COTTON; HAIR RIBBON; PALE YELLOW BLOUSE WITH BROWN AND WHITE WOVEN TRIM; PINAFORE DRESS, COTTON SLIP, SOCKS & STARCHED CLOTH SHOES. SMALL RIBBONS ON SOCKS, CLOTH FLOWERS ON TOES OF SHOES. UNDERCLOTHES TRIMMED WITH TATTED LACE 2 DECORATIVE BUTTONS ON DRESS. "SFBJ PARIS MOLD #60" MARKED ON BACK UPPER NECK; "22D" AT TOP OF CROWN; SIZE #3. VARIOUS CHIPS, CRACKS EXANT ON HANDS & LEGS. PAINT FLAKING ON HANDS; SILK BLOUSE WORN AND TEARING IN PLACES.

Subjects

TOY

Historical Association

LEISURE

History

DONOR ACQUIRED DOLL IN 1923 AS CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM AUNT (JEAN SUMNER). DONOR STATES THAT DOLL "...WAS CALLED AN EATON BEAUTY DOLL." SHE ALSO SAYS IT CAME ONLY WITH A SLIP, SOCKS, & SHOES & THAT HER AUNT MADE THE COSTUME. SEE ALSO ATTACHED LETTER. MARKINGS INDICATE THAT DOLL IS FRENCH & THAT SIMILAR DOLLS WERE MARKETED AT THE TIME BY EATON'S AS "EATON'S SPECIAL". BEFORE JEAN MARRIED SHE WORKED IN THE WOOLEN MILL WHICH WAS LOCATED NEAR THE BRICK YARD ON THE NORTH SIDE. SHE LOST PART OF HER ARM JUST ABOVE HER ELBOW IN AN INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT IN THE LATE 19TEENS OR EARLY 1920S. SHE MARRIED JAMES SUMNER. AUNT JEAN MADE THE DOLL CLOTHING WITH THE USE OF ONLY ONE ARM. THE DRESS, HAT AND RIBBONS WERE PALE BLUE ORIGINALLY. THE SLIP WITH THE BUTTON CREATED UNDERWEAR WHEN THE BACK PART WAS DRAWN UP BETWEEN THE LEGS AND BUTTONED TOGETHER. IN 1900, EATON'S CREATED A SERIES OF DOLLS KNOWN TO MILLIONS AS EATON'S BEAUTY DOLLS. A DOLL WAS FEATURED EACH YEAR IN THE COMPANY'S FALL AND WINTER CATALOGUE, WHICH WAS DELIVERED TO HOMES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE EATON'S BEAUTY WAS THE DREAM OF MANY LITTLE GIRLS, WHO EAGERLY AWAITED THE ARRIVAL OF A NEW CATALOGUE. SOME OF THE EARLY COMPANIES WHO WERE ASKED TO CREATE AN EATON BEAUTY DOLL WERE ARMAND MARSEILLE, CUNO & OTTO DRESSEL, J D KESTNER, SCHOENAU & HOFFMEISTER, S.F.B.J. AND THE DOMINION TOY COMPANY. THE DOLL USUALLY WORE A CHEMISE OR A PRINCESS SLIP, AND SPORTED A RED RIBBON WITH GOLD LETTERING IDENTIFYING IT AS AN EATON'S BEAUTY. THE EARLY DOLLS, WHICH HAD LEATHER BODIES AND BISQUE SHOULDERHEADS, WERE REPLACED BY DOLLS WITH BISQUE HEADS AND BALL-JOINTED COMPOSITION BODIES. DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR, EUROPEAN DOLLS WERE NOT AVAILABLE, SO IN 1915 AND 1916 THE EATON'S BEAUTY WAS MADE BY THE DOMINION TOY MANUFACTURING COMPANY OF TORONTO. DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THE DOLL WAS ONCE AGAIN MADE IN CANADA, THIS TIME BY THE RELIABLE TOY COMPANY OF TORONTO. (Taken from www.civilization.ca)

Catalogue Number

P19910009000

Acquisition Date

1991-02

Collection

Museum

Less detail