Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Artifact of the Week: Frozen Charlotte Doll

cold charlotte dolls

The condition of a Frozen Charlotte doll plays a crucial role in determining its value. Collectors prefer dolls that are in excellent condition with minimal damage, such as chips, cracks, or paint loss. Or course, given that they are largely excavated finds, many are just torsos, or heads, or even just limbs. If you’re buying one or two, or perhaps just a head, the price is achievable. But if you want to create a collection, be prepared to spend $100 at a minimum.

The Child-Eating Bloodsucker of Aboriginal Australian Nightmares

cold charlotte dolls

For those among us with this fear towards porcelain dolls, the Frozen Charlotte may be the most unsettling of all. A Frozen Charlotte is a petite porcelain baby, standing anywhere from 1″ to 18″ tall. These dolls are usually made from unglazed porcelain, bisque, or China. They have a matte, ivory-colored finish, which sets them apart from glossy porcelain dolls.

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One indeed finds many occurrences of the phrase “Frozen Charlotte” in 19th-century newspapers, magazines, and books, but these invariably refer to the dessert (and sometimes to the ballad) and not to a doll. An origin-story for the dessert based on “A Corpse Going to a Ball” is simply unnecessary. The Frozen Charlotte doll is made in the form of a standing, naked figure molded as a solid piece. The dolls are also sometimes described as pillar dolls, solid chinas, or bathing babies.

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American Girl Charlotte, NC Store

Her father liked to see her dressed, Just like some city belle; She was the only child he had, He loved his daughter well. Her hair was black as raven’s wings, Her skin was lily fair, And her teeth were like the pearls of white, None with her could compare. Read how “Frozen Charlotte” dolls were not called by that name until the mid-20th century in The True Story of Frozen Charlotte Dolls. Frozen Charlotte dolls were an affordable luxury for 19th-century Americans. In 1886, Americans could buy a dozen of the larger, 4-inch dolls for just 39 cents. By ignoring her mother and prioritizing fashion over her health, Charlotte caused her own end.

Frozen Charlotte dolls were popular in the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mostly manufactured in Germany, they were produced in a variety of sizes ranging from less than an inch tall to over a foot and a half long. The size of the doll is often a good indicator as to its intended purpose.

Frozen Charlotte Dolls: Tiny Treasures of History

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Larger examples were often used in the manner of a traditional doll, as a plaything. Some were even designed to be brought into the bath with a child as they could float on their backs and would not be damaged by water. Smaller sizes were commonly inserted into cakes or puddings as charms, in much the same fashion as a Mardi Gras king cake which traditionally has a baby figurine hidden inside; to find it afforded the discoverer promises of future prosperity. Although we have evidence that 19th-century Americans (and others) sometimes placed penny dolls (and other items) into cakes, there’s no evidence that they ever considered these objects as symbols of frozen women. Many people find porcelain dolls, in particular, to be eerie or creepy. Despite their treasured status amongst doll collectors, the stiff but uncannily human features of these dolls are often likened to corpses.

Antique Q&A: Frozen Charlotte Dolls

cold charlotte dolls

During the course of the internship, the intern will take a leading role in the cataloging, sorting and storing of research files and creating user guides for these collections. Center staff will instruct the intern on archival procedures, computer cataloging, storage requirements, and preventative conservation. Nothing is more charming and delightful to collect than those little dolls that were mass-produced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For an accurate and professional assessment of a Frozen Charlotte doll’s value, consider consulting with antique doll experts or appraisers who specialize in this niche.

And in order to understand how the doll was so dubbed, you have to know something about the doll and legend on which its name is based. Frozen Charlotte dolls were popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. Smaller versions of the dolls were also known as penny dolls because they were often sold for a cent. These dolls were called badekinder or “bathing dolls,” because they could be completely submerged in water and given a bath.

Creepy porcelain dolls named Frozen Charlotte were sold in tiny caskets and baked into cakes

Design vignettes with a Victorian flair, placing Frozen Charlotte dolls alongside other nostalgic items like vintage books, keys, or shoe forms. Create captivating displays in a curio cabinet or glass display case, protecting the dolls while providing a charming and visually captivating arrangement. Transform Frozen Charlotte dolls into unique pieces of jewelry or accessories.

Their popularity soared in Britain and America, where they were baked into cake as a nice (or not so nice, depending on your tolerance for creepy little porcelain girls) surprise for kids. The song was itself based on a poem by American writer Seba Smith, who first published the poem in a Maine newspaper in 1843. His poem was in turn inspired by an account published in a New York newspaper in 1840 detailing just such an incident. The doll's coloration is sometimes believed to be a reflection of the young lady's frosty demise. All mentions of these dolls from the time period call them “penny dolls,” not “Frozen Charlottes.” So when did the name we use today actually become connected to these little porcelain dolls?

The smallest dolls were sometimes used as charms in Christmas puddings. Occasionally, versions are seen with a glazed china front and an unglazed stoneware back. This enabled the doll to float on its back when placed in a bath.

Not long after this complaining she said that she felt perfectly comfortably, was now quite warm, and that there was no necessity of delay on her account. They reached, at length, the house where the company were gathering; the young man leaped from the sleigh, and extended his hand to assist her, but she answered not; she was dead – stone dead – frozen stiff – a corpse on the way to the ball. These inexpensive fixed-joint dolls, generally known in the 19th century as “penny dolls” and now commonly known as “Frozen Charlottes,” acquired the legend-based name long after the 19th century had ended.

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