Doll-A-Day 129: A Doll of my Own Making: Humpty Dumpty

As I told you yesterday, today's doll is one I made. He's Humpty Dumpty.

He fits in with Alice Week,since, in spite of what Ken thought,Alice encounters Humpty Dumpty sitting on his wall in Through the Looking Glass,

This Humpty is only 1 inch tall in his sitting position.

He's made of polymer clay, with wired arms and legs.That makes him poseable.

Humpty! Don't jump!

 
His hands are sculpted felt. His clothes are all cloth, except his boots, which are made of felt.

I like the way his eyes turned out. In fact, I like the way most of him turned out.

One thing I don't have to worry about with Humpty: The One Hair!

What was I saying? Is that The One Hair I see on your back, Humpty?!

So much so that this little fellow is not for sale. When I finished him I liked him too much to let him go!

I was a bit dissatisfied with his boots. They look a little too big, and the join in the front could be disguised a little better. I also want to make buckles for them.

The book I bought in Chester, England. Chester as in Cheshire,(like the Cheshire Cat), and I wanted something with the cat on it for my souvenier. I was really disappointed that there was not much stuff available with the cat on it, and nothing that I really liked. So I bought this book, which I would have anyway, even if I had found something 'catty'. It's the only complete Lewis Carroll I own.  It was huge and heavy to carry back though, especially since I was traveling alone. I call it 'my doorstop'.

Another thing I badly wanted and have always regretted not buying on that trip, was something I found in Oxford, where Alice grew up and Lewis Carroll lived and wrote the books. It was a holographic picture of John Tenniel's Alice passing through the looking glass. I REALLY loved that, but it was a bit pricey, and although I had no one but myself to spend on in those days, I couldn't justify spending so much on myself for a frivolity. It was something like 70 pounds, which in those days was about $105.00, or slightly more.

We'll end our Alice Week with this poem, which comes at the end of Through the Looking Glass. Read downward, the first letters in each line spell out Alice Pleasance Liddell, the real Alice the book was written for. (If you haven't already, check out the first Alice post of the week, to learn more about the real Alice.)
  I may have been a weird kid, but I always loved this poem, even though there's a strange sadness to it.

A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July--

Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear--

Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream--
Lingering in the golden gleam--
Life, what is it but a dream?

Tomorrow is Skipper Saturday.See you then.