This Jo is from the When I Read I Dream series of dolls.
You may have previously seen the When I Read I Dream Anne of Green Gables doll HERE,and of course, Tammy World is When I Read I Dream Fern from the series. You can see Tammy in her original clothes HERE.
I only just noticed when doing these pictures, that Jo's clothes are tagged 'Barbie Collectibles".
Jo is the main character in "Little Women", by Louisa May Alcott.
The doll is a bit inaccurate, since the character of Jo is 15 years old at the beginning of the first book,and this doll looks way younger than that. She also looks a bit girly compared to the idea of the tomboyish Jo in the books. The book also describes Jo as 'very tall,thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt,for she never knew what to do with her long limbs'. This doll that isn't!
"Little Women",with it's strong,working female character who,at first,spurns marriage, was unusual for it's time. It was first published in 1868,a time when women were expected to marry and become mothers,and little else. The book is loosely based on Alcott's own life, (and surprisingly, it is thought to be heavily based on the early life of Alcott's mother.),and the character 'Jo' was Alcott's version of herself. Louisa May Alcott actually answered letters written to 'Miss March', or 'Jo'.
In "Little Women" Jo wants to be a writer. Alcott earned money writing short stories, and was asked by a publisher to write a 'book about girls'. Alcott resisted at first, believing she couldn't successfully write about girls, and stated she didn't enjoy writing "Little Women". The book was a great success though. Originally the book only contained part of the story, and curious readers demanded to know what happened to the characters. Alcott wrote a sequel in 1869,and then two more,"Little Men" and "Jo's Boys". Today the first two books are published together as one volume, entitled "Little Women",only separated by being 'part 1',and 'part 2' of the same book.
Louisa May Alcott was born in 1832,in what is now part of Philadelphia. After moving to Boston in 1834, Louisa's father established an experimental school and became a member of the Transcendental Club, along with Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thus, Alcott's education included being taught by Thoreau, Emerson,Nathaniel Hawthorne,(author of "The House of Seven Gables",and "The Scarlet Letter".),Margaret Fuller, (the first American female full time book reviewer in journalism,and the author of "Women in the Nineteenth Century",considered to be the first major American feminist work.), and Julia Ward Howe, (author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", and an abolitionist and social activist,particularly for women's suffrage.) These teachers, and the poverty that forced Louisa May Alcott to work as a young woman,were a huge influence on her views towards women's rights and marriage.Unlike the character of Jo, Louisa never married.
The doll has a one piece dress/apron,with a real pocket and removable lace trimmed handkerchief.
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| There is one stitch holding the hanky in the pocket. |
At least Jo's dress goes on and off easily. Anne of Green Gables' dress was almost impossible to remove. It seems practically sewn on.
She also has white tights and black Mary Jane shoes.
Her hair has little braids around her head, and...what would you call them? Hair blobs?...at the sides and back.
Jo's hair can actually be taken down and combed out,and she looks quite contemporary.
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| Like this Jo doll who doubles as Tammy World's sister Jo, when Jo wants to 'let her hair down', as she did in the photostory 'The World Kids Go Sledding', which you can see HERE. |
That's it for today's doll. See you again tomorrow.
Another new to me doll. She is quite pretty. I like that she can look both modern and historic.
ReplyDeleteBut just try to get that hair back into that original hair style!
DeleteI've always thought this was a ten-year-old version of Jo, so her clothes and hair *should* be from the 1850s. In the 1840s, girls often had ringlets on the sides of their hair, or looped-up braids. I think the extra hair done up in the back was more of an adult thing. In the 1850s, the fashion was more of a smooth wave combed over the ears, and secured in the back. I'm sure Rachael will be along to add anything I forgot, or correct anything that I got wrong. :)
ReplyDeleteHave you read any of Alcott's short stories for publication? They're very dramatic!
You have pretty much said everything I was thinking. I actually didn't realise what they'd tried to do with her hair until I was looking at these pictures. It's a pretty good representation, weird on a little kid though.
DeleteBut the fabric of her dress just makes me think of 1990s bed linen!
1990's bed linen! I'd like tp have that set! I didn't say the hair or clothes were not befitting to the era. I just think Jo would never have had such an elaborate hair style, since she was such a tomboy. I also think it's weird to have made a doll of a child Jo, when she's never that young in the book. The Fern,Anne of Green Gables, and Heidi dolls in the series were all little kids in the books, so it's more fitting.
DeleteSorry, I was just trying to explain why her hair looked the way it did, since you mentioned it. I can't think of any other well-known young female protagonist of a book, except for Alice, so maybe that's why they picked Jo. As to why they needed a fourth doll, I don't know.
DeleteI was just explaining my comments too. That hairstyle would be a bit elaborate for a child,wouldn't it?
DeleteAlice! Now you have me wishing they had made an Alice! I was trying to think of another famous book everyone would know,with a young female protagonist.There is Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz,but for some reason, I first thought of less known ones, like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,and the Five Little Peppers books,or even the 'shoes' books by Noel Streatfeild. That led me to thinking of more contemporary ones, like the Ramona books. Now that would have been cute! But only Ramona has a recognizable look. I suppose only Heidi and Anne had a 'look' people would recognize, and they didn't even use Anne's,other than the red braids. They could have done Pippi, but they's already done a red head with braids. Now I'm wishing for all these! It could have been a great ongoing series!
In the vintage images I've seen, a lot of the girls just have a whole head full of bottle curls. But I've also seen side ribbons, braids and even the knot at the back on some girls. I don't think Jo's hair would look so odd if those two curls at either side of her head didn't stick out so far.
DeleteA bigger series would have been a great idea!
Both Anne and Jo are just adorable! It seems I've discovered a new series of dolls thanks to you. Now they'll haunt me :)
ReplyDeleteThey are still out there in the secondary market. Treat yourself.
DeleteThese are such pretty little dolls and yes, look great when dressed in modern clothing too.
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I have seen some ooak dolls using these. Redmermaidwerewolf on Flickr has put the Anne head on a VIP body and redone her hair. She looks great.
DeleteLovely. I once bought Fern on Ebay. Wish to have them all.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way when they first came out. I bought them all.
DeleteI read both Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. I don't remember much of either one, which is weird because I liked the books. When I was growing up, those short ponytails were called pig tails or piggie tails.
ReplyDeleteWe called the unbraided side ponytails 'dog ears'. 'Pig tails' were braided.
DeleteIts so interesting how each generation named things different or even the same sometimes.
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