To begin, I want to address something related to my last post. Although Ken and I did 'partake of the park', apart from the walk in the woods, we didn't touch anything at the park. We also spent most of our time there in the car, driving around to different parts of the park,stopping briefly to take photographs,many of which were shot from inside the car. We didn't come in close contact with anyone else. The people enjoying the park were,for the most part, also behaving in a wise manner, keeping within their own social groups of those they probably live with,(their children.etc.),apart from others. I winced at the sight of the people picnicking on the parks' tables. I thought that was a bad idea. There were others who seemed to be enjoying the tailgate of their truck for that purpose, which seems much more wise. In any case, I don't want anyone to go rushing off to a park and start touching every surface, and wading in amongst groups of people. Please stay safe everyone. Keep your distance. Be careful what you touch in public places. Preferably wear gloves. Wear a mask in public. Keep yourself, and others you may come in contact with,safe.
On the same subject, I worry about my best friend, Lori, working and living in Georgia,where the state is starting to open already. She works at a vets office and has,according to her, 'been sanitizing the crap out of that place' several times a day.
This month's Doll Book of the Month Club entry is a series of books: the Lonely Doll books by Dare Wright.
'Edith the Lonely Doll' first appeared in the book "The Lonely Doll",published in 1957. That book was followed by nine more that featured Edith and her bear companions.
"The Lonely Doll" tells the story of a lonely little doll named Edith,who lives alone in a 'nice house'.
She wishes for someone to play with.
One day two bears appear in her garden.
Edith takes them in to live with her, and they become a surrogate father and little brother. The larger of the two, Mr. Bear, promised Edith that they will have fun, and adventures.
He still makes Edith and Little Bear do school work though.
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| A question comes to mind: Dolls never grow up. How old do they have to be to not have to go to school any more? |
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| They got punished for getting dirty. What? If you got punished for that my mom might have killed me. |
Edith and Little Bear get bored one day when Mr. Bear is out, and go 'exploring' in the house.
They find a room with beautiful clothes in the closet and make up on the vanity table, and jewelry to try on. Edith and Little Bear play dress up and make a mess of the room and the things in it. Edith is punished.
No word on how Little Bear got by without punishment.
Edith and Little Bear clean up the mess.
But Edith later fears Mr. Bear will leave.
In the end she is assured that Mr. Bear and Little Bear will never leave her, and all ends happily ever after.
I have a few questions here. There seem to be some flaws in the storytelling. I'm sure a kid might not notice, but an adult can see them. Of course, the book is meant for children. I'm just mentioning them as points of amusement. For one thing, the house appears to belong to Edith. She's there first, after all. But she's living alone. Does she really need Mr. Bear to be a father figure? If some people showed up in my yard and I let them move in my house, you can be sure they wouldn't be bossing me around. Also, if it's Edith's house, whose room is that? If it's her house, wouldn't the stuff in it belong to her? If Mr. Bear is so upset that she got in this room and made a mess, is it his room? And if it is his room, it must be his pearl necklace and make up Edith and Little Bear get into. Just saying. Mr. Bear, you've been outed.
The second book I have is "A Gift From the Lonely Doll. This book is mainly concerned with Edith and the Bears' trip to visit Mr. Bear's cousins for Christmas.
The side story concerns Edith knitting a scarf for Mr. Bear.
Various things happen to it to cause it to unravel.
The bears and Edith decorate the Christmas tree with Mr. Bear's cousins.
The stories tie together when Mr. Bear opens the scarf on Christmas morning. There's quite a bit of it!
The scarf is WAY too long. But Edith has an idea.
By the time the trio head home, all is well in scarfland.
The book has cute end papers.
They find a room with beautiful clothes in the closet and make up on the vanity table, and jewelry to try on. Edith and Little Bear play dress up and make a mess of the room and the things in it. Edith is punished.
No word on how Little Bear got by without punishment.
Edith and Little Bear clean up the mess.
But Edith later fears Mr. Bear will leave.
In the end she is assured that Mr. Bear and Little Bear will never leave her, and all ends happily ever after.
I have a few questions here. There seem to be some flaws in the storytelling. I'm sure a kid might not notice, but an adult can see them. Of course, the book is meant for children. I'm just mentioning them as points of amusement. For one thing, the house appears to belong to Edith. She's there first, after all. But she's living alone. Does she really need Mr. Bear to be a father figure? If some people showed up in my yard and I let them move in my house, you can be sure they wouldn't be bossing me around. Also, if it's Edith's house, whose room is that? If it's her house, wouldn't the stuff in it belong to her? If Mr. Bear is so upset that she got in this room and made a mess, is it his room? And if it is his room, it must be his pearl necklace and make up Edith and Little Bear get into. Just saying. Mr. Bear, you've been outed.
The second book I have is "A Gift From the Lonely Doll. This book is mainly concerned with Edith and the Bears' trip to visit Mr. Bear's cousins for Christmas.
The side story concerns Edith knitting a scarf for Mr. Bear.
Various things happen to it to cause it to unravel.
Edith makes it up by continuing to knit.
The bears and Edith decorate the Christmas tree with Mr. Bear's cousins.
The stories tie together when Mr. Bear opens the scarf on Christmas morning. There's quite a bit of it!
The scarf is WAY too long. But Edith has an idea.
By the time the trio head home, all is well in scarfland.
The book has cute end papers.
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| This one in the front... |
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| ...and this one in the back. |
When I was a kid the Edith books were always checked out of the school library. It was really hard to get one. Kids were enchanted by the pictures and the tale of a 'live' doll and 'live' teddy bears. These days the books draw creepy accusations of eroticism. The shortness of Edith's dress,(a common length for little girl's dresses at the time.),and the picture in which Mr. Bear spanks Edith for making a mess, are today considered unsavory and inappropriate in a children's book. Sorry, but kids did get spanked for misbehaving in those days, with nothing but parental punishment involved. For what I think is a more reasonable account of the accused scene, read Dare's Goddaughter, Brook Ashley's, story about the book HERE.
Dare Wright was born in 1914. Her mother was celebrated painter Edith Stevenson Wright, an Ohio native. (Everybody seems to be from Ohio, myself included.) Dare's parents divorced when she was three. Her father, who Dare was never to see again, took her older brother with him and moved to New York. Edith remained with Dare in Ohio. Dare lived in Ohio until she moved to New York herself at the age of 18. Dare hadn't seen her brother since she was three years old, but they were eventually reunited in New York.
The original idea behind moving to New York was for Dare to study painting and acting. She acted briefly, but found she was too shy. She then became a fashion model. Modelling was a successful career for Dare, but after a time she moved to the other side of the camera. She then became a successful photographer.
Dare never married. She was once engaged to her brother's friend. The engagement was broken off by the intended groom, in a letter in which he told Dare she was 'not a real woman'. He died three years later, and Dare never found out what he meant. Dare spent her life living with her mother. For an article that details some of the weirder aspects of Dare Wrights life, and a jaundiced view of the Lonely Doll books, check out this New Yorker article. To read Brook's view of Dare's life and career, you can check out the Official Dare Wright website, which she runs,HERE.
With no children of her own, Dare spent a great deal of time with her Goddaughter, Brooke. Together they played with Dare's childhood Lenci doll, who became the star of their own photo stories. These stories underwent many changes before finally becoming the book, "The Lonely Doll", and finding a publisher, in 1957.
'Edith' was named after Dare's mother. She originally had auburn ringlets. Dare sewed the pink and white gingham dress and white apron Edith is known for. After deciding the auburn curls didn't suit the new dress, Dare made Edith a new blonde wig, and put it in a ponytail like the one she wore. It was remarked that Edith looked very much like Dare herself.
In the Lona book, Dare herself portrays the human princess Lona, while her doll plays the mini version of the same character. The Lona book is also available from Dare Wright Media. (See link above.)
For those of you wanting to learn more about Dare, Dare Wright Media also sells a biography of Dare, written by Brook Ashley.
Dare passed away in 2001,at the age of 87.
Dare Wright was born in 1914. Her mother was celebrated painter Edith Stevenson Wright, an Ohio native. (Everybody seems to be from Ohio, myself included.) Dare's parents divorced when she was three. Her father, who Dare was never to see again, took her older brother with him and moved to New York. Edith remained with Dare in Ohio. Dare lived in Ohio until she moved to New York herself at the age of 18. Dare hadn't seen her brother since she was three years old, but they were eventually reunited in New York.
The original idea behind moving to New York was for Dare to study painting and acting. She acted briefly, but found she was too shy. She then became a fashion model. Modelling was a successful career for Dare, but after a time she moved to the other side of the camera. She then became a successful photographer.
Dare never married. She was once engaged to her brother's friend. The engagement was broken off by the intended groom, in a letter in which he told Dare she was 'not a real woman'. He died three years later, and Dare never found out what he meant. Dare spent her life living with her mother. For an article that details some of the weirder aspects of Dare Wrights life, and a jaundiced view of the Lonely Doll books, check out this New Yorker article. To read Brook's view of Dare's life and career, you can check out the Official Dare Wright website, which she runs,HERE.
With no children of her own, Dare spent a great deal of time with her Goddaughter, Brooke. Together they played with Dare's childhood Lenci doll, who became the star of their own photo stories. These stories underwent many changes before finally becoming the book, "The Lonely Doll", and finding a publisher, in 1957.
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| Dare's God daughter, Brook Ashley, at her 8th birthday party, with Mr. Bear, Edith, and Little Bear. |
'Edith' was named after Dare's mother. She originally had auburn ringlets. Dare sewed the pink and white gingham dress and white apron Edith is known for. After deciding the auburn curls didn't suit the new dress, Dare made Edith a new blonde wig, and put it in a ponytail like the one she wore. It was remarked that Edith looked very much like Dare herself.
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| Edith and Dare at the beach. |
I've read two different accounts of how the bears were obtained. one story says Dare went out to purchase a gift for her nephew, and came home with two bears, which she kept. The other story says that one of the bears, at least, was a gift from Dare's brother.
British newspaper, The Guardian, named "The Lonely Doll" the number one illustrated children's book of all time. Eight of the nine Lonely Doll books have been reprinted, and are available from Dare Wright Media. I'm confused though. The official Dare Wright site shows nine book covers, and mentions a tenth, "Edith and Big Bad Bill".
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| I found these originals in an antique mall. |
Wouldn't that make ten books, and only nine available in reprint? "Edith and Big Bad Bill" concerns Mr. Bear's cousins, and their prejudice against a darker coloured bear named Bill. Edith and Little Bear befriend Bill and help the cousins overcome their prejudice.
The plot seems like one that would be very useful today, but apparently the book's dark tone, in the style of an old silent melodrama, put readers off originally. Considering when it was originally printed, there may have been more to it than that. I think it needs to be taken a look at again.
The Edith doll has been reproduced several times over the years. In the 1950's Madame Alexander made a 'Lonely Doll', and again in 2003,and 2005,(a vinyl doll with a felt covered face!). In 1985 Rothschild made an Edith, and Lenci, the makers of the original Edith made an actual Edith doll. Haut Melton made an Edith in 1997. For the 40th anniversary of "The Lonely Doll" Kids at Heart made an Edith and a mini version of the book. There has even been a gorgeous Edith doll by R. John Wright.
Dare also authored a book for older readers, "Lona, A Fairy Tale". She also produced three books referred to as 'the Persis series'. All of the books have photographic illustrations using a couple of Dare's other childhood dolls.
In the Lona book, Dare herself portrays the human princess Lona, while her doll plays the mini version of the same character. The Lona book is also available from Dare Wright Media. (See link above.)
For those of you wanting to learn more about Dare, Dare Wright Media also sells a biography of Dare, written by Brook Ashley.
Dare passed away in 2001,at the age of 87.
Thanks for sharing this. I had heard of the book but I never read it.
ReplyDeleteI knew of the doll as Madame Alexander has recreated her in several sizes.
I love the photo of Dare Wright and Edith on the beach. What an interesting name, Dare. The Lona book looks interesting.
I'd like to get a look at the Lona book too.
DeleteI love your posts and have always looked forward to seeing them. Somehow, even though I really have never met you. I assumed that you were the kind of person that would always be respectful of others and would never be reckless in the park. I think a lot of the need for restrictive rules is because there are those who seem to care about any one else's health.
ReplyDeleteI hope you mean you thought I was respectful. I'm rethinking if we should have gone there after all. I also hope it didn't encourage anybody to be careless.
DeleteThis is really interesting Tam, thank you for all the information. I've not read the books but have heard of them, I think the photos look beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAs for your trip to the park, I said to my husband that once the restrictions lift and we can have two people (of the same family only) in the car again, we will make up a picnic lunch and go out for a drive to the local inland lakes and find a picnic table to sit and eat our lunch.....he's not been out since the 14th March and I've only been food shopping. But I never gave it a thought about who might have used the picnic table beforehand so maybe I'll have to do a rethink on that, or take my bleach and cleaning clothes with me.
xx
Maybe use one of those plastic disposable tablecloths.
DeleteMaybe Mr. Bear had the pearl necklace and the makeup because they used to belong to Mrs. Bear, and that was the reason why he was so angry when Edith got into them. I might be putting too much thought into this, but it's interesting to speculate.
ReplyDeleteSigned, Treesa
Just joking.
DeleteI'm pretty sure Little Bear got his spanking too. Wasn't the next line after "He was afraid his turn was next," was: "He was right!" I used to read this book to the Eldest a lot. I think we still have it saved away with the special books from the girls' childhood.
ReplyDeleteWell, it was just a joke.
DeleteYou're welcome. Thanks for joining us!
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are lovely. But even though corporal punishnent was OK in the 1950s, and therefore that part of the book was OK then, that is what makes them not OK (in need of a revision) in the 2020s.
ReplyDeleteMy idea is that there were tall, real people in the house, but Edith was lonely because she was the only tiny toy. So she and the bears were living a parallell life with the humans, and the vanity belonged to one of them... About how she got the two bears, I understood it like this: she wanted a bear for her nephew and bought him one, but also bought Little Bear for herself. Later her brother found Mr. Bear and gave it to her.
I like your theory about Edith being the only toy in the house, but not the only inhabitant.
DeleteI have never heard of these dolls or the books. The pictures are amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt must be a generational thing. When I was little they couldn't keep these books in the library.
DeleteThey were something I would have liked. I grew up reading off generation due to my Mom. She would get me books from her childhood like the Bobbsey Twins. The China doll book I am still looking for wasn't from my generation either, we got a lot of books from Thrift stores so we found a lot of older books.
Delete