Doll-A-Day 2023 #345: Norweigian Doll by Rønnaug Petterssen

   Today's doll is one I got at a doll show way back a year or two ago. I think I showed you the shelf she was on, when it was full of dolls, and after I had shopped it. In any case, she's here now.

  She is a souvenir type doll, made in Norway.

She has a tag inside her dress that says 'Kimports' too.

  I found another doll online, that looks very similar and is also a Kimport doll from Norway. That doll is described as "a Rønnaug Petterssen doll, the version known as flat faced with needle sculpted facial features".

She has a lot of hair in her face. I need to tidy her hair. It's mohair. I'm not going to try to comb it!

That doll was 7 inches tall, about the same as this one. They're asking $309! Not  that they will actually get $309, but, still!

  Rønnaug Petterssen was the doll artist. I found a Facebook page dedicated to her, and there was a picture of some ladies at a doll show with a table full of her dolls, and a doll just like my girl was on the table! So I at least can say she's pretty certainly by Rønnaug Petterssen. 

The first doll I saw had the same legs and shoes as my girl, with the little metal buckles on her shoes. 

And very similar tiny handmade lace.

Ignore my very dry finger.

She has a lot of gold trim on her dress and her hat too.

  

The first doll was supposedly from the 1930's. If that's true, I would say my doll is too.

  It's nice to know the maker of this doll, and some other details. But I don't want to sell her. I love this kind of doll. Tomorrow we'll see another doll I'm very fond of.

Doll-A-Day 2023 #78: Mirren Barrie's Diana

   Today's doll is Diana.

  She was hand made by Mirren Barrie. You can tell this, because Mirren Barrie dolls always have a little pocket sewn into their underclothes, with all their information on it, and containing a little paper with all the details.

This one has her pocket, but is missing her paper.

This doll was made, as you can see from her pocket, as a souvenir doll for the 25th anniversary of Niada, The National Institute of American Doll Artists. It was a convention doll, handed out at the Naida convention in 1987. Apparently there were 201 of them made, and this lady is number 137, all information you can read on her pocket!

  Her face is hand painted hardened cloth.

  Diana has an elaborate hair style.

And she has some schnazzy shoes.

 She also sports some jewelry and a nice belt.

  Huge puffy sleeves, like the ones on her dress, were a thing in the 1830's, and were kept puffy and standing by stuffing them with little feather pillows, or putting little wire cages, made for the sleeves, inside. Can you imagine walking around with that crap in your sleeves?!

   

  She has a few under layers, but not as many as a real life lady of the era would have had. That would have created too much bulk on such a small scale body.

Her hands have stitched fingers.

  She would have had a huge hat too, a purse, earrings, and a parasol. You can see another Diana, who has all her accessories and her paper, HERE.

   Mirrren Barrie, (I keep wanting to say Helen Mirren!), was a Niada doll artist. Originally from Scotland, she later settled in Vermont. She specialized in historically costumed dolls. I swear I have posted Mirren Barrie dolls on the blog before, but I can't find any! I know I have more. I got some at an auction, by accident. My others have their papers. I hope they survived the flood in our downstairs room, like this lady did.

  See you again tomorrow!