Friday, July 1, 2011

Big Eyed Dolls

It all started many years ago with a doll on a pink sewing box! When I came across this fabulous find, I remembered the doll from my childhood and of course was instantly drawn to it because of the sewing box!



below images from the web
It sits on a shelf on my work table in my studio...I was lost in thought when my eyes landed on it...and I thought...who was the maker of this pretty little doll?


These big eyed dolls were made in Korea and Japan during the 1960s and 1970s for the American market. 
 

The doll’s bodies are constructed of wire skeletons surrounded by Styrofoam and/or cloth, with each finger being armatured. Many are mounted on a wood or plastic base so they can be nicely displayed.


Also differentiating them from most other dolls is the fact that their faces are painted on. I love the ones with the stockinette overlay! Big surprise- cloth!


"The dresses are often elegant period pieces, with big hoop skirts and plenty of lacy frills, although their catalog includes such a wide variety of themes and ethnic styles, including a few "mod" ones that have proven to be the most elusive and most sought after."


One of the most well known was manufactured by the Bradley Doll Co. 
(as in Milton Bradley) also known under Artmark and Treasured Dolls as these dolls above.I have also found a few manufactored under Herman Pecker Dolls as these dolls below.


Their most defined charateritic is their oversized head and big eyes...made in Japan... hummmm....reminds me very much of today's Japan's animé art and the ever popular ball jointed dolls (bjd)! 
 
 
History doesn't repeat itself,
at best it sometimes rhymes.
Mark Twain

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