Posted 3 years ago
txtlites2
(5 items)
This doll was my mothers, most likely from the late 1930’s as she was born in 1934. I would love to have any information about it if someone has some. She looks like she could be Betty Boop but that’s just my uninformed speculation.
Hi, txtlites2. :-)
I suspect that what you might have is a carnival prize stuffed doll, e.g.:
*snip*
For your consideration is a stuffed carnival prize doll from the 1930’s/40’s. It features a silk screened face and is sewn together with feedsack cotton and rayon scraps.
*snip*
https://www.etsy.com/listing/940495485/reserved-vintage-1930s-40s-carnival
I don't think there's any rayon fabric on yours, but the body definitely has the look of printed flour sacks.
txtlites2, On closer inspection, I think perhap I should take back what I said about there being no rayon fabric on your doll. There seems to be a slight sheen to the fabric of the head, so that might not be cotton.
Thank you for the info!
txtlites2, You're welcome.
Another feature that supports the theory that the head fabric is rayon is the stains.
While there does appear to be some stains on the body, those ones are merely brownish areas without clear borders. The stains on the head have rings.
Old rayon was notorious for staining (sorry, I tried to find again the specific piece about rayon that mentioned the staining problem, but no joy so far).
This is about as close as I can get:
*snip*
Water stains:
Treatments applied to rayon and other natural fibers will leave a "ring" or water stain" from spills of any sort, even just clear water. These watermarks from spills may be permanent, and all cleaning must be done by evenly dampening the entire fabric prior to extraction cleaning.
*snip*
https://www.centrumforce.com/blogs/success-stories/watch-out-for-these-four-problems-with-rayon-fabrics