Posted 3 years ago
sirissnurr…
(4 items)
Spanish walker dolls, made of composite (papier-mâche). They have mohair hair and eyes that close. The walking mechanism is crude. As history goes, the dolls were bought in Las Palmas, Spain, by Norwegian whalers in the fifties, and brought home to Norwegian children. In Norwegian they were called "Hvalfangerdukke", or "Las Palmas-dukke", because the whaling ships often took to port in the Canary Islands for provisions. I have (wrongly) believed my dolls were made by the Solneli factory, as one of Collectors Weekly - Kellymore - now has informed me that they most probably are Onil dolls. It is important to get the history right! I found my dolls in thrift shops in Vestfold County. You can see some old photographs of Solneli dolls at https://conocelaisleta.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/solneli-fabrica-de-munecas-de-la-isleta/. The Solneli dolls were sold in Calle Osorio, but were also available aboard the ships, see https://conocelaisleta.wordpress.com/2011/06/25/fotos-de-cambulloneros/. Another Spanish dollmaker who produced similar dolls from around 1948, was Isidro Rico Miralles, located in Onil, Alicante, Spain. You can see a full size photograph of one such doll at the Norwegian digital museum: https://digitaltmuseum.no/021028599211/dukke, and at https://vestfoldmuseene.no/samlingsforvaltningen/las-palmas-dukke/.
. Very well the description about the Canarian sellers of the islet called "cambulloneros ( Can buy on) The dolls that you show They are not all of the Solnelli firm, in the Isleta the sellers bought dolls especially in Onil, I think the only one that Solnelli could be is that of the red ribbon, the others surely of the Onil area, I will see them in more detail
The solnelli dolls that can be found most similar is those of Diana de Onil, Although somewhat lower.
Thank you for your reply! I will post some full figure photographs of my Spanish girls.
It is very important to see the bodies and the hands. Too bad I can't put photos of the Solnelli and the Diana together here, you'll see the differences. When you put the photos, I will gladly study them, regards