5 boxes and 14 dolls!!!

So, I got sent 5 boxes containing 14 dolls that needed a variety of repairs. Thanks Laurie :-)

Some didn't need much. Others were a challenge!

First up were these two.

There were some fabric holes that looked suspiciously like mouse nibbles. That was not going to be easily fixable so they stay as is.

Next was this little Scottish doll. His chin strap was shredding and his head seam was separating.

So he just got a new felt chin strap.

Trying to glue the head seam back together would have been very involved. Vintage plastic often has warped and stiffened. It usually will not glue back together without fillers etc. He was served best by just hiding the split.

Then came this little bisque baby. 

He needed his leg repaired and some restringing.

Done.

Now we have a half doll whose dress trim is shredding and her skirt is awry.

An adjustment of her skirt seams got done and her shredded trim got replaced by antique beaded trim.

This is an antique German bisgue head doll whose head is broken. Fortunately her eyes look intact.

A head back together and a new wig can do wonders!

This guy is funny. He has some weird wires coming out of his feet and he does not stand up well.

He gets a stand into which the wires insert.

Done!

This is a 1950's walking doll.

Her hip joint on one side had lost its fastener so everything was falling apart.

All put back together and an outfit found.

Her head material is vinyl which has yellowed over the years. There is no fix for that without detaching her head and soaking it in various noxious chemicals. So, her coloring stays as is.

This guy is an unusual Pierrot figure. 

His feet have broken.

His face needs a few touch ups.

A surprise when he gets undressed......his body is made by wrapping crepe paper around wood wool and wire. The crepe paper is disintegrating.

His feet have gone through previous repairs.

Once I dissolve and remove the old glue from the first foot I get this!

Aak!!!

Piece by piece, the foot gets glued back together.

While glue dries, I start working on his facial touch ups. After a few pokes here and there and some scraping of lumpy paint, I find his odd looking nose was the result of previous work. His whole nose seems to have been rebuilt from a yellow compound similar to plasticine. It is still soft! All this yellow compound needs to come off.

Another 'Aak!' was uttered after removing all the yellow stuff.

He needs a whole new nose built!

He also has multiple layers of paint over wax covered plaster. All the added layers need to come off before new paint will stick.

This is after  piecing his feet together and doing a lot of facial work.

Even his mandolin is gettong some repairs.

Now his limbs are reattached and he has a fresh wrapping of crepe paper.

He also gets a custom made stand. He was built to sit on something, reportedly a lamp.

This will keep him safely sitting.

Finally he is done.

He has a bit of a different look than when he arrived but I could not find any identical dolls to know how he looked originally.

During breaks from the poor Pierrot doll, I move on to this doll. It is a Japanese gofun doll. Gofun is the white compound that is the top coating of these dolls. It is traditionally made from ground up oyster shells.

This little doll needs to be restrung and is missing something from the top of her head.

Something was there once......

A bit of research showed that this doll once had a wig with a little topknot.

So a wig is what she gets after she gets restrung.

Next is this little bisque doll. This style of doll is often called a 'Frozen Charlotte'.

She has a previous repair on one arm that is sturdy. She is missing one earring.

So she just gets a cleanup and a matched pair of earrings.

Then on to this small china head doll. 

She has old masking tape over a hole in her cloth body.

Unfortunately her cloth body suffers from dry rot and there are multiple holes. The fabric is too weak to patch.

The best option is a new body.

The she gets some clothes made from antique fabrics.

Next up is this Japanese couple.

The man's head falls off as he gets unwrapped.

He used to have hair.

The lady used to have hair too but, more significantly, she used to have a complete face.

After the lady gets some serious plastic surgery, they both get hairdos.

This poor girl is next.

She is a lamp doll. Her head is wax coated. Her dress is silk. With applied flowers.

The silk is not in the best shape. Silk tends to shatter with time. The fibres shear. There is no cure.

Her nose hs been flattened. Likely because her wire lamp base that is under her skirt is unsteady and she tends to topple over.

The flowers were applied to the dress with glue.

This glue was likey a hide glue as it has darkened as it aged. Each clump of flowers has old brown glue peeking out at the edges.

There is no way to get this glue off without destroying the silk flowers or the silk dress fabric.

The dress still had a faded beauty so it was decided to leave it as is. The doll got a wee nose job and then her wire lamp frame under her skirt got stapled to a base so she wouldn't keep toppling over.

And I forgot to get her picture before she headed home!

Back to Schoenhut dolls

 

This is one of Schoenhut's rarer models.

She is going to get a full restoration of her head.

Her current owner had applied some colour to her eyes because....

.....she had arrived like this

She has carved hair with a low twist of braids at the back of her head.

This girl was once re-done by covering her wood in a thick layer of white filler and then paint over that.

Someone has already removed a fair bit of the filler and repaint but there is still lots left. It all needs to come off.

Taking off the remaining filler and repaint reveals some nice carved detail.

There is even a bit of original eye paint left.

After a wee bit of filler and some light paint layers, she is starting to look better.

Done.

And then a bit of relaxing before heading home.