The March sisters (Beth in pink, Jo in red, Amy in yellow, and Meg in lavender stripes) have invited three friends to a Valentine's Day party.
---FYI The earliest surviving Valentine was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife in the 15th century. By the early 1800's in England, paper Valentines were so popular that they were mass produced in factories. In the US they began to be mass produced in 1847. But, of course, many were homemade.
Jo, a 1968 bent knee Wendy face Madame Alexander, arrived by mail yesterday. I should have done a before photo of her all bent over to fit in a little box. Dust lay thickly on her hair and her apron. Her pale blue dress was aged brown and the blue only showed at the inner seams and along about 1/2" of the back hem. I rinsed the hair with water and washed her face. The clothes got a soak in a mix of Oxyclean and Borax. The dress now shows signs of having been pale blue, the red of the apron is more vivid, although there is permanent fading in the folds, and the undies are crisp. She is missing her shoes and socks and the jewel at the neck. Her little face has slightly darkened permanently but her eyes are a beautifully bright lighter brown and her dark curls are still in their set. And we know how outdoorsy Jo was so the tan is perfect for her.
Meg is also a bent knee doll and is prior to 1971. Her lavender striped dress was also dusty and the fabric could use some starch, but I hate to add something that is harmful long term. Her apron is an embossed print and that and the fact that it isn't a pinafore make it unusual. Her little black shoes have a red button.
Both these dolls have the flutter eyes.
Amy and Beth are straight leg dolls. They both have ribbon trim on their pantaloons which matches their dresses. Beth is a "mustache" Wendy. Amy has yellow eyelids. They both came in beautiful shape, in boxes. Beth was purchased at an antique store.
Joining the sisters at the party are a modern Wendy face doll in the dress I made as a Christmas dress (with green ribbon and undies) or a Valentine's Day dress (with red ribbon and undies). On the desk is a bent knee walker from the late 50's in a vintage Wendy-kins tucked dress and a straight leg walker from 1955 in her original peachy pink taffeta party dress and undies. The last two have flutter eyes, which means they flutter when the doll is tipped slightly. Those three and Jo all need shoes!
I really like the older 50's and 60's dolls and love the variation of the Little Women sets.
I paid under $8 for two and $15 for the most expensive, so my hobby isn't too extravagant and I could sell most of these for more than I paid.
