Parts before construction — body,
elastic, paint< and brushes.
Prizewinner. Best in Show, Norma Award for
professional dollmaking in 1989. Silk is from
Dorothy’s grandmother’s dress (early 1900s),
lace is from an old lace collar, handmade replica
underwear from cotton, silk, or wool.
and wool from older times. Dorothy used broken
jewellery for decoration and made or bought
shoes of real leather. She got her ideas from her
imagination or from pictures in books. Most of
her replicas are German or French.
Dorothy had daughters and so her handmade
dolls, while authentic, were actually made for
playing, not just decoration. Her granddaughters
and other family members have some of her
dolls now.
As you can see from the photos that
accompany this article, looking at a work of such
beauty knowing that she created it gives Dorothy
a great sense of accomplishment. Her display
case is full, and she has run out of space, so she
no longer makes the dolls — but she has kept
the sentimental ones. In 1989, her work won the
Norma Award for professional dollmaking for
Best in Show.
Dorothy has also purchased some dolls to
round out her collection. A Gibson Girl bride
and an 1800s woman in scarlet were both
purchased. Dorothy says that if you buy a
porcelain doll, you must keep the box and
papers for authentication to retain future value.
It will be worth more — if you are ever willing to
give up the doll.
She recommends having a room and money if
you want to embark on making porcelain dolls.
There are also exhibits of these dolls. You can
visit the Calgary Doll Club and the Edmonton
Doll Club, as well as the Valley Doll Museum
and Gifts in Drumheller where there are over
seven hundred doll exhibits, a doll-themed gift
shop, and children’s costumes for sale.
Who says dolls are only for children? ●
Janet Wees is a retired CBE teacher and has become
a writer in her retirement years. She has contributed
to news&views in the past and had her first full-
length middle-school novel published in April, 2018.
news&views AUTUMN 2018 | 27