Alt, Beck, & Gottshalch. Lady Doll, Sanitary Fair, ca. 1864. Bisque porcelain, glaze, tinted glaze, paint, glass, adhesive, undyed cotton, horsehair, vegetable tanned leather, cotton, silk, mother-of-pearl, wool, glazed (?) cotton, 27 1/2 x 17 x 4 1/2 in. (69.9 x 43.2 x 11.4 cm). Gift of Mrs. Thomas H. Beardsley, 24.577. Creative Commons-BY.

Lady Doll, Sanitary Fair

ca. 1864

Alt, Beck, & Gottshalch

1854-1913

Decorative Arts

Another doll from the Brooklyn Sanitary Fair, this one shows extensive signs of use, most likely as a child’s toy. Little is known about the doll, although its beautifully detailed day-wear outfit, elaborate Victorian hairstyle, and dainty earrings clearly indicate it is intended to represent a grown woman rather than a child or young girl. Displayed along with the Eliza Lefferts doll in an exhibition called Early American Handicraft at the Brooklyn Museum in 1924, this doll was very recently rediscovered in the Museum’s Decorative Arts holdings and is shown here for the first time in eighty-five years.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Alt, Beck, & Gottshalch
Classification: Recreation, Toys, Games
Formatted Medium: Bisque porcelain, glaze, tinted glaze, paint, glass, adhesive, undyed cotton, horsehair, vegetable tanned leather, cotton, silk, mother-of-pearl, wool, glazed (?) cotton
Medium: bisque, porcelain, glaze, tinted, paint, glass, adhesive, undyed, cotton, horsehair, vegetable, tanned, leather, silk, mother-of-pearl, ,