For sale is a late 1800s PORCELAIN FROZEN CHARLOTTE DOLL & ORIGINAL CLOTHING. This frozen Charlotte china dolls consists of porcelain upper torso; head; forearms and hands, and one calf and foot. The doll is missing one of the legs which is not noticeable due to the size of the doll’s dress. The doll’s dress has an ornament on the waist. Some of the beading on the collar of the dress is coming loose. The white glazed face has pale blue eyes, low brow, small nose and red lips. This doll’s head is in excellent condition. The doll’s hairstyle is molded with a middle part and in a wavy short style, typified by dolls manufactured in the mid-nineteenth century. Glazed porcelain china head dolls are usually found on a wood, cloth or kid body. This china has a doll torso body filled with saw dust. This doll measures about 21 inches in length. A great historic antique toy.
The name of the doll originates from the American folk ballad Fair Charlotte, based on the 1843 poem “A Corpse Going to a Ball”. Allegedly. Maine writer Seba Smith was inspired by newspaper story about a young woman who froze to death in her carriage on the way to a ball because she did not want to cover up her pretty dress. Because of her vanity and refusal to listen to her parents, she froze to death.
Frozen Charlotte dolls ranged in size from under an inch to over 18 inches. The smallest dolls were sometimes used as charms in Christmas puddings and smaller sizes were very popular for putting in doll’s houses. Frozen Charlotte dolls were popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. The dolls were affordable enough that children of the era could buy them with their own pocket money. Smaller versions of the dolls were also known as penny dolls, because they were often sold for a cent. Most of the dolls were made in Germany. Male dolls (identified by their boyish hairstyles) are called Frozen Charlies.
