Vigo County Historical Society

Museum featuring China dolls

As a doll collector, I adore dolls and enjoy getting a chance to view a fine collection. The doll collection at the Vigo County Historical Museum is delightful, as it contains over six glazed heads and several bisques.

Collectors differentiate between types of porcelain dolls--those that have been glazed (chinas) and those that have not (bisques). Dolls of this type made their appearance in the middle 1700s, but did not reach great popularity or demand until the 1840s.

These china heads were usually female with pale skin and black painted hair. Some of the china dolls at the museum will be found to have matching china limbs and either cloth or kidskin bodies, but the hairstyles are simple and the eyes are painted blue. This information has helped us to date our chinas between 1860 and 1890.

Two of our chinas were donated by Miss Margaret Gillum and have histories included in our archives from letters written by Miss Gillum. He donated a 12 3/4 inch doll referred to as "Kate" and another known as "Nellie."

Kate has blue eyes and black hair. She resides in the upstairs hall in a glass case on the bottom shelf. She has china limbs and her legs have been painted so that she has brown shoes and blue garters. Kate is dressed in a Civil War costume and bonnet that resembles a trousseau dress belonging to Miss Gillum’s Grandmother Gilbert. It is a hoop skirt with ruffles and a tight fitting waist. Kate’s history notes that she was named by "a colored man who worked for the Gillum family and that the name stuck." A friend in Virginia sent her to Miss Gillum and the acquisition of Kate led Miss Gillum to add others to her collection.

Nellie is 27 3/4 inches, with blue eyes and black hair. She rests in the upstairs nursery in a carriage in a corner. She has a cloth body and stuffed fingers. Nellie wears a pink-and-white striped dress that appears to have a cross-over style bodice. Nellie came to the museum with a set of two pictures--one of Miss Elvanetta "Nettie" Brown holding Nellie and another of "Nettie" Brown by herself in the year 1879 at the age of 14. Nellie’s History notes that her cloth body was made by the mother of "Nettie" Brown in 1869 and that she was given to Miss Gillum for her collection by "Nettie" Brown.

The Vigo County Historical Society has many other dolls in the collection that will appeal to doll lovers and they can be seen during visiting hours.