Devotion

The Florence Nightengale pledge is a statement of the ethics and principles of the nursing profession and a version is often recited at nursing graduation ceremonies. In the final line of the original 1893 oath, the nurse pledges that, "I shall be loyal to my work and devoted towards the welfare of those committed to my care." In these days of the coronavirus pandemic, nurses all over the world have proven their extraordinary loyalty and devotion to the high tenets of their calling. As part of our club's virtual doll meeting, this blog hopes in some small way to acknowledge and honor the the nurses on the front lines of the epidemic, working long hours, often scrounging for necessary supplies, and even putting themselves at risk in order to care for their patients.

This lovely lady of the lamp belongs to member Bette Birdsong. She is Gene Marshall, 15.5-inch tall fashion doll introduced by Mel Odom in 1995.  Gene's backstory is that she is an actress during Hollywood's golden age, and she comes with meticulously-created outfits, costumes, and accessories based on fashions from the 1930s through the 1950s.  This Gene doll is wearing a nursing outfit based on a picture featured in 1943 Coca-Cola calendar.

This trio of nurse dolls is from the collection of member Sylvia McDonald. The little girl in red is "Doll Hospital Nurse" by the famed company of Madame Alexander. The 8-inch tall doll was introduced in 2002 and holds her own tiny patient. The center nurse doll is from Poland and is made from wood. The final doll is "Gift of Life" Ginny introduced in 2001 by Vogue Dolls. Vogue made a donation for each doll purchased to the Gift of Life, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to bring children to the United States for heart surgery

Another Alexander doll, this "Nurse Wendy" belongs to member Ann Meier. In 1953, the company introduced an 8-inch tall hard plastic little girl doll called Wendy-Ann, named after Madame Alexander's granddaughter. This doll was renamed Wendy in 1954 and became a beloved staple of the Madame Alexander line.

March 5, 2018, Meeting

To commemorate the approaching St. Patrick's Day, the refreshment table was decked out in green.

Member Elaine Jackson did a program on Schoenhut dolls.  The company was started by Albert Schoenhut, a German immigrant from Germany.  The company's first success was a toy piano and by 1903 Schoenhut was producing circus characters and other toys out of wood.  In 1911, the first Schoenut doll was produced.  The dolls were created out of wood and could hold any pose thanks to a  clever system of internal springs.  They had holes in their feet and wore special shoes and socks with matching openings.  The holes could be used to fit the dolls on a special stand which allowed the dolls to stand, pose on tiptoe, and even balance on one leg.  The early dolls had character faces created by an Italian artist, but the faces were criticized as looking too old and serious.  Albert's son, Harry, later redesigned the faces to represent younger children.

In order to compete with the sweet-faced German bisque dolls, Schoenhut later introduced a doll with more doll-like features, like the little brunette girl in this picture. 

Schoenhut also expanded its line to include all-wood toddler and infant dolls.  The baby has a typical bent-limb body, but the toddler is fully jointed.

Schoenhut later struggled to compete with the lighter and less expensive bisque and composition dolls.  In 1921, Harry patented sleeping wooden eyes.  However, by 1935 the company declared bankruptcy.

Other members brought Schoenhut dolls to share.  This little girl belongs to Myrna Loesch, who carefully restored her and repainted her face.  

This little girl belongs to Bette Birdsong.  She is in nearly mint condition.  Although her dress may not be original, it is from the period. 

Jenell Howell brought several examples to share.

This little girl has the very desirable carved hair.

This charming child wears her factory original "union suit."

Sue Smith brought this example of a Pinn Family doll.  Albert's youngest son, Otto, started the Otto Schoenhut Company in 1935 and one of the company's offerings was the wooden Pinn Family, created out of wooden clothespins. This is the daughter of the family, Beauty Pin.  She is missing her yarn hair.