The Making of Patty Reed’s Dolly
2023 UFDC Convention Souvenir, “Dolly”
It is a timeless story of a special friendship between a little girl and her doll. in 1846-47, Patty Reed travelled across America with the Donner party on a westward journey that took a tragic turn. But every step of the way, through all the tragedies, the hunger and the brutal cold, Dolly and Patty survived together, giving each other comfort and strength. Today, Dolly lives at Sutter’s Fort Museum.
Carved entirely out of wood (original Dolly is a papier mache head on a wood body and is 4 inches), she is made up of 11 pieces of wood, each sanded sealed, and painted. She is 6.25 inches tall and is costumed in a turkey red 1840’s little girl’s dress, a half-slip with drawstring, and a cotton apron.
The Original Patty Reed’s “Dolly” Photograph by Sutter Fort Museum
Carving, finishing, painting, dressing and assembling Dolly was a two-year endeavor of love. Reminiscent of the cottage industry of the 1800’s, our home became our workshop with bins of parts and legs and bits and bobs scattered about the house. Eventually, we needed to employ four helpers to meet our deadline.
Day 367 - Year one was spent making parts, year two was spent sanding, sealing and painting each piece.
DAY 577 - Dolls and parts are now sanded and painted and assembly begins. Charlie explains to his helper how to insert the hard-wood maple shoulder joints and attach the arms.
Exact precision is required in order for the arms to move about freely.
DAY 608 - Only the legs to go. We are on a roll now!
Each doll is finished with two coats of old-world shellac, exactly as they came to market 200 years ago. Shellac yellows and mellows over time.
Dolls patiently waiting for their legs.
DAY 699 - Dressing day has finally arrived. The end is in sight!
Dolly’s body is made just like the so-called alien head dolls with papier-mache heads and wood bodies with a narrow waist, long torso, and chunky lower hands with a separate thumb.
Waiting patiently for their dressmaker.
Day 720 - Dolly comes in a banded wood box similar to the ones dolls came in during the 19th century.
Each oval box gets its filling, then a dressed doll, then their foam insert, then their wooden COA.
The inside of each box is stained in antique sage green and has a 19th century lithograph, a commonly used decorative item in the 19th century.
DAY 714 - Dolly is packed and ready to make her journey to the UFDC Office in St, Louis Missouri. In total, 9 large boxes filled with 350 boxes of dolls.
We had the best night sleep we had had in two years!
On the evening of the August 2023 UFDC banquet, Dolly made her grand debut and made her final journey when she travelled home with each of her new friends.
There are only a few Dolly’s left and she can be purchased directly from the UFDC Gift Shop by clicking on the link below:
