Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Dolls collected by the late Earl and Gretta Patterson have been brought out of storage and are on display in the Old Jail Museum in Warsaw.
Given to the Historical Society in July 1996 by the Pattersons' children at Earl's request, the dolls are on view in the museum's dining room.
Barb Brilliandt, Warsaw, widow of Max Patterson, Earl and Gretta's son, remembers the couple's interest in them.
"They went to flea markets and places like that," Brilliandt said. "If Earl saw parts of dolls he would buy them and put new dolls together."
Earl is said to have begun his collection as a young man.
The Patterson collection is varied, from very old flat-head China dolls to more recently manufactured Indian souvenir figurines.
Several big (22-inch) bisque dolls, originally available from 1910 to 1930, have big glass eyes, long noses and tiny, bow-shaped mouths.
Dolls can be dated by the mold marks on the backs of the necks. Some actually have dates, country origin and manufacturer's markings, too.
Doll parts were shipped from Great Britain or Germany and hand-painted once they arrived in the United States.
Two of the collection's China dolls have thin painted red eyelid lines. Their eyes are painted onto the surface.
"That's an individual artist's mark, like a signature." said Becky Thomas, who recently viewed the collection again. Thomas appraised the dolls for the Patterson children when they were donated.
As new mold techniques were developed, new materials and a variety of new methods were available for doll features.
Hollow, with eyesockets and open mouths, the bisque dolls have glass eyes and a set of six teeth, which were set in place through the open neck.
A small pinkish dot is in each corner of the eye, another artist's mark, Thomas said.
Hand-wrist and lower arm pieces and feet-ankle and lower leg pieces were attached to cloth bodies.
Individual eyelashes were drawn with two-hair brushes.
Because women sold their hair, wigs were often made of human hair. Mohair and synthetic materials also were used for wigs.
Thomas doubts the dolls are wearing their original clothes, which were often made of silk with touches of delicate lace at the corners.
"Mothers sewed doll clothes for their children's dolls," Thomas said, "maybe of the same material of the child's new dress."
The Patterson dolls are dressed in silks, velvets and lace. Tiny buttons and beads adorn their clothes. Of course, they all have their shoes and stocking on along with pantaloons and jackets.
Dolls were considered a luxury at the turn of the century and were treasured.
The Pattersons respected them as the jewels they were, said Brilliandt.
"There were always a dozen or more on display at their home in Warsaw. Earl didn't want them split up," she said. "When they moved to Florida, they had a Florida room and all the dolls were out on open shelves.
"My favorite and Earl's favorite is a bisque doll in the white cotton dress and hat."
"Some of them are really quite old," Brilliandt said. "There is a 'Floradora Doll' by Frenchman Armond Marseille who made dolls between 1901 and 1921."
One of the composition dolls has Germany stamped on her back with a date of 1894.
Composition is a molding method using pulped wood or paper products mixed with glue. When the molds were dry they were painted and given a coat of varnish. Many composition dolls yellow and show fine cracks.
The Pattersons' composition dolls have withstood the test of time.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
Phyllis Patterson Walk, Robert Patterson and Barbara Patterson LePage Brilliandt and the children of the late Max L. Patterson made the display possible.
