The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright. A Lenci Doll

Once there was a little doll. Her name was Edith. She lived in a nice house and had everything she needed except somebody to play with. She was lonely!

From The Lonely Doll by Dare Wright

 

My new exciting project is to make a doll for a Mum!

 She used to read to her daughter, my client, the story of Edith, The Lonely Doll. 

Edith lived alone until Mr. Bear and Little Bear moved in. One day Mr. Bear  went out for a walk, in his return he found that Edith and Little bear had rummaged in a closet for dress-up clothing, smeared themselves with makeup and written "Mr. Bear is just a silly old thing" in lipstick on the mirror. Mr Bear disciplined both, Little Bear and Edith, leaving Edith to worry that he would take Little Bear  away. However after Edith and Little Bear apologized for their behavior, Mr. Bear assured Edith that they would never leave.

I was quite surprised when I read the story for there is a scene in which Mr. Bear spanks Edith for misbehaving. The book was first published in 1957, then again in 1998 when a minor controversy aroused due to this scene.

Dare Wright was the author and photographer of the book. She used her own felt Lenci Doll from the 1920s for the photos, sewing Edith's outfits and changing Edith’s eye color to blue resembling herself. 

In 2007, R. John Wright produced a limited edition felt Edith doll for collectors to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Lonely Doll.

 

 

Lenci Dolls

Lenci dolls are pressed felt dolls with painted features, manufactured in Turin by Enrico and Elena Scavini from 1919 to 1944. Elena Scavini, her nickname was Lenci, sewed and painted these bright and colourful dolls casting off the drab grey life of the Victorian years.

The bodies and the clothing of Lenci dolls are made of pressed woolen felt. The faces were pressed on moulds and features were then hand painted, hair was made from mohair and this was stitched in. The way the eyes were painted gave the dolls the expression of loneliness.

There are some very good articles on the web about Lenci Dolls though I would like to find more about how to make them, especially the head.

My client knows the way I work and she wants the doll for her mum to be inspired in Edith.

Do you know the story of The Lonely Doll?
 Have you got a Lenci doll?
Have you made a Lenci Doll?
 It would be fantastic to hear about it!

 Warm wishes, 
Yolanda