Alongside all those papier mâché or china-headed dolls with their fashionable outfits made to cater for the Victorian girl, the market had a ready answer in The Boy’s Doll.
This comprised a 7in (18cm) high boy figure on a wooden stand accompanied by eight different brightly coloured outfits covered with transparent shellac. These enabled the figure to be attired variously in any number of guises from the action-packed to the contemplative: scholar, French soldier, Italian dancer, musician, shepherd, huntsman, equestrian and puppeteer.
The set was manufactured by G. W. Faber, a prolific German paper toy publisher who also produced a companion Little Girl’s Doll.
The boy doll, which was well preserved and came with the original box, is a rare survival and accordingly was contested to no less than £1800 in Christie’s South Kensington’s doll sale on March 1.
Action Dandy ...
London: Back in the 1860s, long before the days of Action Man and GI Joe, what did a young lad do if he wanted a manly miniature role model, a real boy’s toy?
