davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2025

[davidd]

Did she hurt her wrists helping out with Smarts and Crafts?  

Bandages over the stigmata wounds.

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13 February - A Doll A Day 2025:

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Circa 1950s or 1960s unbranded nun dolls, about 8 inches tall.

The poor things have had nails driven through their skulls, and various other parts of their bodies, for nearly 70 years.

I purchased a number of these old nun dolls inex-pensively via eBay about four years ago to use as parts to create 1/6-scale nun figures. Most of the dolls I purchased were in poor condition so I had no qualms about using them as parts donors.

These two, however, were in much better condition. The one in the white costume looks as though she had rarely or never been removed from her box. I've been struggling emotionally over taking these dolls apart to use essentially as craft supplies. Somebody received these dolls as gifts, probably when they were very young (one of the dolls has a "first communion" pin attached). They were kept in good condition -- either cherished or stashed away and forgotten, for six or seven decades. I'm sure these dolls ended up as part of an estate liquidation before finding their way to eBay.

What right have I to destroy something that was cherished, or at least kept intact, for fifty, sixty, or even seventy years for one of my silly little craft projects that will never be of use to anyone?

As a result, these two dolls have been stashed away in my storage shed for the past three, maybe four years.

Today I decided to stop being so maudlin over something that nobody else cares about. The family of whoever they belonged to didn't keep them. The eBay seller didn't keep them. I'm sure I only paid ten or twelve dollars apiece, so it's not like they have any financial value. There are still loads of similar dolls on eBay at asking prices in the mid-$20 range, so they are not rare. A glance at "sold listings" on eBay indicates that very few dolls of this type end up selling, so there is little to no demand.

Objectively, looking at these dolls as mere "things," then, there is no reason not to "part them out" for other purposes. Subjectively, however, I can't help picturing some little girl of sixty or seventy years ago in her pretty communion dress that her mother made for her receiving her first communion service and then being given one of these dolls as a gift and treasuring it her entire life.

If I keep and treasure the doll, am I helping keep alive the memory of somebody I never knew and know nothing about? If I take the dolls apart, am I destroying the last vestige of something that was once very important to someone?

It's so hard to know what to do sometimes. I should just buy new stuff. But I could get two or three of these old dolls for the price of one new "nun costume" for a 1/6-scale figure, and the old ones actually look nicer.

Ultimately, I took apart the one in the black robe. As I took the doll apart, I felt less guilty. The fabric has become very brittle, as has the plastic of the body. The doll and the costume is deteriorating from age. I'm not sure if I'll be able to salvage enough to create another 1/6-scale nun figure.

I might keep the one in the white robe. She has "sleep eyes" and even included her original box, and is in better condition than the one in the black robe.