Very RARE, Moravian Church original cloth doll with copy of original history

Description: From a private collection**....As shown and described on page 183, "Cloth Dolls"-Judd, this is a rare 18" tall, handmade, Moravian little girl cloth doll from the 1930s (doll in blue dress) representing one of the four choirs of the church. The dolls were named after Countess Henrietta Benigna Justina, (married sister*) the daughter of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf. Benigna founded the first Moravian School for Girls in 1742 which was the first Protestant boarding school for girls in America and her costume is copied from those worn by Moravian women around 1872.Handmade by women under the direction of Polly Heckewelder from the Bethel Circle of King's Daughters of the first Moravian Church of Bethlehem and by Maggie & Bessie Pfhol, daughters of Christian Thomas Pfhol, minister of the Old Salem Home Moravian Church, these special dolls are highly prized by Moravians down through the years, seldom sold and usually passed from family member to family member. Her original hand sewn clothing includes a light cotton, pale blue dress with long puffed sleeves, an organdy pinafore apron, bloomers, lace trimmed slip and bonnet, socks and shoes. (in group photos, doll on right) The cloth head has beautiful hand painted features and her hair is also hand painted. We have a very rare selection of these Moravian dolls as shown in the group photos. See also page 149, "16th Blue Book. **This listing is for ONLY the ONE doll described. NOTE: There would be four dolls in a complete each set of dolls: The Widow who wears white accents, *The Married Sister wears blue accents, The Single Sister has a pink dress and the Little Girl has cherry. Each is similarly dressed but with different colored accents. Thanks for visiting, Let us know if we can help you with anything else. We have more antique and vintage dolls, dollhouse furniture and antique dollhouse dolls available, each listed separately. Please also visit our constantly updated Ebay store and sign up for our FREE newsletter delivered twice a month!THANKS for visiting, please stop back often and be sure to add me to your favorites list so that you will be among the first to find our next ebay treasures. We welcome your inquiries and gladly combine purchases to save you shipping costs and help stretch your "dolly budget". There is never a handling or packing fee. We do our best to describe our items well and want you to be happy with your purchase although we value everyone's unique set of values. We appreciate five-star reviews. We charge only the actual shipping costs (often less) and are deeply committed to giving every customer a "five-star" experience as we hope to become your first source for fine antique dolls and toys. If you are happy with your purchase, please leave us positive feedback and we will gladly return the favor. If there is a problem with your item, please let us know prior to leaving feedback and we will do our best to make sure you are satisfied. You can also pay for your item (even if you don't have a PayPal account) by charging it through PayPal to any major credit card! We recommend insurance on all your purchases. Proud to be a part of Ebay's 25 yearSellerbration

Price: 589 USD

Location: Sparta, New Jersey

End Time: 2024-12-27T01:42:49.000Z

Shipping Cost: 16.45 USD