LIBERTY OF LONDON
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Liberty of London | Norah Wellings | More Information | Works Cited
Liberty of London | Norah Wellings | More Information | Works Cited
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NOTE: When you click on the above link, you will go to a webpage with an article and/or a picture. At the top of the page, you will see arrows to press to take you to the next website. There should be between 3 and 10 websites.
HISTORY
This has definitely been the most difficult company to research.
If you ever visited England in the sixties, it would have been hard not to encounter one of their dolls. They have done a very brisk business in souvenir dolls for many years of that decade. I saw them when I visited my family there at that time. The company concentrated heavily on historical figures, with some literary characters as well. The article in the book Cloth Dolls from Ancient to Modern: A Collector's Guide, by Linda Edward) states that "the company made dolls from 1906 through the 30s and on". What does "on" mean? I would assume it meant that it might still be in operation. Who knows?
In any case, Edward states in her book that their "Art Dolls" were "made by artists hired by Liberty to use up company's fabric remnants. A design patent was taken out on these dolls in 1920."
The most famous Liberty of London dolls were the series of dolls created for the coronation of King George VI. Other historical and literary figures include Sir Walter Raleigh, Shakespeare and Dickens. Faces were needle-sculpted and were hand painted. The bodies have armatures and hair made of fine wool.
One of my sources (Judd) indicates that they made dolls from the 1930s through the 1950s - but that does not fit with my recollection of seeing the dolls in souvenir shops.
Dianne Culver writes on her blog:
Liberty of London Cloth Dolls
Produced from the 1930s to the 1960s. These hand-crafted cloth dolls, along with accessories, depict the history of Great Britain from the caveman through Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.” The dolls consist of history-making men and women, including royalty, political reformers, military notables, innovators in the arts, and contributors to natural and physical sciences. These hand-painted soft sculptured dolls are costumed in authentic period clothing.
The dolls were hand-sewn by two sisters, Ada and Kathleen Peat, from their Brighton, England home for the Liberty of London Department Store.
Further research has been difficult. Little can be found on the web about the total number of dolls in the collection. (Culver)
Interestingly, available information says that Liberty of London Company started out as a fabric shop. There is currently a very high-end fabric shop in London that is called Liberty & Co. I can find no information to verify a connection to the doll company. But there are some curious clues. Liberty of London (the doll company) was established in 1873 as a fabric manufacturer, and was listed as a doll distributor from 1906 and onward.(Edward) Pollocks Dictionary of English Cloth Dolls does not list Liberty of London under the title of Liberty of London. However, they DO list a Liberty & Co., Ltd. To add to the confusion, this name is also used in the Edward article about Liberty of London. The Pollocks article lists the Liberty Co as going into business making dolls and toys in 1906 - the same year that Edward lists Liberty of London's foray into doll making. The Liberty Co. is listed in Pollocks as going out of business in 1980, whereas the Fawcett article states the 1960s. To deepen the mystery a bit further....Pollocks lists the address of the Liberty company as Regent Street, and the current high end fabric shop is located on Regent Street. Hmmmmm.
If you ever visited England in the sixties, it would have been hard not to encounter one of their dolls. They have done a very brisk business in souvenir dolls for many years of that decade. I saw them when I visited my family there at that time. The company concentrated heavily on historical figures, with some literary characters as well. The article in the book Cloth Dolls from Ancient to Modern: A Collector's Guide, by Linda Edward) states that "the company made dolls from 1906 through the 30s and on". What does "on" mean? I would assume it meant that it might still be in operation. Who knows?
In any case, Edward states in her book that their "Art Dolls" were "made by artists hired by Liberty to use up company's fabric remnants. A design patent was taken out on these dolls in 1920."
The most famous Liberty of London dolls were the series of dolls created for the coronation of King George VI. Other historical and literary figures include Sir Walter Raleigh, Shakespeare and Dickens. Faces were needle-sculpted and were hand painted. The bodies have armatures and hair made of fine wool.
One of my sources (Judd) indicates that they made dolls from the 1930s through the 1950s - but that does not fit with my recollection of seeing the dolls in souvenir shops.
Dianne Culver writes on her blog:
Liberty of London Cloth Dolls
Produced from the 1930s to the 1960s. These hand-crafted cloth dolls, along with accessories, depict the history of Great Britain from the caveman through Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.” The dolls consist of history-making men and women, including royalty, political reformers, military notables, innovators in the arts, and contributors to natural and physical sciences. These hand-painted soft sculptured dolls are costumed in authentic period clothing.
The dolls were hand-sewn by two sisters, Ada and Kathleen Peat, from their Brighton, England home for the Liberty of London Department Store.
Further research has been difficult. Little can be found on the web about the total number of dolls in the collection. (Culver)
Interestingly, available information says that Liberty of London Company started out as a fabric shop. There is currently a very high-end fabric shop in London that is called Liberty & Co. I can find no information to verify a connection to the doll company. But there are some curious clues. Liberty of London (the doll company) was established in 1873 as a fabric manufacturer, and was listed as a doll distributor from 1906 and onward.(Edward) Pollocks Dictionary of English Cloth Dolls does not list Liberty of London under the title of Liberty of London. However, they DO list a Liberty & Co., Ltd. To add to the confusion, this name is also used in the Edward article about Liberty of London. The Pollocks article lists the Liberty Co as going into business making dolls and toys in 1906 - the same year that Edward lists Liberty of London's foray into doll making. The Liberty Co. is listed in Pollocks as going out of business in 1980, whereas the Fawcett article states the 1960s. To deepen the mystery a bit further....Pollocks lists the address of the Liberty company as Regent Street, and the current high end fabric shop is located on Regent Street. Hmmmmm.