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The Godey Lady Doll: The Story of Her Creation with Patterns for Dresses and Doll Furniture
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
- GenresCrafts
209 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1953
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July 4, 2014
I amuse myself with the allocation of five stars to any book written in 1953, especially after slogging through some rather painful social psychology books from that period due to my career in adult education. However, this book represented more than just the Godey lady doll. Here's the story.
My mother-in-law had kindly given me two framed oval images of Godey ladies. What is that, you might say! This fellow had started a "Vogue" for Victorian women (started in 1830) and really took off in the late thirties, thanks to the tender loving care and fierce womanly leadership of Sarah Hale. I sort of envision Sarah Hale as the nineteenth century version of our modern representation in "The Devil Wears Prada"! I'll not get in the details to save you some fun learning in case you manage to locate Eldridge book yourself :)
However, the quick education of the Godey Lady combined with the fitting style in my music room lead to my acquirement of these images, combined with my sudden interest in this rather tired book tucked in an antique shoppe for $5. Ironically, the book flap noted a $4.95 purchase price from 1953.
Really, the book is over half full of specs in creating your own Godey Lady doll, and even dollhouses, with images of the absolutely stunning productions that Charlotte Eldridge created with her highly supportive mother and eventually dragging-into-it-but-once-there-fell-in-love father. The story of Charlotte's own foray into this business was an amazing 100 year update from Godey and Hale's period into the world of feminine power. Still held by social expectations, but far more free than our Victorian counterparts, Charlotte shares her challenges and solutions from the mid-twentieth century.
Now, seventy years later, I look at the options women have today. Hale had to pet the male feathers with platitudes to earn the permission for females to read the Godey's Lady's Book, which sold for a stunning .25 cents an issue, sustainable only by the gigantic circulation they had. Eldridge had her own family battle with her female expectations in the house versus her growing business. Thanks to strong women like both Hale and Eldridge through the recent centuries, we get to pursue essentially any field we want. I believe it's wise to not take that for granted.
My mother-in-law had kindly given me two framed oval images of Godey ladies. What is that, you might say! This fellow had started a "Vogue" for Victorian women (started in 1830) and really took off in the late thirties, thanks to the tender loving care and fierce womanly leadership of Sarah Hale. I sort of envision Sarah Hale as the nineteenth century version of our modern representation in "The Devil Wears Prada"! I'll not get in the details to save you some fun learning in case you manage to locate Eldridge book yourself :)
However, the quick education of the Godey Lady combined with the fitting style in my music room lead to my acquirement of these images, combined with my sudden interest in this rather tired book tucked in an antique shoppe for $5. Ironically, the book flap noted a $4.95 purchase price from 1953.
Really, the book is over half full of specs in creating your own Godey Lady doll, and even dollhouses, with images of the absolutely stunning productions that Charlotte Eldridge created with her highly supportive mother and eventually dragging-into-it-but-once-there-fell-in-love father. The story of Charlotte's own foray into this business was an amazing 100 year update from Godey and Hale's period into the world of feminine power. Still held by social expectations, but far more free than our Victorian counterparts, Charlotte shares her challenges and solutions from the mid-twentieth century.
Now, seventy years later, I look at the options women have today. Hale had to pet the male feathers with platitudes to earn the permission for females to read the Godey's Lady's Book, which sold for a stunning .25 cents an issue, sustainable only by the gigantic circulation they had. Eldridge had her own family battle with her female expectations in the house versus her growing business. Thanks to strong women like both Hale and Eldridge through the recent centuries, we get to pursue essentially any field we want. I believe it's wise to not take that for granted.
Displaying 1 of 1 review