A most endearing type of antique china doll are those known as Frozen Charlottes or Frozen Charlies. These dolls, which are all stationary or “frozen,” range in size from less than an inch to 16 inches or more. Some dealers will list a doll with moveable arms, usually wired, as a frozen; however, this type is not truly a frozen doll, but an all-bisque (as they tend to be bisque, and not china) if they have moveable wired-on arms. Another variable is the country of origin for these dolls. The older antiques were made in Germany, and there are vintage frozen dolls that were made in Japan. The dolls from the respective countries of origin have their own distinctive “look.”
German bathing children were made from circa 1850 to circa 1920, and were quite popular during the Victorian era. Most of the German factories that made china doll parts, including A. W. Fr Kister, Kestner, Conta & Boehme, Alt Beck & Gottschalk, Hertwig, and possibly Kloster Veilsdorf, also made the frozen dolls, which they termed “baderkinder,” or bathing children. Some of the dolls are quite recognizable for their factory of origin by their face painting, and some, especially those made later, are poorly painted and cannot be identified. It is possible that Simon & Halbig, more noted for bisque dolls, also made small frozen dolls. The frozen dolls can have bare feet or molded shoes and painted garters, arms raised or to the sides, and they sometimes have an aperture in their head to hold perfume, or a slit to be a coin bank. Some have molded features in their hair such as a colored band or ribbon, or a bonnet. Most are nude, and there are some rare ones with molded gowns, or molded swim trunks for Charlies.
One factory well known for making beautiful china bathing dolls is not among our factories listed for making china doll parts. Goebel made some bisque dolls, and they are known for their large boy bathing dolls with irises painted with spokes around the pupil. These dolls can be all white, white body with flesh tinted head, or all flesh tinted.
The name “Frozen Charlotte” has a rather macabre origin. This name for these dolls originates from American folklore of the early 1840’s with a legend entitled “Fair Charlotte,” and the Poem by Seba Smith, “A Corpse Going to a Ball.” These tell of a young lady called Charlotte who refused to wrap up warmly to go on a sleigh ride in January to a ball because she did not want to cover up her pretty dress. When she arrived at the ball with her fiance, he found her frozen to death. This story was meant to be a cautionary tale against vanity, and it is unclear whether it is based on a true event.
Many of the bathing dolls are glazed on their front sides and have an unglazed backside or derriere with a small hole. This allows them to float front side up and to drain water after the bath. Of coarse these small-to-tiny dolls are fun to dress, too. It is more rare to find these dolls in attractive clothing of the 19th century. Usually they are found nude, in naive child made attire of the early 20th century, and often with broken limbs. Intact dolls with good face painting and original clothing are truly a delight!
I first fell in love with Frozen Charlotte dolls after seeing Penny Hadfield’s article in Antique Doll Collector magazine, September 2015. This was the first time that I had seen the little frozen dolls in such fine quality and unusual variations. I loved the little vignettes she set up with mini tubs and wash basins.
Though she has some Frozen Charlottes in antique clothing as well, it wasn’t until seeing photos of Joy’s dressed frozen dolls that I decided to try dressing some of my Charlottes and Charlies. Many had been in a little bathtub for a long time, yet they had not wrinkled!
A few of my Frozen Charlottes came in antique clothing, and a few were in rather naive child-made clothing.
The little ichimatsu doll pictured above has a place in this post for two reasons: First, he is a 19th century doll that was made for the Japanese market, as opposed to the many Japanese bisque dolls that were made for export, as was the all-bisque doll pictured above. Second, I purchased him with no clothing, so I needed to make him a wee kimono. This project of making tiny doll clothing was the perfect time to clothe him.
And here are my Frozen Dolls after their bath with new clothing made from antique fabric. Beyond the yukata above, I made four dress variations, and the trousers and shirt. Everything is sewn by hand in this tiny size. While the clothing is fairly simple, the tricky part is fitting around limbs that are partly adhered to the body, and fitting for size in this tiny scale. What a creative challenge for those 19th century girls learning to sew for their dolls!
Dressing these little dolls was such a fun project for me because I was able to create with, and display on my dolls, some little bits of mostly reclaimed quilt scrap antique 19th century cotton fabrics that had been not very visible in a box.
Bathing dolls, or Frozen Charlottes, are such a fun variation of china dolls to collect, display, and play with. When they are not dressed in antique fabric, or handled only by the china, they are sturdy to handle and move around. Their small size allows for collecting many that take up a small amount of space. With patience and the willingness to pay more for them, some beautiful old and well painted examples can occasionally be found on the market.
Wishing you joy and delight in your dolls.
Thanks to Joy Harrington for posting photos on FB of her antique dressed frozen dolls so that I could admire them, and study and copy the little fashions.