Doll:Pretty Miss Penelope

Dorothy Heizer remains one of the best-known and much admired doll artists of the 20th century. In the 1920s, as she was establishing herself as a dollmaker, she made a doll kit distributed through "Modern Priscilla," a popular woman's magazine of the day. The magazine article by her described the doll and what a seamtress needed to make it: "The doll's body is stamped on flesh-color fabric, and has only to be sewn up and stuffed. Best of all, the sweet face with its rosebud mouth, pink cheeks, and soft blue eyes is sent to you already delicately painted by hand on the fabric. The wee dresses and underthings are made in simple fashion of quaint and dainty materials, and even the bonnet and shoes are as easy to make as can be." Dorothy Heizer-made dolls are one (or a few) of a kind; Heizer doll kits appear to be rarer still.