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This is pretty remarkable, considering the near-universal belief that this time period was the origin of the dolls’ name. Because they were made on a production line to be sold dirt-cheap, such dolls often had facial features painted on in a hit-and-miss fashion, adding to their charm. Some, dating from the 1920s, have tiny arms molded on their chests as if clutching their hearts, thus the label "hand-on-my-heart" dolls. There were also many rudely made Frozen Charlotte-style dolls that were popular in the 1920s and '30s and sold inexpensively as cake decorations and party favors. Such dolls were mass-produced in Germany, Japan and the United States. Also popular in the 1880s and '90s were numerous little dolls with china heads, arms and feet attached to nankeen cloth bodies in varying sizes.
Fair Charlotte, American Folk Ballad
“The Victorian doll who represented a frozen woman” has become an example of “hidden” or “hushed-up” history, the type of bizarre “did you know … ? ” factoid we believe and share without asking for primary sources. Doll collector/historian Nancy Shepard cautioned about this intertwining of fact and fiction in 1952.
Frozen Charlotte (doll)
Many beachcombers dream of finding a tiny porcelain arm, leg, torso, or head. Though they are certainly not as sweet a beach find as a nice piece of sea glass or a beautiful seashell, they are fascinating and rich historical items. Was young and gay and her charms of youth and beauty were never lovelier than when dressed for that New Year’s Ball.
For Decades, Frozen Charlotte Dolls Were Bestsellers
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They are formed as one solid piece and have no joints, thus giving rise to the name “Frozen”. Some have dark-painted hair and red lips but they are otherwise as white as snow. So, while it makes a compelling and delightfully morbid origin story, none of the children who actually played with these dolls knew of a connection between their favorite toy and a foolish young woman’s frostbitten corpse. And even though they’ve lost a bit of their historical creepiness, don’t let that stop you from being excited if you find a porcelain doll on the shore. The poem was a hit, as it touched on the dangers of vanity and not listening to your parents.
The Haunting History of ‘Frozen Charlotte’ Dolls
Victorian children loved to play with tiny, porcelain dolls that resembled corpses. Called Frozen Charlotte dolls, the porcelain figures reminded children of the morbid tale of a young woman who perished from the cold on a sleigh ride. Instead of focusing on vanity and fashion, like the original Charlotte, children who played with the dolls learned to listen to their parents. In fact, the so-far earliest mentions of a doll called Frozen Charlotte and couplings of the doll with the legend appear in American newspapers in the mid-1940s. And it was doll collectors and reporters writing about doll collectors who called penny dolls by this name, sometimes also referring to the legend.
Decorating Ideas for Frozen Charlotte Dolls
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Frozen Charlotte dolls were popular in the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mostly manufactured in Germany, they were produced in a variety of sizes ranging from less than an inch tall to over a foot and a half long. The size of the doll is often a good indicator as to its intended purpose.
What's more, her beau Charles was left so broken-hearted that he, too, perished, and the lovers were buried in the same tomb. Antique Frozen Charlotte dolls, particularly those from the mid-19th century, tend to be more valuable. Older dolls carry historical significance and often possess unique characteristics.
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The male version of the porcelain doll earned the name Frozen Charlie, likely after Charlotte's beau who perished of a broken heart and shared her tomb. In 1840, The New York Observer published an article about a horrific New Year's Eve accident. According to the article, "A young woman, whose name is given as Miss _____, was frozen to death while riding twenty miles to a ball on the eve of January 1, 1840." The Germans manufactured the porcelain dolls to float in the bath, a 19th-century rubber ducky. The dolls would float on their backs in bathwater, entertaining children during their baths. There isn’t a single reference (in magazines, books, newspapers, or anything else for that matter) of these porcelain dolls being called “Frozen Charlottes” in the entire 19th and early 20th centuries.
Now serving up sparkle: Ear piercing for girls and dolls
Such dolls were sold undressed (the clothes are almost always homemade) and were used in dollhouses since they wre jointed and were able to sit, unlike the Frozen Charlottes. This new doll was different, though, because whereas most of the china-head dolls represented ladies, the new doll was designed as a baby or small child. It was generally chubby in form, with molded stiff limbs and bare feet. The arms were bent at the elbows, but the legs were straight and separate. It usually had short black molded hair with brush marks framing the face.
This tale, sometimes condensed, was reprinted across the United States in the early 1840s and made its way into British newspapers. Further, it was adapted to poem (or “ballad”) form in early 1841 and credited to “Mrs. Seba Smith” (Elizabeth Oakes Smith, née Prince), an American writer and early feminist. In late 1843 the poem was republished in The Rover, a magazine edited by Smith’s husband; oddly, this time Seba Smith himself was credited as its author.
For those among us with this fear towards porcelain dolls, the Frozen Charlotte may be the most unsettling of all. A Frozen Charlotte is a petite porcelain baby, standing anywhere from 1″ to 18″ tall. These dolls are usually made from unglazed porcelain, bisque, or China. They have a matte, ivory-colored finish, which sets them apart from glossy porcelain dolls.
Attach them to necklaces, brooches, or keychains for wearable vintage elegance. During the war, many of the doll factories were either abandoned or destroyed, burying the Frozen Charlotte inventory in the dirt. These dolls are now hunted for and dug up by excavators for the many collectors who covet them. Ultimately, Frozen Charlotte dolls became eerie reminders for children to obey their parents. Like marbles, dice, and other toys, when they wore out, broke, or were no longer wanted they ended up bring tossed in the trash. In past centuries, many towns and cities dumped their municipal trash over a cliff, in a river, or directly on a beach.
Today, Martha Stewart provides a recipe for Frozen Charlottes, though without the backstory of the cautionary tale of a 19th-century girl freezing on a sleigh ride. The connection between the name and the dolls lies in the fact that, like the unfortunate Charlotte in the song, these dolls are often depicted as being barefoot and without clothing. The popularity of the ballad likely contributed to the adoption of the name for these small porcelain dolls, which began to emerge around the same time.
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