The Printed Page

Dollmaking vs. Waxworking: Remarkably Similar?

I recently interviewed Christine Trent, author of THE QUEEN’S DOLLMAKER and A ROYAL LIKENESS (due out on December 28^th), about her research experiences.  I learned that, contrary to what I imagined, these two unusual professions were quite similar to one another in the late early 19^th century.  Read on for more. . .

Q:  What was the difference between dolls and waxworks figures?  Weren’t some dolls made of wax, too?

Not in the 18^th century!  Even the highest-end fashion dolls were exclusively carved of wood, although few examples survive today.  Homemade dolls might be made with rags or dried fruit.

Also, dolls were not as focused on being lifelike, whereas waxworks were always an attempt to be faithful to the sitter (or dead body, depending upon the circumstances).

However, in the early 19^th century, dollmakers began experimenting with wax and then composition materials (a mixture of wood pulp and glue), leading to more realistic features and being more in line with waxworks.  In both cases, bodies might have been made of burlap stuffed with straw, or perhaps leather wrappings.  Wax was too expensive and delicate to use for bodies that would be covered by clothing anyway.

Q:  Were dollmaking and waxworking actually unusual professions for a woman of the time?  Dollmaking sounds like a perfect career for an 18^th century woman!

Well, there was a lot about dollmaking that made it a man’s profession.  The carving of wood into faces would have been closer to a carpenter’s job than anything else.  Sewing doll clothes would have been naturally a woman’s profession, but there were plenty of men who were handy with a needle and thread (just ask any of the jack tars in His Majesty’s Navy who were responsible for mending their own clothes and fixing sails!).

Conversely, you’d think waxworking would actually be a man’s profession, what with handling all of those heavy figures and constantly rearranging them inside your exhibition.  But this was an industry where women flourished.

Q:  Who were some of the famous women waxworkers of the time period in which you write?  Besides Madame Tussaud, of course.  Were there famous dollmakers, too?

In mid-18^th century America, Mrs. Patience Wright began molding faces out of putty, bread dough, and wax.  She traveled to England and opened up a successful wax museum, with enthusiastic patrons in no less than Benjamin Franklin, William Pitt, and King George III.  Mrs. Wright was even a spy for a time, passing messages to America inside her wax figures.

A Mrs. Salmon housed her collection in an ancient building Fleet Street at the turn of the 19^th century.  Interestingly, she had an exhibition that was part toy store, part waxworks.  So, presumably, you could leave your child downstairs to be entertained with whistles, bilbo catchers, and spinning tops, while you headed upstairs to entertain yourself with the wax figures.

A very famous dollmaking family of the time was the Pierottis.  Of Italian descent, they lived in London from the late 1700s.  They were pioneers in using poured wax to create dolls in the early 18^th century, and even used glass eyes and real human hair to create their dolls (is this beginning to sound like waxworking or what?).  The family created dolls through the 19^th century, and were responsible for many fine portraits of royalty.

Q:  What’s next for you?  Another “unusual professions” novel?

Of course!  In early 2012 should be the release of my next book, tentatively titled THE PRINCE’S PAVILION, about a cloth merchant named Annabelle Stirling.  Thanks to her patron and great architect, John Nash, Belle Stirling is a rising star in the homes of London’s fashionable elite.  Even the prince regent wants her elegant, high quality fabrics used in the decoration of his new palace, Brighton Pavilion.  But when those closest to her conspire against Parliament, she risks losing her reputation, her business. . .and even her life.

Get ready to learn about early 19^th century cloth manufacture, the Luddite riots, and other conspiracies of Regency England.

My fourth novel will be another unusual profession, this time a dark and mysterious one in Victorian England.  And that’s all I’m saying for right now!