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Charles Baby is an early composition doll, crudely made but with a wonderfully happy expression. While he is marked "N D Co", it is not known which company made him, as there was more than one manufacturer of composition dolls in the early years with those initials. It might have been the Natural Doll Co., New Doll Co., or National Doll Co., which were all based in New York City during the late 1910s and 1920s, when Charles Baby was likely made.

Body Construction
Charles Baby measures 22" long, and sits up at 17" tall. His shoulder head and arms are composition, with a straw-stuffed cloth body and bent baby legs. It appears that his legs were originally jointed with metal washers and a heavy wire, although this example has had his legs sewn in place at some point in his long life. The arms are wire jointed. His blue painted eyes look straight ahead, and he has two painted upper teeth in his smiling mouth. He was also made in a 24" size with compo legs as well as arms.

Markings
He is marked "N D Co" with the N D inside the C; and beneath that "CHARLES BABY" in quotes. The 24" size is not marked with his name.

Sources for this page include:

• "More Twentieth Century Dolls" by Johana Gast Anderton
• "Collector's Encyclopedia of American Composition Dolls, 1900-1950" by Ursula R. Mertz
• "The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls, Volume Two" by Dorothy S., Elizabeth A. and Evelyn J. Coleman

Copyright 2007 by Zendelle Bouchard.