Original Dolls by Sarah Andrews (circa 1980s)
I don’t know anything about dollmaker Sarah Andrews, so if you have a doll of hers, or any more information, please leave a comment. If you could message me on Facebook with a photo I could add to this page, that would be very much appreciated.
1840 Mill Girl is 16″ tall (40.6 cm) and has a porcelain shoulder head and porcelain arms, on a cloth body.
Her facial features are hand painted. I can’t tell if she is marked because to take her bodice off would require completely unlacing it.
She has an unusual style of construction that I have not seen before, with a uniquely shaped lower torso and button-jointed legs that allow her to sit nicely.
She has a red wig with a center part and braid on either side from the part, gathered into a bun at the back with a piece of nylon stocking to hold it in place.
The Mill Girl wears a two piece dress of brown and white cotton, with a short-sleeved jacket with a peplum that laces up the front with thread. Under the dress she wears a white cotton chemise and petticoat, and she has a white cotton apron as well. She wears black knit stockings to just above the knee, and vinyl lace-up boots. A hand knit scarf completes her outfit.
Her paper hang tag indicates that she is #18 of an edition of 50.
I purchased this doll at an antiques flea market in Dover, New Hampshire. Many cities in New England, including Dover, were centers for textile manufacturing in the 1840s, and the young women who worked there were known as Mill Girls. The Lowell (MA) National Historical Park preserves the history of the mills, and includes a Mill Girls Boardinghouse Exhibit where you can see how they lived.
I found some other dolls by Sarah Andrews on Worthpoint. Click on the photo to go to the page on their website.
 Pixie (1983) |  Nicholas |
 Andrew |  Kate |