Issue 4 April 2010
Staff Writer
The original Hitty doll was discovered more than eighty years ago, and the fascination with her continues to grow. Who could have ever imagined that one simple little, hand-carved wooden doll could have such an impact on so many people?
Though her true origins have never been determined, what is known makes for a great story in itself. Little Hitty was discovered in a New York City antique shop in the 1920s, by two women, Rachel Field and Dorothy Lathrop. Hitty was wearing her little cotton dress and underneath it, a simple, hand sewn chemise. On the bodice of the chemise, HITTY was embroidered in tiny red letters. It was pretty obvious that Hitty was her name, or possibly Mehitabel, with Hitty being the nickname used.
These two ladies knew nothing of the history behind the little doll they had just purchased, other than what they could tell by looking at her. From her style of clothing and hair, simple body construction and painted features, they estimated her age to be close to one hundred years.
Hitty stands just six and a quarter inches tall, and was carved from a hard wood, most likely White Mountain Ash. It appears that her head might have been a separate piece of wood. Her face and hair are carved and she has simple peg joints at her shoulders and hips, allowing her to sit down.
Her face had originally been painted, but was all but completely worn off. Her hair was painted black. The paint on her legs still showed the white stockings held up by the thin line of a red garter at mid leg. Little black boots had been painted on her feet.
Why this little doll so captured their imagination, no one may ever know, but she did. Rachel and Dorothy were so taken with Hitty that before the decade was over, they had written, illustrated and published a book. Cleverly written as a first person biography, Hitty described her exciting life full of adventures (and misadventures!) that spanned a century, and led to her ending up on the shelf of a New York antique shop. The pen and ink illustrations in the book of her simple possessions, such as her little desk and bed, have been copied by Hitty fans over and over.
This delightful book won the Newberry Award in 1930 and remains a popular book for generations of readers. Called "Hitty - Her First Hundred Years", by Rachel Field, the book is still available in both paperback and hardcover.
Today the original Hitty has a permanent home in Massachusetts, in the Stockbridge Library Historical Room, in the expert care of curator Barbara Allen. She receives frequent visits from her many friends and fans from all over the world, but is kept safe from damage by her glass enclosure.
Though there was (to the best of anyone's knowledge) only one original Hitty, there have been many, many doll artists who have created their own versions of Hitty. Some look astonishingly close to the real Hitty, complete with aged, faded paint and worn wood. Others are the individual artist's interpretation of the little doll. Many of these dolls have their own interesting beginnings, and in the coming months, we will meet some of these artists and their dolls.
A word of caution, once bitten by the Hitty bug, you will need to make or buy your own Hitty doll, and it seems highly improbable that she will be content to be by herself for long. She will need other Hittys and similar-sized friends, a comfortable place to live, plus all the little comforts of home. So even though the doll is barely over six inches tall, you might discover that, in time, she can take over your entire house.
A special thanks to Julie De Groat and Sara Cole for granting permission to use a few of their images of the original Hitty. To learn more about Hitty, and see additional images, visit www.hitty.org the official Hitty site.
Custom Dolls, Houses & Miniatures / CDHM