#fred laughon

[small-stitchery]

The Fred Laughon Doll Fangirl Post!

Hello again, doll friends!

I was HUGELY lazy last year. Whilst I was actually making little bits and pieces of doll clothing, as well as adding a few more friends to my collection- would you believe, I barely documented a thing? Can't have that - so, to kick off 2022 the right way, I'm going to write a little piece on one of my favourite things at the moment: wooden dolls.

(some of the wonderful reproduction wooden dolls craved by Fred Laughon, a 20th century art doll-maker from Virginia)

If, like me, you loved Felicity of American Girl fame and the gorgeous little wooden dolls she and Elizabeth had in their sets :

(d'aww... these were so detailed and accurate: thanks, AG!)

then you might be interested in the lovely Fred T Laughon reproduction dolls, as shown above. If you're lucky enough to live near Richmond, Virginia - or in and around Colonial Williamsburg - then you may actually have seen some of them on display in the Mantuamaker's shop:

(I do love how in the above picture, they've clothed the doll in a blue gown; so it's almost a dead ringer for Felicity's!) They still have some of the smaller ones on display today, too, I believe - and they update the tiny shop with different accessories and outfits.

There's not much information out there on the Internet about Fred Laughon himself - which is a shame. What I've found comes from an article in the 2015 UFDC magazine, and an online obituary.

Frederick Laughon was a well-known local figure and retired preacher in Richmond, Virginia. He was also a talented cabinet maker in his retirement, and he was fascinated by the simple jointed wooden dolls of the 18th and 19th century. He began making reproductions of his own, and the quality and skill he put in meant they were very popular

The Laughon dolls were very much a family enterprise, throughout the 1980s and 90s. Fred would hand-carve the dolls, whilst his wife Helen and daughter Nel would make the outfits for them. They made a limited edition range of dolls (known as the "Charity" doll)for the 1994 UFDC convention:

They came with a sweet little story about a mother adopting a little orphan girl!

Sadly Fred died in 2002. But his legacy lives on, as his wooden dolls are still much sought after online for doll collections. And you can see why - the love and care put into the Laughon family doll creations absolutely shows.

the lady and gentleman above are a set of 2 dolls known as 'Mr and Mrs Tyler' - I do love the gorgeous little period hairstyles!

I'm lucky enough to own the taller 'Charity' Laughon doll, as well as the Mr and Mrs Tyler couple. I'll post some more on the ones in my own personal collection later on. But for now, just wanted to share how well-made and enjoyable the wooden Fred Laughon dolls are!

#fred laughon #wooden dolls #historical dolls #reproduction dolls #18th century doll #queen anne doll #18th century toys #colonial williamsburg #toys #doll collection #dollblr #doll photography #doll collector #fred t laughon #helen laughon #nel laughon #grodnertal dolls #historic toys #19th century toys #wooden toys #jointed dolls #laughon dolls

[wildbeautifuldamned]

VINTAGE HANDMADE FRED LAUGHON jointed wooden doll SIGNED wbill of sale 1989 ebay aphotographerandacollector

#wood #doll #girl