Doll | Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

item details

NameDoll

ProductionDepartment of Soldiers' Re-establishment; 1920; Auckland
Wood Toy Co.; manufacturer(s); 1917 / 1923; United States
Harry Coleman; designer; 1917 / 1923; United States

Classificationdolls

Materialspine, beech, composition, iron, leather, cotton, rubber, paint

DimensionsOverall: 760mm (height), 280mm (length), 120mm (depth)

Registration NumberGH003513

Credit lineGift of Frances de Lisle, 1986

Overview

Christie the walking doll

This walking doll, known as Christie, has an interesting and entangled history. It is identical to the Harry H Coleman mechanical walking doll patented as the 'Dolly Walker' in the United States and made by Wood Toy Co. between 1917 and 1923. However, this doll's wooden torso and flexible legs were made at one of the Returned Services Rehabilitation Centres (officially becoming the Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment League in 1930) established in New Zealand following World War I. Christie, therefore, is a rare historical doll and a unique example of the type of rehabilitation work a returned serviceman undertook while recuperating from his injuries following World War I.

A childhood memory

Frances de Lisle was the lucky child who received this doll as a Christmas gift in 1920. Frances named her new doll Christie. On donating Christie to the national museum,she recalled how, when a child, she, Christie, and her cousin were crowd stoppers in Whangarei when taking a walk down the main street. Christie consequently wore out many pairs of shoes, testament to her being a much loved and treasured childhood toy.