Doll, Cloth (Jollyboy)

Maker and Role
Designer: Norah Wellings (b.1893, d.1975)
Manufacturer: Victoria Toy Works (estab. Circa 1926, closed 1959)
Production date
1931-1940
Description
Plush velvet sailor doll in uniform, often referred to as a "Jollyboy". Dark blue torso, legs and arms. Light blue fabric cape with dark blue ribbon detail stitched at the front of neck and loose at back. Rope band loosely attached around neck and stitched at the front. Fabric ears loose from side of head with stitched lobes, bare feet and hands with stitched fingers and toes. Solid facial features made from cream-coloured moulded velvet with visible seam. Hand painted facial features. White fabric cap with blue ribbon hat band stitched with "SS Empress of Britain" in white. Fabric maker's label stitched onto sole of left foot "MADE IN ENGLAND / BY / NORAH WELLINGS". Manufactured for sale aboard the SS Empress of Britain between 1931-1940.
Purchased by Nelson Tasman resident Stanley George Page (b. 1913, d. 2007) while aboard the vessel during transport to WWII in Europe from Wellington with the 2nd Expeditionary Forces as a Private in the NZ Medical Corp in May 1940. The SS Empress of Britain was torpedoed by a German U-Boat and sunk off the coast of Ireland in October 1940.
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Object detail

Production Place
Classification
Doll/Toys/Recreational Objects/Nomenclature
Documentary Objects/Communication Objects/Nomenclature
Media/Materials Description
Solid stuffed head with velvet overlay stitched from neck and up and head to the.
Media and Materials
Measurements
Max Width = Arms extended, Depth = Back of head to tip of nose.
Measurements
0 - Whole = Height x Width x Depth (mm) = 260 x 200 x 50mm
Width (mm) = 100mm
Object Type
Subjects
SS Empress of Britain
Doll
Subject Date
Accession Number
NPM2020.63
Credit Line
Doll, Cloth (Jollyboy). Nelson Provincial Museum Collection: NPM2020.63

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