No. 21

Harte & Estelle

Modern Artist Dolls (couple)

Details

Artists: Lynn Harrison, Shirley Lloyd
Original sculpt: Ron Booker
Molds: Seeley's (Estella S857, Harte M4004)
Height: About 23 in. (58 cm) by mold; measured height to be confirmed

About this doll

A bridal couple: the groom 'Harte' in a black frock coat and the bride 'Estelle' in an ivory satin wedding gown with a long lace veil. Lynn Harrison and her mother Shirley Lloyd made the pair from sculpts by Ron Booker, issued as molds by Seeley's.

The bride's blonde braids, her pearl necklace and the tiny flowers along the hem of her gown are all finished with great care.

Background

In the late 1990s Ron Booker created the 23-inch lady 'Estella' for Seeley's 'Lady Series', a sculpt emphasizing feminine grace with a slightly turned head, a slender neck, arms bent at elbow and wrist and pointed toes; it was presented in Doll Artisan magazine in 1997. He followed her with the gentleman 'Harte' as her companion, and doll magazines of 1999-2001 showed this male doll transformed into characters from Leonardo da Vinci to the Phantom of the Opera.

Seeley's, founded by Mildred Seeley in Oneonta, New York, in 1946, supplied everything the porcelain dollmaker needed, from molds taken from antique dolls to porcelain slip, china paints, bodies and costume patterns, and became the center of the hobby worldwide. After Rolf Ericson bought the company in 1977 the Doll Artisan Guild was founded, and at its peak in the 1990s Seeley's exported to more than thirty countries.

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