This is possibly the work of the English soft toy making firm of Norah Wellings which operated between 1926 and 1959/1960. Photographs of similar dolls by Norah Wellings are featured in Anthony Burton, 'Children's Pleasures', London, 1996, p.36, and Caroline Goodfellow, 'The Ultimate Doll Book, London, 1993, pp.102-3. Wellings also made and designed dolls for the Chad Valley Co Ltd. (see object file for Orion sailor doll)
This 'grinning' doll is one of two styles made by for the ship souvenir market; 'grinning sailor'with large ears and 'smiling sailor' with flat ears.
The place of manufacture.
In the absence of any definite maker's label or date.
Dolls such as these were sold aboard passenger liners as souvenirs. The Dutch style maritime uniform and the letters 'KPM' indicate that this doll was a souvenir of the Dutch Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij line (KPM) - also known as Royal Packet Navigation Company. This line was established in 1888 to service Holland's East Indies trade. It first began operating in Australian waters in 1908 and became one of the largest Dutch lines servicing this region. In the 1920s and 1930s, several KPM passenger ships frequented Australian ports. Among these were the Tasman, the Houtman, the Nieuw Holland and the Nieuw Zeeland. Nine of its largest passenger vessels were sold in 1947.
This souvenir sailor doll was probably obtained aboard a KPM ship in the 1920s or 1930s.
Donated by the National Trust's Museum of Australian Childhood by the Thyne Reid Foundation.
This text content licensed under 
This text content licensed under