Today’s inspirational Sepia Saturday image is of three fresh faced choir boys.
Sepia Saturday Theme Image 362, by photographer David Knights-Wittome (1876-1943), courtesy of the Sutton Local Studies and Archives Centre
I know I have similar images of real choir or altar boys in my collection but I couldn’t get past these alternative and far less attractive ‘choir boys’. They are dolls made by one of my grandparent’s children, probably in the late 1940s or early 1950s. More correctly they are decorated paper cones with a doll’s head glued on. During my childhood they were kept in a glass cabinet in the living room of my grandparents’ home. I was allowed to take them out and play with them and always carefully and gently placed them back in their spot. When my grandmother downsized from her home of almost 60 years, she gave the dolls to me. Time and the effects of grandchildren have taken their toll, and their paper doily overskirts and collars are now in serious disarray. The sticky tape that held on the head of the one on the right has long since perished, making him sometimes look like a headless horseman. The one on the left has a head of large proportions compared to his body and sometimes his closing eyes don’t quite close, making him look a bit macabre. Nevertheless they remind me of a quiet and gentle time I had playing in that warm comforting room in front of the wood fire with my grandparents, and I treasure them for those memories that they evoke.
Choir or altar boy dolls, circa late 1940s.
Why don’t you pop over to Sepia Saturday and see how other bloggers have interpreted the choir boys?
A little fragile with age but still holding their heads up! Real treasures with memories.
Yes, only just holding their heads up Liitle Nell. It was a bit of work to balance the head of the doll on the right for long enough to take a pic!
Quite the pair! Your sentiment about the memories attached to them is one shared by many, I’m sure.
Thanks for dropping by Mike. I do enjoy your blog and the perspective you are able to put on both images and instruments. 🙂
Delightful little items. It’s nice to have something that triggers happy memories.
It is isn’t it Lorraine. Thanks for dropping by!
Oh, Jenny…they are sweet choirboys indeed! And it’s true…we cherish things NOT for the things themselves, but for the memories attached to them.
You are right Deb. Those dolls take me straight back to the corner of that room, and remind me of how warm and content I felt there.
Simple but clearly holding happy memories for you.
They are very simple Jo but I guess my grandmother cherished them for some reason or they wouldn’t have survived. She was very good at throwing out things and not being a hoarder – though I sometimes wish she was! Thanks for dropping by. 🙂
How lovely that these little dolls have survived to give you a lasting tangible memory of your grandparents.
It is pretty amazing that they survived Sue. Who would have thought paper doilies could still be relatively intact after 60+ years?
I love those little choir boys, they look just perfect to me. What beautiful memories they rekindle for you.
Thank you Chris. It’s amazing how such insignificant things can be so precious isn’t it?!
I have a houseful of ‘precious’… one child understands and appreciates, the other says it’s all junk and will be tossed. Guess which one I hope gets in here first O:-)