Vintage Irish Colleen Collector Doll Handmade In Ireland By Jay Of Dublin 8 inches

Writers of note throughout the ages have immortalized the Irish Colleen in both in song and story.  Her crisp white shamrock apron, red skirt, and green cloak give to this young lady a personality only to be found in the Emerald Isle.  Hand made in Ireland by Jay of Dublin.  The Colleen doll measures 8 inches tall and is dressed in a green wool felt cape with a red wool felt skirt and cotton apron.

Jay of Dublin was a company in Dublin that manufactured these dolls, made in the tradition of Shallowpool dolls, in the mid-1900's.   Though little is known about the company, Jay's Irish character dolls remain popular to collectors.  Besides the realistic facial features of the dolls, the costumes represent traditional Irish country clothing before the Potato Famine radically changed Irish culture. Each Jay of Dublin doll's costume was inspired by the cultural environment it represented.  The dolls were dressed in traditional Irish garments worn by Irish men and women in various regions of Ireland, were 8 inches tall, with a hand-painted plaster face, felt hands, and a padded cloth body supported on a wire frame or armature and mounted on a square mahogany base.  The faces are particularly interesting, being cleverly modelled, and and beautifully painted.   Each doll had a red "book" tag, with the words, "Collectors Character Doll handmade by "Jay" of Dublin" tied to its left wrist.  They all have wonderful expressive hand painted faces and detailed costumes.  The characters were all drawn from the various counties of Ireland, and depicted the diverse inhabitants and their equally diverse occupations.  Jay dolls are beautifully charming creations, with character and personality,