Doll, baby doll

Small baby doll with bisque head and jointed composition body and limbs, although the left arm is a replacement bisque arm. The doll is dressed in a cream silk dress with cotton underskirt. On the back of the head is the mark '122'.

The doll was formerly in the toy chest on the Little Folks' Ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children in Hackney Road. The doll was played with by generations of child patients over a period of many years. Its significance as a much loved toy that gave pleasure to many was acknowledged in 1969 when it was presented to Ward Sister Brown on her retirement from the hospital. The poor condition of the doll, its ragged clothing and replaced arm, all contribute to its historical significance by representing how it both amused and comforted countless child patients over the years. The Museum also has a postcard of the Little Folks' Ward showing child patients playing with toys from the toy chest.