Britannia was made for the Coronation in 1937 and my first picture shows her on the cover of the Norah Wellings Catalogue in that same year. She only appeared in two catalogues 1937 and 1938.
Norah Wellings Cover for the 1937 Catalogue
Wonderful Norah Wellings display stand at The British Industry Fair in 1937. Also in the photo are other large Norene Models in Uniform. I must also note here that some of the Norah Wellings Dolls do have painted moustaches or beards, two models here have moustaches the Guard and the Scotsman. The smaller dolls shown are from her Novelty Range and include Guards, Admirals, Canadian Mounties and Girl Guides. I wouldn't be surprised if the Boy Scouts were on the side not photographed. A very impressive display.
'Brittania' and an 'Admiral', they were both auctioned in Christies Auctioneers, London on the 28th September 2000. They sold for £646 without commission. I bid on this wonderful pair but at the time I was living in Australia and couldn't go as high as I wanted due to the cost of posting them to me. Christies very kindly said I could use the photo but I could only use so many for my book and its great to be able to show them now.
Britannia stands 33 inches tall and she is model 3143, although her dress is not original everything else is. She has a wonderful padded gold cloth helmet with ostrich plume, gold chain mail vest and holds a trident in one hand and a shield in the other. Interesting to note the shield was a painted enamel plate. This model has blonde hair but as you can see the one on display and in the catalogue has dark hair The Admiral is a Norene model also 33 inches and all original, he does not appear in the 1937 or 1938 catalogues.
I hope you enjoy seeing these wonderful dolls, just click on the pictures to enlarge them.
hi i have a 1920s nora wellings doll it has got golden wool hair and a black steel owl on one arm it is currently on ebay if you want to see it with no bids i would be grateful if you could find out about it as i want to sell it
ReplyDeleteHello Caroline,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your enquiry. I have just had a look at her on ebay and she looks to be a Norah Wellings from the Dollymnine series made in the 1940's. I am afraid in her condition she would only be valued at around £10 to £12. Condition plays such an important part in the valuing of cloth dolls. The little owl on her arm I think may have been added by a previous owner.
Kind Regards
Gill
Hi, Gillian. My question is related to your comment above in response to the poster who was selling a 1940s Norah Wellings doll on eBay. My Spanish dancer night dress case doll has what looks like indentations on the left side of her face. Are those moth holes??? I paid only US$53 for her. Of course, I bought the doll because I love the painted face, the elegant dress and, yes, that intricate hairstyle. Any info you can provide would be appreciated. I definitely do not plan on ever reselling her. If you would like me to send you a photo, please let me know, and I will follow your instructions. I am not trying to get an appraisal, but it would help to know if those indentations would hurt her value.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteIf you could please let me a photo hopefully I can let you know if they are moth holes or dents that have formed in the face mask.
Thank you
Kind Regards
Gill