If you were a young girl growing up in the Victorian era, you most likely would have owned a Frozen Charlotte doll, perhaps even a few in various sizes. Frozen Charlotte dolls were made from about 1850 to 1920, and were crafted from china or bisque as a solid piece, most often unpainted or with minimal decoration. China dolls refer to those made from porcelain that is glazed, while bisque porcelain is unglazed and has a matte finish. The dolls were quite simple, and formed in one piece without articulated arms, legs, or necks. They tended to be small and without much detail.
Frozen Charlottes came in many sizes. They were typically small, less than one inch, and often referred to as Penny Dolls–tiny and cheap enough that a child was able to purchase one with their own money. The smaller more common dolls are most often unclothed or with minimal dress. Larger dolls were referred to as 25 cent dolls, and could be up to 10 inches tall or more. These were mass produced and hence, were considered to be cheap and disposable. Being porcelain, the dolls were easily broken.
Abundant throughout Europe, most Frozen Charlottes were made in Germany. Doll houses were also popular at the time, so many could be found as inhabitants of young girls doll houses. Along with female dolls, although much rarer, were male dolls. These eventually became known as Frozen Charlies. We’ll get to that story in a bit.
You can find Frozen Charlottes that have a glazed and finished front with an unfinished stoneware back. These were meant to be used in the bath. Some of them came with tiny bathtubs. The unglazed stoneware back allowed them to float in the water. Another use for them was to bake them into a cake, similar to the Mardi Gras tradition of King Cakes. It was considered a treat to be found as a tiny gift.
The name Frozen Charlotte didn’t come into use until the mid twentieth century, inspired by an 1841 poem written about a young lady on her way to a New Years Eve Ball. The poem was based on a news report from The New York Reporter in February, 1840.
As the story is told, the young lady and her beau were on their way to the party in an open sleigh. Unnamed in the original story, the poet gave them the names Charlotte and Charlie. The young lady was so enamored with her ball gown that she was unwilling to cover it up. She was admonished by her mother to wear a coat but refused. By the time the couple arrived, she had frozen to death. The poem became the basis of a ballad, which went by a few iterations of names, one of them being “Frozen Charlotte.” Coincidentally, this occurred around the same time the dolls arrived in the US…
…but the name did not become synonymous with the dolls until the mid 1950s. By that time the dolls had become collectible. Due to their frozen limbs and often unpainted porcelain coloring, doll collectors began calling them Frozen Charlottes. The first use of this description was in the late 1940s. Male dolls became known as Frozen Charlie dolls.
Today these antique mass produced cheap dolls have become highly collectable and the name Frozen Charlotte has stuck. Theriault’s, an auction house specializing in dolls, has recent sale prices ranging from $200 to $1700 for individual dolls and groups. Fear not, because the dolls were so popular, there are many available for more modest prices.
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For more about the story of Frozen Charlotte dolls check out this article from ASI Heritage.
Read about the Minute Man National Historic Park’s Frozen Charlotte doll named Creepy Catherine.
Find out about finding Frozen Charlottes while beachcombing here.
Hear three versions of the Fair Charlotte folk ballad at Frost Town Archaeology.
