Childhood Classics II ® Collection

Peter and the Wolf - 1992

Edition of 750

Retail Price $495

The classic orchestral tale, Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev was the inspiration for the First Edition in the Childhood Classics II collection. The story has delighted each generation since it was first performed in the early years of this century. For it not only tells the tantalizing tale of Peter's brave capture of the fearsome wolf; but it also introduces us, through its profoundly simple musical score, to each of the major instruments of the orchestra.

Our version of this timeless tale includes both Peter and the wolf. The sturdy little Peter is dressed in a navy linen Russian suit, with a matching cap. His breeches are tucked into knee-high red leather riding boots. He wears a matching red belt. He has blonde hair and blue eyes and carries the rope with which he will capture the wolf and lead him to the zoo. The wolf, made entirely in the Lawtons workshops, is built on an armature and covered with three different densities of grey tipped plush. Peter is 14" tall; the wolf's seated height is 7," from toe to shoulder. 

Marigold Garden - 1992

Edition of 750

Retail Price $450

A favorite of Wendy's since childhood, Marigold Garden is the charming collection of rhymes and illustrations by Kate Greenaway, Marigold Garden has been prized from generation to generation as a classic children's book. It is loved for both the simple verse, which seems to show us the world through the eyes of a child, and for the beautifully colored illustrations and balanced page designs. Kate Greenaway was more than just an illustrator of children's books, she became an arbiter of a classic style, now known by her name.

Our Marigold Garden reflects the epitome of that style with a delicate watercolor-like image. She wears the quintessential Kate Greenaway, empire-waist dress of ecru cotton, with matching pantalets. Both are detailed with row after row of tiny tucks and edged with cotton embroidery. Her pale peach satin hairbows and sash match her dainty leather slippers. She has soft brown eyes and a wispy blonde mohair wig. She carries a nosegay of summer flowers. Marigold Garden is 14" tall.

Oliver Twist - 1992

Edition of 750

Retail Price $450

Charles Dickens had the gift of being able to endow his characters with so much life that we have a hard time remembering that they are part of the world of literature and not part of the world of history. Oliver Twist was one such character. Born in a poorhouse and reared in a workhouse, Oliver retained his goodness and sense of fair play. One of the most memorable lines of literature is Oliver's brave petition for a second bowl of gruel, "Please, sir, I want some more". It was this scene that inspired our version of Oliver Twist.

Oliver, holding his Rowe Pottery bowl, has a look of entreaty on his face. His tattered suit is made of beige Belgian linen and his shirt of cotton gauze. He wears hobnail shoes. He has a tousled mop of mohair curls and delicate blue eyes. Oliver Twist is 14" tall.

Tom Sawyer - 1993

Edition of 500

Retail Price $395

"Well, I don't see why I oughtn't like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?" -Mark Twain as Tom Sawyer 1876

Tom Sawyer. Just the name calls to mind the refreshing coolness of the old swimming hole, the fragrance of strawberries melting on the vine and the delicious anticipation of rafting down the old Mississippi. Perhaps no other book characterizes childhood's ebullience better than Mark Twain's classic, Tom Sawyer. Tom's famous whitewash caper proved to be the inspiration for this 14", all-porcelain doll. Whistling while he manages to persuade his friends to do his work, Tom is the picture of studied innocence. Dressed in denim overalls, a faded chambray shirt and a tattered straw hat, Tom holds the bucket of whitewash and brush. A red kerchief is tucked in his pocket and his toe is still bandaged.

The Velveteen Rabbit - 1993

Edition of 750

Retail Price $395

"Nursery magic is very strange and wonderful and only those playthings that are old and wise...understand." -The Velveteen Rabbit

The magic of the nursery is rekindled in Wendy Lawton's version of The Velveteen Rabbit and the boy who loved him. The Velveteen Rabbit, already showing his age, has bright shoe button eyes and a gentle soul. The boy is all-porcelain and stands 14" tall. He is endearing with his mop of tousled red curls, freckles and green eyes. The romper he is wearing is hand-smocked and made of hunter green cotton sateen. Hand-cobbled black leather shoes complete his outfit.

**Nominated for a DOTY

***Nominated for a Dolls Award of Excellence

Girl of the Limberlost - 1994

Edition of 500

Retail Price $425

Gene Stratton Porter's book, Girl of the Limberlost, is a classic in every sense of the word, and it served as the perfect inspiration for this doll. Gene Stratton Porter was a highly respected naturalist. She wrote both non-fiction nature books and wonderful novels in which she skillfully wove memorable characters and situations with rich natural detail. Her books are highly collectible and avidly sought. Some of Wendy Lawton's favorites are Keeper of the Bees, Swamp Angel, Daughter of the Land, Michael O'Halloran, Freckles, and of course, Girl of the Limberlost. The Limberlost wilderness, of which she wrote, was a vast natural swampland in Indiana. Until it was drained in the early years of our century, it was one of the richest preserves of native plant and insect life in our country. Many of Ms. Porter's books have an underlying theme of Limberlost conservation. She fought a long, futile battle for its preservation. Now, many years later, efforts have begun to restore part of the Limberlost.

The story of Elnora, the Girl of the Limberlost, is the story of a bright, principled young girl. She dearly wanted to attend High School, which at that time was a costly endeavor. Her taciturn mother did not value the importance of education and put many roadblocks in her way, but the resourceful Elnora manages to use her vast knowledge of natural science to pay her way through school. By collecting the delicate lichens and the rare moths and butterflies of the Limberlost, and supplying these specimens to naturalists the world over, Elnora earns her tuition and shares her love of the Limberlost. The story takes her into young adulthood, in the process allowing her to find the key to her mother's heart and to her own. Girl of the Limberlost is an all-porcelain doll, 14" tall.

Little Lord Fauntleroy - 1995

Edition of 350

Retail Price $450

Cedric Errol was born in New York amid modest surroundings. It came as quite a surprise to find himself named heir to an earldom, the Little Lord Fauntleroy.

Phoebe Preble and Hitty - 1996

Edition of 500

Retail Price $595

Straight out of the pages of the childhood classic, Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, written by Rachel Field and illustrated by Dorothy Lathrop, comes Phoebe Preble and Hitty. The story of the small wooden doll covers the span of a century in her life, but we visit the very beginnings of Hitty and her first owner, Phoebe Preble in about 1829. Faithfully rendered, Hitty is scaled to just three inches on a jointed, hand-carved wooden body. Phoeble Preble, a young girl of seven, with fair hair and bright blue eyes, wears a frock of striped cotton over lace trimmed bloomers. Phoebe is 14" tall.

**Nominated for a DOTY

Little Orphant Annie - 1997

Edition of 500

Retail Price $450

The James Whitcomb Riley poem, Little Orphant Annie, has been a favorite of children for more than a century. It never fails to leave imaginative little ones wide-eyed and trembly. Annie is all-porcelain, 14" tall.

Marcella and her Raggedy™ Family - 1998

Doll: Porcelain and Wood 16"

Raggedy Ann™ and Raggedy Andy™: Cloth 6"

Edition of 1,000

Retail Price $795

To celebrate Raggedy Ann's 80th Anniversary, The Lawton Doll Company issued a new edition, Marcella and her Raggedy Family, featuring the Marcella of the Volland books along with her Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy.

Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy are registered trademarks of Simon and Schuster, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Anne of Green Gables™ (at the Station) - 1999

Doll: Porcelain and Wood 14"

Edition of 350

Retail Price $795

Anne of Green Gables is seated on a wooden bench, clutching her well-worn carpetbag. Anne is wearing a soft brown print dress and extending down her back are two braids of very thick decidedly red hair, as described by the author L.M. Montgomery. She is 14" tall on a fully jointed, handcarved wooden body.

"Anne of Green Gables" is a trademark and a Canadian official mark of the Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority Inc.

Click the Join button to subscribe to The Lawton Loop-- an active e-mail discussion group of Lawton Collectors.