11″ Cloth Mexican Family. The dolls originally belonged to Nathan Schlanger. Mr. Schlanger purchased varies souvenirs while on business trips around the world in the 1960’s and 1970’s buying cloth for his fabric business. During these business trips he purchased dolls for his young daughter. She had been storing them in a closet for the last 35 years for safe keeping. After his death, the daughter decided to sell them along with his home and its’ contents.
The dolls are cloth with glass inset eyes and teeth made of seeds and shells. The woman is dressed in an indigenous costume and has a baby held on her back with a woolen rebozo shawl. Her husband is dressed in a peasant costume with a woven palm sombrero and leather huaraches (sandals). He is holding a decorated green batea platter.
I purchased the dolls in 2014 from Lots of Goody’s in Malverne, New York.
