Cedric

Cedric, Simon & Halbig, about 1900. Museum no. Misc:20-1979 (click image for larger version)

This doll is called Cedric and was made in about 1900 by the German manufacturer Simon & Halbig. He is a typical bisque doll because only his head is made from unglazed ceramic whilst his body is made of less expensive composition. This made him more affordable to produce and to buy. He has glass eyes that close when he lies down to sleep and a blonde mohair wig. He is about 23cm tall and is dressed in a sailor suit, a typical boy's dress of the early 20th century, with a red collar and red shoes.

Cedric was bought in 1903 from a shop in Westbourne Grove. He came with a Saratoga trunk full of different clothes for him to wear, including two extra pairs of shoes, two extra pairs of socks, another sailor suit, a nightshirt, a wool coat with pearl buttons, a straw boater and a crocheted beret. The trunk also contained accessories for Cedric, including a handkerchief, an umbrella, a black leather belt and a satchel with an English dictionary and a book about the history of England inside. 

Cedric was quite an unusual name at that date: Amy, the little girl who owned him, may have named him after Cedric Errol, the hero of the classic children's book Little Lord Fauntleroy, by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1886).