Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A LONG-AWAITED CHRISTMAS GIFT







The year was 1937. A seven year old girl asks for only one thing for Christmas - a Shirley Temple doll. She tells Santa that she wants this doll more than anything in the world. She tells her parents. She tells everyone who will listen. She waits, with all the patience that a seven year old child can muster, for the Big Day.

Christmas morning arrives, and there is her gift - it is in a doll-shaped box! She can barely contain her excitement! She tears into her present, just as her older sister does the same with her gift. Her sister pulls out a beautiful composition Shirley Temple in a white dress with red polka dots. Eagerly the little girl reaches into her doll box and pulls out…a Jane Withers doll? How can this be? Surely there is some mistake!

I think most of us understand how the little girl felt at that moment - as if all the air had been let out of the room. That little girl was my mother.

                                                   Joan Thorpe, circa 1937           
                                   
For many years, my mother retold this story around the holidays. I would not say that we heard the story every Christmas, but let’s just say that we were more than familiar with her tale of childhood disappointment. My sister Nancy and I decided that it was not too late to fulfill her childhood wish.

I had a keen interest in antiques, but neither of us knew anything about old dolls. We both enjoy doing research, so we began learning everything we could about 1930’s Shirley Temple dolls. I was amazed at how much there was to learn, not just about Shirley, but antique dolls in general. The more I learned the more intrigued I became. And let’s face it, a big part of an antique doll’s charm is that it was once loved by a child.  I may admire an antique table or hanging lamp, but it is unlikely that anyone really cried because they didn’t receive a lamp for Christmas. These dolls were another thing altogether!

Nancy located a Shirley Temple doll in Massachusetts that seemed to be almost exactly what we were seeking. She was 18” tall with nice compo, great hair, and an original dress - but she was not wearing the red and white polka dot dress that my mother remembered, from the movie “Stand Up and Cheer“. Nancy bought the doll and we ordered a replica dress for her. We also ordered her a nice wood and glass display case.

OK! We were ready! But wait - we wanted to make the actual “gifting” very special for her. We devised our “plan of presentation”. We made up two cards from Santa. We took the first card and placed it inside a separate envelope, addressed to the Postmaster of North Pole, Alaska. The Postmaster opened our letter, postmarked our card from the North Pole, and sent it on to our Mom. The card read as follows:

Dear Joan,

After much searching
I have found
your special gift
in time for delivery on
Christmas Eve.
No time to explain.
Be good!
Ho, Ho, Ho,

Santa


She was so surprised to receive this card from Santa. Who really sent this card, and what did it mean? It was even postmarked from the North Pole! She has breakfast every day with her friends, and she took along her mystery card to share with them. I imagine she watched their expressions for tell-tale clues of who the sender might be. I remember her discussing it with me and proposing different possible senders and different possible meanings. She had absolutely no idea that it was us! This was even better than we had hoped.

Christmas Eve arrived. She visits with her relatives all evening, and we know her pattern. So when the time was right, we sneaked into her apartment. We set up Shirley in her glass display, wearing the replica dress that Mom would remember. We placed her original dress inside the case, as well. We placed her on my mother’s dresser in the bedroom. All evening she had been thinking about her mysterious special gift. But by the time she returned home, she was a little dismayed that nothing had happened - Christmas Eve was over - had it been a hoax?

So imagine her surprise when she went into her bedroom and saw her long-lost Christmas gift. On top of the case we had placed the second card from Santa. It read:

Dear Joan,

This gift should have been delivered
on Christmas Eve 1937.
Nancy and Sandra have written
to tell me that somehow the Elves
mixed up the tags and you
received a Jane Withers Doll by mistake.
I am sorry this happened
because you were a very good girl that year
and deserved a special gift.

Love,
Santa

The point of my story is this: Yes, she was surely very sad when she did not receive her doll on that long ago Christmas morning. But perhaps the real cause of her pain was the feeling that no one had really listened to her or taken her wishes seriously. Now when she relates her Christmas story, she can smile, because it finally has a happy ending. And many years later, Shirley still stands proudly in our Mother's living room - on display for anyone who would like to hear the story of how
Santa may be delayed, but he never forgets.

                                     

My mother's long-awaited Shirley Temple doll

A few little footnotes:

This is not only the true story of a very belated gift. It is also the story of how two sisters began their fascination with old dolls. My sister is Nancy Dewitt, of Two Sisters Antiques.

The Jane Withers composition doll was produced by Madame Alexander for one year only - 1937. Her current value is 2 - 3 times higher than a comparable Shirley Temple doll of the same period. We would sure like to know what became of our Mother's doll!

                                                                                                                              
                All Original Jane Withers doll, Courtesy of Chip Barkel Antiques

Jane Withers was a child star during the 30's and 40's. She acted in 36 Hollywood films between 1934 - 1943. She is also well known as Josephine the plumber.  She is an avid doll enthusiast, and the bulk of her collection was auctioned by Theriaults in 2004. She has been called an eternal optimist. She celebrated her 85th birthday in April.

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