Sunday 8 February 2009

Norah Wellings Doll, Rare Norene Girl Model 810



Norah Wellings

What a wonderful surprise I had today when opening my emails. Ann Willis has sent this fabulous photo of her Rare Norene Girl Model 810. I believe this to be the first Norene Girl made by Norah Wellings. She first appears in an early 1930's catalogue and was discontinued before 1936. The model number 810 is the lowest seen in any of the Norene Dolls I have found so far. Please see below the description Ann has sent with the doll.

'She is 18 inches, has her original clothes of felt, her dress fastens with a mother of pearl button. She has a decidedly off-white onesie. She has lost her original shoes and I don't know if her socks are original. She has individual fingers but surprisingly does not have rotational arms, they are sewn on'.

I have learnt something new, I did not know the arms on the first Norene Girls were sewn on and not jointed. None of the catalogues mention her construction so Ann's description is invaluable. The advertisement also mentions a 19 inch rather than 18 inch doll. Sizes always vary so please keep this in mind. You will also find outfits in different colour ways, material or a slightly different style than those shown in an advertisement. This is the fun of collecting .

Once again A Big Thank You To Ann for sharing her doll. She has also sent me another model that I will be writing about at another time.

Norene 810 Catalogue Advertisement 1930's


Norah Wellings
This advertisement is from an early 1930's Norah Wellings Catalogue showing Model 810 and the sizes she was available in. She appears in 3 catalogues. Only black and white photo's are used. She does not appear in the 1936 Cataloge so this model must have been discontinued by then. If you click on this photo you will see a larger image. Please take a look at the wonderful photo Ann Willis has shared with us of this rare model.