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AI Appraisal
Description
i have no idea what this doll is and i really need to know its bothering me. He has sandy brown pants with patches on his right leg, plaid shirt with a a fiddle or violin in the left arm, blue hat with patches and a blueish purple tie with dots on it.
Category
Other
Medium
ceramic or porcalian
Distinguishing marks
none that i have seen
Condition
Excellent
Size and dimensions of this item
estimated to 7 to 8 inches tall and and about inch to inch in a half wide
Date Period
1900's unknown
Weight
estimated 2to 3 pounds
History
got from elder couple and i can't figure it out
Price Paid (If known)
nothing
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Re: hobo clown unknown
This is an Emmett Kelly "Weary Willie" hobo clown doll, a character he developed in the late 1930s based on the hobos of the Depression era. He performed with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus from 1942-1956 and there was an astonishing amount of merchandise created with his visage. During the devastating Hartford Circus Fire in 1944 (in which 167 people died) he was famously photographed in full makeup and costume trying to extinguish the flames.
I was unable to locate this exact doll but among the vast array of Emmett Kelly items that have been offered for auction recently nothing of this sort (nor much of anything else) has gotten any bids at all.