Limited Signature Edition

LE25 - Royal Tour

Attending a "Klondike" party at Fort Edmonton, Canada

Please see important additional information at the bottom of this page

Limited to 2000 Sets - Issued in 1985

Taken from the House of Nisbet Catalogue, 1985, page 14, showing the Production Release models. (Please note that Prince Charles is carrying a cane, and Princess Diana is wearing a hat)

The development of a doll is something that collectors might not give too much thought to - but it can be a complex process, going through several iterations, before the conflict between artistic intent, financial considerations, and production issues can be resolved.

In our collection are some dolls that illustrate this process, and the slideshow below will give a small insight into how the dolls evolved from initial idea to the finished article (as shown at the top of this page).

Prototypes are models made to explore the proposed idea for the new doll, to show how it might look as a finished entity, and to see if the costume and finishing ideas will work well, and be relatively easy to achieve in production.  

Sample dolls were produced to be used to show the standard of finish required, and were used by both factory workers and outworkers, to maintain the required standards of finish at agreed levels.   This ensured that, as far as is possible with hand-made dolls, there was little variation from one to another, with regard to the major areas of costume and finish

The set consisted of two dolls :

  • P/1015 - Prince Charles
  • P/1016 - Princess Diana

The slideshow below displays the complete "Royal Tour" doll collection

The slideshow shows how the original prototype for Princess Diana was made with the hair moulded onto the head.   In the production sample, we can see that the decision was made to use the more traditional mohair wig.   Another factor that may have influenced this decision may have hinged on the doll faces.   Both were different, and it may have been felt that the open smile and slightly inclined head were more representative of Princess Diana.

However, the dress of the prototype, with the hem lifted to show the layers of lace petticoat underneath, was used in production, because it more closely matched the style of the actual dress worn by Princess Diana.

The Prince Charles doll was a well-established member of the Nisbet "Royalty". and the prototype and sample dolls shown here simply illustrate relatively minor adjustments to the costume

One key feature is missing from Princess Diana - she would have been wearing a hat, and Prince Charles would have been carrying a walking cane.

The doll pictures will auto run as a slide show in the window above.

Press F5 (function key 5 on your keyboard), to re-start the slide show.

Alternatively, you may control the slideshow manually – follow the steps below :

  • Place the cursor at the bottom of the window to access thumbnail and navigation control bar
  • Click on the “?” (question mark) symbol (bottom left hand side of the control bar) for a detailed explanation of the controls
  • See a full screen slideshow by clicking on the “Square with Arrow” symbol (2nd from right on the control bar)
  • Use the keyboard arrow keys to move forward and back through the slideshow, as desired
  • Use the “ESC” key to leave full screen mode

Further Reading on the "Klondike" Dress :

Readers may be surprised to learn that the dress was not new when Princess Diana wore it at Fort Edmonton; You can find out about its fascinating history on the following webpage :     www.princessdiana.ca

The dress has been displayed at Kensington Palace, and is now on exhibit on the Queen Mary in California, as part of a breast cancer fundraising exhibition

Many thanks to Michael H Smith, current owner of the dress, for supplying additional information, and for allowing us to link to his fascinating webpage

News

21st September 2023

 

Important Announcement

 

My dear wife, Christine, passed away on the 8th December, 2021after 8 weeks in hospital. I was by her side, when she slipped away from me peacefully, with no pain or suffering.

 

Chris had been struggling with a slow decline in health, associated with a progressive, untreatable, and ultimately terminal lung disease, and finally succumbed to her old adversary, Pneumonia.

 

We had been friends for 55 years, together as a couple for 50 years, and married just a month short of 48 years, when she died.   

 

This website was Chris's idea, and I did all the technical stuff, to make it work.   After news of Chris's passing reached her close friends in the doll collecting world, I was deeply touched and gratified to hear their tributes to my dear wife, and I must thank them all for their kindness and support.   Ultimately, it was her doll friends that gave me the courage to continue with the website.

 

In the months before her eventual hospitalisation, Chris had outlined a number of additions and changes she wanted to make to the website, and it is my intention to honour those wishes, and to implement the changes we had considered, over the coming weeks and months.

 

I must apologise to all those who have written to us via the website, only to have your emails go unanswered.   Unfortunately, the email system had been hacked aroung the time Chris was going into hospital, and many emails must have been lost, as a result.

 

As you might imagine, I felt completely broken by Chris's loss, and it is only now, almost 22 months after her passing, that I have felt strong enough to even look at the website again.   

 

My aim is to continue with the website, and to implement Chris's aims for her many new ideas as soon as I can.   In the meantime, I have hopefully got the email system sorted out, and I will attempt to answer any enquiries as soon as I can, and to send replies with the same high degree of accuracy that a reply from Chris would have had.

 

From now on, I will be flying solo, whilst my co-pilot and guide will be soaring much higher, (though she is always in my heart, and in my thoughts).

 

My thanks to all our website visitors for your continued support

 

Dave (also known as Arthur), and Chris, (my lost love, Guinevere)

 

Christine Poulten

25th December 1949 - 8th December 2021