Special Collectors Edition

P1953 Replica Edition of the First Nisbet Doll

Limited to 5000 models - Issued in 1984

This model was made to commemorate the first ever doll made by Peggy Nisbet, which was a ceramic model of HM the Queen at her Coronation in 1953.   This replica model is dressed in fabric garments, and the Crown, Sceptre and Orb were cast in metal, just as on the original model.  Each model was supplied with a numbered Certificate

The complete (250) production run of the first doll were sold by Harrods, and despite a search for a 1953 vintage original model on which to base this replica, at the time this reproduction was released,  an original doll had not been found.

This Replica Edition is not a doll, but a ceramic model, dressed as shown, which is quite an achievement, as the arms are fixed to the body, and do not articulate (unlike those of the typical styrene Nisbet dolls)

Taken from the House of Nisbet Dolls and Bears Book, 1985, Page 03

Update : September 2015

Website visitor David H contacted us, and told us of some very interesting dolls in his collection.   He also kindly offered us photographs - but first, some history :

Article taken from page 3 of the 1986 House of Nisbet Doll Catalogue
Image taken from page 3 of the 1986 House of Nisbet Doll Catalogue

David has two very rare Nisbet dolls - The first, as you may have guessed, is an original 1953 Coronation doll.   Over the intervening 62+ years, she has lost her Orb and Sceptre, and her dress, (which was a white material), has crumbled away.   (We have seen this before, with some of the white chiffon type materials used on some of Peggy Nisbet's other early dolls - we suspect that it is due to the action of sunlight, as some of the synthetic fabrics used in those days were chemically unstable over time, and would tear and crumble over long exposure to sunlight).

The photograph below shows this rare and beautiful doll - 

She is just as shown in the illustration drawn by Peggy's son, Peter, on page 7 of her book, "The Peggy Nisbet Story".   Collectors may also notice that she has a wire crown, like those seen on some of the first "Tower Walk" and "Historical" dolls (click on the button below to be taken to the "Crowns" page).

David also has an even more unique doll - she is an 18" Queen Elizabeth II porcelain jointed doll, and was purchased at the Nisbet Estate Sale, in Florida.   David tells us that she was described as a prototype, and was never produced for sale, and was only ever used in special displays

This doll is also shown on page 112 of the book, "The Peggy Nisbet Story" - a copy is reproduced below, but it is a low resolution image, and detail is hard to see.   David's doll is in the centre of the table

Image taken from page 112 of "The Peggy Nisbet Story"

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