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)

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 :

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