Third Tuesday

Tuesday is a 16-inch wax doll with brown cloth body by Gladys MacDowell shown in an auction-photo screen snapshot.

I was on eBay searching for something else when I stumbled upon a thumbnail photo of the above doll.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw yet another Tuesday by the late Gladys MacDowell, who was a National Institute of American Doll Artists (NIADA) member.

MacDowell began making the 16-to-17-inch wax girl dolls that she named Tuesday during the 1950s.  The story about how I discovered these dolls, believing initially there was only one, is included in my post about the first Tuesday made by MacDowell.  A link to that post is included at the end of this post.

According to MacDowell's son, he believes his mother made about 10 Tuesdays in total.  I now own three of those 10 and know of at least three more owned by others.  See them here, here (in red dress), and here (most probably redressed).

In February of this year, Tuesday #3 was in a buy it now or make offer auction.  I made approximately three separate offers which were countered by the seller.  With my final offer, I included a message to the seller.  In response, the seller asked me if I was "Debbie Garrett."  After reading the signature in her reply, I then knew who she was.  We settled on a price that worked well for both of us and now Tuesday is here with her siblings.

Tuesday's golden brown human hair is styled in six braids with yellow ribbons tied into bows at the ends. She has brown stationary eyes that glance to her left.

Tuesday posed for individual and group photos as shown immediately above and below.

Tuesday's head, arms, and legs are made of wax.  She also has a wax shoulder plate.  Her body is firmly-stuffed brown cloth.  Unlike my two other Tuesdays, Tuesday #3 is unsigned, but there is no mistaking her for an original Gladys MacDowell.  (Some Tuesdays were given paper labels, like my #2 Tuesday; it is possible that Third Tuesday's label fell off her shoulder plate.)

The palms of Tuesdays hands and the soles of her feet are painted a lighter color.

Tuesday #3 poses with her sisters.  Tuesday #1, on the left, arrived in 2014.  The second Tuesday, on the right, arrived in 2016.  Do you see a pattern here?  The dolls have arrived two years apart.

Full view photo of the girls shows that Tuesday #3 and #2 are slightly shorter than Tuesday #1. Number 3 is the shortest.   Fabric used for the dresses for Tuesday #3 and #2 is an identical tropical fruit print.  Tuesday #3 wears a yellow underdress that has bell sleeves that hang beneath the dress sleeves.  I am uncertain if the underdress is original to the doll.  She also wears a yellow undergarment as do #1 and #3.  Each girl has six sectioned-off plaits with yellow fabric (#'s 1 and 2) stitched or ribbons tied at the ends.

As illustrated in the photos of the girls, Tuesday #3 has lighter colored hair with a few bangs.  The other two do not have bangs.  Because they were handmade, each doll's face was painted differently giving each a unique "personality."  Of the three, I think Tuesday #3 is the cutest, but I'll always treasure Tuesday #1, which as indicated, is actually the first Tuesday MacDowell made.

The girls pose with their brother, who arrived with Tuesday #1 in 2014.  I named him Cal.  According to MacDowell's son, he believes Cal was made by I. V. Roberts, another NIADA artist, and friend of MacDowell.

I am so happy to have stumbled upon Tuesday #3 in the eBay shop of Rachel Hoffman, who is central operations manager for Turn of the Century Antiques, a brick and mortar shop in Denver, Colorado, which also has a Ruby Lane shop.

Three is said to be a charm.  Even if other Tuesdays are located by happenstance, I will refrain from buying, at least that's the plan.

Read about my initial discovery of MacDowell's Tuesday dolls here.
My second Tuesday was written about here.


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