1996 UFDC Hitty Luncheon, Hitty's Picnic in the Apple Orchard
| The souvenir doll was made in China under the direction of Susan Sirkis.
Susan Sirkis owned a one-of-a-kind Hitty that was carved by Fawn Zeller
in 1952 and arranged for the doll to be reproduced in China with the intention
of it being the luncheon souvenir. I'm not sure of the total number of dolls
that Susan ordered. The luncheon was for 200 but the number she ordered
exceeded that. As luck (bad luck ;o) would have it, there was severe flooding
that occurred in the region of China where the dolls were being carved so
there was a delay in the dolls being shipped to Susan. A shipment of 200
arrived just days before the Convention in Dallas was to start. The remaining
dolls in her order arrived after the convention. The luncheon dolls arrived
unpainted so Susan spent a hectic few days getting the all painted in time
for the luncheon.
In the several months before the convention, Virginia asked for volunteers to make undergarments for the Hittys and a dress pattern was also provided to those that said they would make some dresses that would serve as hostess gifts to be given at the luncheon. So at the luncheon.... each person attending received a Hitty, and other things including fabric, buttons & ribbon that was generously donated by Peggy Goodleaf. The auction Hitty just on eBay was dressed in the fabric that was donated by Peggy. The bonnet was made by Sandy Reinke. (Seen below--ed.) More about the Hittys reproduced in China by Susan Sirkis in 1996. As I said above I am not sure how many of the Hittys Susan ordered from the carvers in China but what we do know is that there were the 200 (198 of which were given at the luncheon as two were in a condition that they could not be given) and then an unknown small number of additional dolls were delivered to Susan following the convention. The ones arriving after the convention were sold by Susan and not identified by Susan as a Dallas Luncheon Hitty but as a Folk Art Hitty. I think she sold them privately for a while and at doll events. A friend wrote Susan several years ago now to see if she had any remaining that she could purchase and was told that they were all sold. I can't remember for sure what year but sometime around 2002 Susan introduced a new Hitty she was making from resin is similar in design to the Hitty Luncheon - Folk Art Hittys. So... the answer to the question for information on the auction Hitty..... it could be either from the Dallas luncheon or one of the ones that Susan sold following the convention as a Folk Art Hitty. I know that a great number of the people that attended the luncheon repainted and had also had to re-peg their Hittys because the arms and legs would not stay on. That explains why many of the Hittys from the luncheon that come in to the secondary market on eBay or at doll shows will be painted differently. The fabric that was used for the dress for the auction Hitty was the same cloth that was donated to attendees of the luncheon by Peggy Goodleaf so I tend to lean more towards the opinion that the auction doll was a Dallas 96 Luncheon souvenir, dressed and repainted by.... probably the person that received it at the luncheon. The fabric was also available in JoAnns stores at the time so there is no way to know for certain, but more likely than not that she was a luncheon doll. I have two of the dolls. ......The one on the left in the white dress was purchased from Susan Sirkis as a Folk Art Hitty and painted and dressed by friend of mine. The bonnet was made by Sandy Reinke. The doll on the right is the one that I received at the Dallas luncheon. Following the luncheon a friend did a bit of fine tuning on the carving on the head, and repainted her. She also re-pegged her so that her arms and legs would stay on and costumed her for me. Also showing in the photo is the square of fabric, ribbon and buttons donated by Peggy G. The cloth woven labels were donated by Virginia Ann Heyerdahl. We all received several of the labels so that any garments that we would make for Hitty could be sewn into the garment. If anyone wants more information about the luncheon you can still order past issues of Friends of Hitty from Virginia Ann Heyerdahl. Her email is vahhitty@aol.com There was a report about the Dallas luncheon in Volume 2, Issue 3; September 1996. Anyone wanting more information about Susan Sirkis's resin Hittys or other things she makes and sells can find her at www.susansirkis.com ~ Many of you may already know her.... she is a past president of UFDC and has made and sold her Wishbooklet pattern books and paperdolls for many years. All the best,-- Vickie Applegate |
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From the Personal Collection of BJ Male
"This is the Hitty called
Horrid Hitty (and also The Hideous Hitty) by some. She was made for the Picnic
in the Park,
(an) early Hitty event held at UFDC convention in Dallas in 1996.
They were made using Susan Susan Sirkas' Hitty, made for her by Fawn Zeller,
as the prototype.
It is wood carved in Asia. Susan has since had her doll cast in resin and it
is available and much more attractive."--BJ Male
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From the Personal Collection of Margie Schaeber
"(This HItty is) from the Hitty luncheon for the
UFDC Convention
in Dallas Texas in 1996. The Theme for the luncheon was "Hitty's Picnic
in the Apple Orchard. There was a misunderstanding in ordering the dolls
and they all arrived unpainted one week before the event, so Susan Sirkis
painted them so they would be ready in time."--Margie
Several collectors have changed the head and face by repainting. One collector
resculpted a mask to
fit over the original very small head.
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(Auction Hitty)
In the Personal Collection of Shirley (dolcrazy)
