CNHI
RUSHVILLE —
Regaled in song and verse and immortalized on everything from plates to quilts, The Sunbonnet Babies reign as one of the most charming figures in the world of collectible antiques. Sunbonnet figures can be traced back as far as 1884 when they appeared as a redwork pattern in Eva Marie Niles' book "Fancy Work Creations." These early figures, sketched in red or black ink, wore large bonnets and little puff-sleeved dresses with aprons. Their faces were always visible. Eighteen years later, with their faces hidden, they would be colorized by illustrator Bertha Carbett and featured in a children's book by Eulalie Osgood Grover. From this time forward they would be know as The Sunbonnet Babies." Grover and Carbett produced a series of full color reading primers in 1902 featuring the quaint little girls in huge sunbonnets who faces were never seen. The format of the primer was a basic 150 word vocabulary with words lists and teachers guides. With its four color format and large font it set a new standard for children's books. The following year saw the release of a series of travel books featuring the "Babies" adventures in Italy, Holland and Switzerland. These books were widely accepted as textbooks and were used as geography books on the second and third grade level. Before her death, in 1958, Minnesota native Eulalie Osgood Grover also wrote a number of notable books for junior and senior high school students. In total she was responsible for 27 books for children that sold over four million copies. Grover's close friend and collaborator, Bertha L. Corbett, began her study of art in Minneapolis before moving to Philadelphia to study under the famous illustrator Howard Pyle. During a classroom discussion one of her fellow classmates commented, "How little expression there is to a figure in which the face does not show." This provoked a memory in Carbett's mind of watching little girls on a playground who's faces were entirely hidden by enormous bonnets. She recalled how while watching them it was amazingly easy to tell their moods by their body movements without ever seeing their little faces. "I do not believe that face is necessary for a figure to show expression", she told the class. They instantly challenged her to prove her point and pen in had she sketched the first adorable and faceless Sunbonnet Baby. The success of the Sunbonnet Babies prompted the release a second series of books in 1905 introducing their male counterparts. These chubby little guys in farm clothes were known as The Overall Boys. The Overall Boys usually had their faces concealed by large straw hats. They would however, on occasion, show their faces. These quite cunning little creatures appeared in a number of primers with their adventures taking them through the city, the country and down to the sea shore. They are cutest in their bathing suits and straw hats and in some stories appear with the sunbonnet babies. While they were well received, they never met with the success of America' favorite little girls in sunbonnets. The likeness of the Sunbonnet Babies, outside of a school book, was first captured on quilts. The "feed sack" material, so popular with quilters in early 1900's America, translated well into dye-cut appliqués of the babies. They were also embroidered on white flour sack dish towels during this time period. Mothers anxious to pass their quilting and embroidery skills on to their daughters had no problem enlisting their participation in these domestic arts when the topic at hand was a Sunbonnet Baby. The Royal Bayreuth China Company made a full line of children's dishes decorated with the Babies in the early part of the 1900s. These pieces, when found in mint condition, can demand hundreds of dollars even in the current soft market. It is important to note that in 1974 the factory reissued a collection of 5,000 plates. These newer pieces, selling in the $25 to $40 range, are clearly marked "limited edition 1974" and should not be confused with the originals. For those with deeper pockets, the line of Sunbonnet Babies vases from the Royal Bayreuth Factory have been known to go for as high as $3,000. Picture postcards and keepsake calendars first appeared in 1904 and carry Corbett's signature. Among the most collectible are the "Days of the Week" and "In the Good Old Summertime" series. These were issued by The J.I. Austin Company or the Sunbonnet Babies Company, both located in Chicago. Later issues including the "Hours of the Day," "Seasons," and "Nursery Rhymes" are not Corbett's work and will be marked Ullman Manufacturing Company, Ballantine and Sons, and H.I.Robbins Company. (Linda Hamer Kennett is an associate member of the International Society of Appraisers specializing in down-sizing for seniors and the liquidation of estates and may be reached for comment or question at 317-356-8967 or lkennett@indy.rr.com)