Gladys Boalt soft ornaments range from Richard the Lionheart to Buffalo Bill

A collectables article about Gladys Boalt and her wonderful soft sculpture ornaments By Mary Harrsch © 2013

Richard the Lionheart from the
Robin Hood collection of
Gladys Boalt's soft sculpture
ornament creations

Although my own historical doll collection has long sing overflowed all of my available display space, I still get updates from Ebay periodically about creations made depicting some of my favorite historical characters. This morning I saw in my e-mail a notice about a Richard the Lionheart soft sculpture Gladys Boalt  ornament.

As I am no longer actively searching for historical dolls to add to my own collection, I had never encountered one of her beautifully detailed creations before.  So, I was intrigued and did a web search and found her official website, the Boalt Gallery.

As I browsed her collections, I was intrigued by her attention to detail and variety of characters she has created.  Of course I had to find out more about her.

Gladys and her husband Lowell, a talented watercolor artist, live in the Hudson Valley in New York state.  According to their official website, the couple opened their own gallery in 2006 but Gladys has been crafting ornaments for over thirty years and selling them through distributors.

Each of her creations, averaging 7" tall", are hand sewn and sculpted with carefully detailed hand painted faces and each is signed and dated.  The ornaments have evolved over the years from simple designs to the more complex with some ornaments now using an internal armature for positioning like many fine handcrafted dolls. The Ebay listing also pointed out that Gladys' ornaments graced the 1981 White House Christmas tree. Prices range from $30 - $115.

"Her selection of topics for the designs has grown, over time, to include many areas- some traditional to the Christmas holiday season, some historical in nature; others relate to nostalgia, childhood memories, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, even dogs and cats. There are several governing ideas behind her designs. In the area of historical figures, for example, Gladys began with classic, well-known figures: Washington. Lincoln, Jefferson etc. But, in time, this category has expanded to include Betsy Ross, Marie Antoinette, Eleanor Roosevelt, Queen Victoria, Elizabeth I, Josephine, Abigail Adams and others who reflect Gladys Boalt’s interest in the role of women in history. " - Weedhouse, distributor of Gladys Boalt creations

Soft sculpture Colonial-era drummer
 from the Williamsburg Foundation collection created by Gladys Boalt.

I see Gladys has also produced special ornaments for the Williamsburg Foundation including a colonial drummer and fife player, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington on his horse.  I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Williamsburg back in 2004 and have supported their organization ever since.  If that period of history is of particular interest to you, Boalt Gallery also offers Martha Washington, John Hancock, Abigail Adams, Samuel Adams, Betsy Ross and Patrick Henry.

Alan-A-Dale ornament from
the Robin Hood collection
of Gladys Boalt's ornament
creations.

For those whose interest focuses on the Civil War period, Gladys offers several ornaments that closely resemble some very famous southerners from the popular novel and film "Gone With The Wind" and Abraham Lincoln.

Of course, my interests are centered on the ancient to medieval period. I love her ornaments depicting King Arthur and famous characters from Camelot.    I searched eBay for more of her work and found this little medieval musician, Ala-A-Dale from the Robin Hood collection. I'm afraid I had to bit on it!

This past spring I visited a little village in southern France named Puivert and explored their marvelous little Muséum of Quercorb with its instrumentarium displaying beautifully reproduced medieval instruments.  The room where they are displayed is a reproduction of the musicians' room in the keep of Puivert Castle. The medieval stronghold was originally built between the 11th and 12th century but was destroyed when the Cathars were defeated by Catholic crusaders during the Albigensian Crusades. The fortress was then rebuilt in the 14th century.  It's remains stand on a hill overlooking the village and have appeared in a number of modern documentaries and feature films.

Of particular interest to me were the museum's moldings of the cul-de-lamps, architectural elements used in Gothic architecture that support the ribs of a vaulted ceiling, from Puivert castle depicting medieval troubadours playing instruments ranging from unusual looking medieval bagpipes to a psaltery, a medieval equivalent to an autoharp that is depicted on this cul-de-lamp:

A molding of a cul-de-lamp from the musicians' keep in
Puivert Castle depicting a medieval troubadour playing
a psaltery.  Photographed at the Muséum of Quercorb in
Puivert, France by Mary Harrsch © 2013

The museum also had an audio studio where visitors could listen to reproductions of medieval music and the chants of monks who once inhabited the local abbey.  I enjoyed listening to several of the selections although we didn't have a lot of time to spend there because of other stops on our itinerary that day.

For those of you who might be interested in reading more about my trip to France, I am in the process of posting articles about each city and historical site we visited, including Fontainebleau, Napoleon's fantastic palace, and artist Claude Monet's incredible gardens at Giverny to my blog Incredible Journeys.

A number of years ago I started collecting machine-made soft sculpture Christmas ornaments whenever the gift shops of places I visited offered them.  On my trip to France I found ornaments of Napoleon and Josephine that I added to my collection at Fontainebleau.  I've visited England several times and have found Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, William Shakespeare and a Roman legionary there.  When I visited an exhibit about ancient Egypt at the British Museum I picked up a little blue embroidered hippo that symbolized good luck to the ancient Egyptians.  But I see now that I'm definitely going to have to keep an eye out for these wonderful creations by Gladys Boalt!  At least they don't take up much room!

To read more on soft sculpture dolls and creating their costumes and accessories:

Rare Klumpe Napoleon Character Doll Surfaces on Ebay

A rare Klumpe Napoleon character doll showed up in my Ebay alerts this morning.  Klumpe dolls, made of molded felt and averaging 11" tall, were produced in Barcelona, Spain beginning in 1952 until the early 1970s.  
This particular doll appears to be in excellent condition (the vendor reports only two tiny holes in the clothing) and strikes a dynamic pose.  Most importantly, he sports the original tags on both front and back.  The tag on the back indicates Napoleon was numbered 16-BB.  It will be interesting to see how much he sells for as Klumpe dolls have gained quite a following in recent years and the character dolls in excellent condition have brought as much as $200.

Collectors of these dolls often collect similar dolls produced by Roldan, also manufactured in Barcelona. Roldan dolls are usually a little smaller, averaging 9" tall, but Roldan accessories are often more intricate than those produced for Klumpe dolls.  More V-shaped eyebrows distinguish the Klumpe dolls from those made by Roldan although collectors should also be aware that these two flagship manufacturers were imitated by a dozen other Spanish toy producers including Layna and Nistis so positively identifying a genuine Klumpe or Roldan without labels could be challenging.

     

Baltimore Doll Artist Alesia Newman-Breen creates both contemporary and historical dolls

I was just sent a news announcement about dollmaker Alesia Newman-Breen. I had not encountered her creations before. The article that appeared in the Baltimore Sun displayed an image of some of her celebrity dolls and mentioned her website. I took a chance that she may have created some historical dolls as well and visited her website to find out.

I was rewarded by views of several historical personalities she has tackled including Marie Antoinette, Queen Victoria (both young and old), Queen Elizabeth (I & II) and Cleopatra. Her dolls are very detailed and her facial sculptures are quite realistic.

"Each doll is made by hand with hand-sculpted polymer clay head, breastplate, hands and feet, and a hand-constructed cloth-over-wire-armature body stuffed with polyester fiberfill. The eyes are handpainted. All garments and accessories are sewn and assembled by hand. Prices range from about $400 to about $600 each. The dolls range in size from about 14 to 18 inches."

From her online bio:

"Dollmaker Alesia Newman-Breen is also an actress, sculptor, graphic artist, writer, wife and mother who lives in suburban Baltimore, Maryland with her husband and son. A longtime member of the Screen Actors Guild, Alesia has appeared in many films, television programs and commercials. She played a newscaster in the science-fiction film "Species II"and appeared in dozens of episodes of the long-running Baltimore-based crime drama "Homicide: Life on the Street'. Alesia's unique dolls were featured on the "Fresh Faces" page of DOLLS Magazine in November 2002."

I had a wonderful time the last time I visited Baltimore, especially at the Walters Art Museum, and hope to return before too long. Maybe I'll get a chance to see some of Alesia's work on my next trip!

Colorful OOAK rice paper Geisha Dolls present interesting look at Japanese history

I think I could spend days doing nothing but exploring so many beautiful artist creations up on Etsy! These beautifully detailed geisha dolls created from polymer and colorful rice paper captivated me as soon as I saw them. I have several traditional geisha dolls that I purchased in Kyoto, Japan when I had the wonderful opportunity to visit there as a member of one of the first trade teams for alfalfa products (my husband and I were ranchers in eastern Oregon at the time) in 1982. Although my dolls have the traditional brocade silk kimonos, I loved the kaleidoscope of color and artful folding of the rice paper costumes of these dolls. Each of these dolls is produced as a OOAK made to each buyer's specifications. I also collect historical samurai warrior figures. I wonder if the artist has ever had a request for one of them?

"The 18th and 19th century produced in Japan an art, Ukiyo-e, representing the "floating world" --ephemeral, this was the world of the Kabuki theater, with its favorite actors and their fans, and of the Geisha.

Dolls were certainly loved by the geishas themselves, and were as fashionable as all their other pastimes. The name now given to a doll representing a child, Ichimatsu, comes from the name of an actor, and the first dolls of this type represented a male actor in his checked ("ichimatsu") costume.

As the floating world floated away in the 20th century, doll art still commemorates the beauties and beloved dramatis personae of the Ukiyo.

This is my lovely geisha, inspired by the traditional japanese 'paper dolls' and kimono dolls.

Her head, torso, hands and feet are sculpted of polymer clay. Her body is a wire armature, wrapped in cotton.

The geisha's kimono is entirely created from beautifully printed chiyogami rice paper.

Her face is handpainted, and her hair is made from rolled black velvet. She wears a 'comb' in her hair and a lacquer butterfly. "

A San Francisco artist, BlossomandWillow, works with clay, fabric and beautiful Japanese papers to create her geisha dolls.

"I find the art of Japan and the world of the geisha - what they call 'The Floating World' or 'Flower and Willow World' fascinating and drew the inspiration for my shop from that lovely concept. Here you will find original art and sculpture, as well as fine art supplies, lovely Japanese paper,and authentic vintage kimono and accessories from Japan."

Painted tintypes source of inspiration for this doll artist

Yet another Etsy artist, Photopaint, that caught my eye offered this interesting little cloth doll created from a painted tintype.

"This little darling which I have named Matilda, sits atop your table or dresser amongst treasured items and is flat on the bottom. She is solidly stuffed and reinforced on the bottom with a stiff piece of cardboard. I triple stitch this doll for durability.
She measures 5.25" tall and 3.00" at the base and is very 3D.
The bottom is hand stitched with a beautiful black cut away velvet cotton piece of cloth.
I have sewn on little beads into her neck where her necklace is in the photo to give an added touch.

I am going to be making more in different sizes and types so keep an eye out for my little unique cloth dolls.

Doll comes with a beautiful hand made tag with her name and number as these will be a limited edition doll."

An artist from Sedona, "Photopaint" loves to paint in all mediums but especially photographic/mixed media with paint.

"I also love to paint over photos that I take after I print them on canvas or another paper. I love flowers and circus and theater images and also love to draw and paint out of my head with no reference to just be in the creative flow."

Most tintypes I have seen usually feature Civil War soldiers but now I will have to keep my eye out for the more endearing ones like the little girl that was the subject of the tintype used to create this doll. I attended a workshop on "painting" digital images with Photoshop using a Wacom digital art tablet down at Photoshop World in Las Vegas in September. As a digital photographer I am always looking for ways to use my images in artistic ways. This example gave me lots of ideas!!

Beaded doll artist produces stunning OOAK

Another stunning doll I found on Etsy is this hand-beaded Ahotep Ancient Egyptian Doll produced by JuliesBeadedElements. The diamond-patterned turquoise gown overlay looks very similar to actual beaded burial shrouds I have seen in the Egyptian galleries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

"This doll was formerly a Tonner, Jac doll. I have removed all of her original face paint, and re-painted her face with artist quality, Golden, paints and sealers. I carefully sectioned, and braided her hair in the ancient Egyptian wig style, however, it is her rooted hair that I braided, and not a wig. Each braid is fully knotted with fireline thread that will not degrade over time.
The layered gown is constructed completely with beads, treated thread, and fireline. The beads that are used in this garment are gold plated brass, glass Czech beads, Delica seed beads, and gold plated seed beads. This gown is not removable, it has been woven to fit her body, and does not stretch at all. This also means that the weight of the beads will not stretch out the garment. The base of the gown was created with a right angle weave, and the outer layer was woven in a netting weave. The bottom panel is constructed using a peyote stitch, done in a traditional, ancient Egyptian, geometric pattern.
The headband is removable, and has an Egyptian, Phoenix symbol on it that is gold plated. The woven bead bracelets are not removable. The arm band is made of gold filled wire. The beaded shoes, doll and stand are all included with this sale. Also included is a signed, ceritificate of authenticity."

Julie, a mother of five, has worked as a jewelry designer in Chicago as well as a clothing designer and manager of a custom clothing store:

"Ever since I can remember- I have been creating something. I studied different forms of art expression, and majored in fashion design in college. Being juried into a national gallery exhibit when I was 16 gave me the motivation to continue as a serious artist from a young age. My work profile includes working as a jewelry designer for a prestigious jeweler in Water Tower Place, Chicago. My additional experience includes working as a custom clothing designer/trainer (also on the magnificent mile) and as the manager of a custom clothing store.
Currently, I teach beadwork techniques, and jewelry-making techniques in my small bead shoppe. My experience with expecting, and presenting quality has lead me on to be very concerned with making a work of art that is nothing less than beautiful, durable, and unique.

I have won design contests for my beaded art, most notably a gold medal win in a recent international beading contest. "

UneekDollDesigns offers detailed peg doll miniatures

I was reading an article about the retail success of craft outlets despite the current economic slump and it mentioned the Etsy website that featured handcrafted gifts. I had never heard of it and thought I would go up and look around. Naturally I spotted the dolls category and the miniatures category under it. To my great excitement I saw they have a historical miniatures category.

The first vendor I looked at, UneekDollDesigns, offered small 4 3/4" peg doll-style creations with wonderfully detailed costumes. Some of my favorites included:

Mary Boleyn (mistress to King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's sister):

"Mary is dressed in royal blue velvet accented in silver and rhinestone trim. I hand painted her face and she has soft, golden red hair topped with a beaded head piece. Mary would be a perfect collectible for any Tudor history lover, or a very pretty addition to a doll house or shelf display.She stands only 4 and 3/4 inches tall."



Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary - daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon):

"Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 19 July 1553 until her death. The fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, she is remembered for restoring England to Roman Catholicism after succeeding her short-lived half brother, Edward VI, to the English throne. In the process, she had almost 300 religious dissenters burned at the stake in the Marian Persecutions, resulting in her being called Bloody Mary. Her re-establishment of Roman Catholicism was reversed by her successor and half-sister, Elizabth I."

"She is fashioned in her royal Tudor costume designed in black and white underskirt with crushed black velvet overskirt. Decked in glittering silver trim and pearl accents, she's an eye catching royal in spite of her not so pleasant reputation! Mary stands about 4 and 3/4 inches tall."

Cleopatra VII, Queen of the Nile (and seductress of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony!):

"One of the most famous ,yet mysterious rulers of Egypt, Cleopatra has intrigued historians for many years. She was known not just for her seductiveness and beauty, but also her ability to rule. She had a child with Julias Caesar, and later had 3 children with Marc Antony, whom she was married to. She met an unfortunate end when she found out Marc Antony was dead and tradition says she died by purposely letting a snake bite her.

Cleopatra is designed with a full Egyptian queen regalia. Her white robe is accented with gold trim. She is showing off her cloak trimmed in silver and gold trim. Cleo wears a gold head dress studded with a blue jewel stone. She stands a petite 4 and 1/3 inches tall. "

UneekDollDesigns also creates commissioned miniatures on request such as this wonderful William Shakespeare.

"My trademark I am most known for is not using a pattern for any of my designs on anything. I guess I just prefer to picture it, then try various techniques to get what effect I want!

My miniature dolls were actually made when I needed some characters to put in a couple of fancy dollhouses that were being designed as a special gift. Not finding any characters that I liked, I started making my own, starting with a basic wooden clothespin. The rest is using my imagination, lots of fabric, and other creative materials!

My greatest pleasure in doing my hand crafted items is seeing other people derive pleasure from them, too!"

I know I derived a lot of pleasure just looking at all of the different people from history, hollywood, and literature that she created! The dolls are also reasonably priced averaging $20 each (some a little more and some a little less).

Don't miss "A Child’s Eye View" exhibit at Williamsburg if you're nearby during the holidays

My husband and I had the pleasure of visiting Williamsburg for a day some years ago and since then I have supported the work of the Williamsburg Foundation in preserving history and creating learning opportunities for all ages. So, I receive email updates each month and the update for this month mentioned that Williamsburg is hosting a marvelous exhibit of historical dolls and toys at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. You enter the museum through the Public Hospital of 1773.

What a doll. She's a tall, slender beauty with flowing tresses and shining eyes and a Mona Lisa smile. She's got it all: gently arching eyebrows, shapely legs, petite fingers and feet. And what a wardrobe—a lace-trimmed dress of watered silk, a satin petticoat, two white undercoats, whalebone stays at her tapered waist, fancy silk socks inside brocaded shoes, and a robe in rainbow hues with sleeves turned back for a flirty glimpse of forearms. A doll indeed. She's carved of wood with a face of gesso and languid eyes of glass that would steal Ken from Barbie any day.

Not to be catty, but Barbie is, after all, in her fifties—all the more galling to lose a boyfriend to a rival in her 200s. Barbies by the thousands stare through plastic on the crowded shelves of today's cacophonous super toy stores. Her colonial counterparts may have sat among the bonnets and purses on a shelf of the millinery shop in Williamsburg, whose proprietor, Margaret Hunter, advertised "a variety of Toys, dressed and undressed Babies, Green Silk Purses etc." in the Virginia Gazette of October 15, 1772. Lucky was the little girl—and well-heeled her family, no doubt—who was given this stylish lady as a toy.

[Left - Bewigged and begowned in lace and embroidered silk, this doll, now in Colonial Williamsburg's collections, must have been the treasure of some eighteenth-century girl. Photo by Hans Lorenz.]

The Williamsburg website has a wealth of slides shows, videos and podcasts about their living museum, costumes of the period, daily life in Colonial America, and politics of the Revolutionary Period. I particularly enjoyed their interactive slide show on colonial fashion. It includes a range of clothing from elaborate silk gowns of the wealthy elite to the rather risque attire of a bar maid (or prostitute I wasn't quite sure - she looked very much like a 21st century teen decked out in Gothic dress complete with black lipstick)

Technorati Tags: Williamsburg, colonial America, Virginia, dolls, toys, historical, museum, exhibit,

Historical Biblical Dolls

I was checking for an address for the Hamilton Collection today and noticed that their latest offerings include a "Little Drummer Boy" porcelain doll in 1st century dress. This 11 1/2" porcelain doll was created by award-winning artist and sculptor Titus Tomescu. I thought he looked very endearing.

I have several other dolls in my collection that include the Biblical characters Ruth (right), Judith and Mary Magdalene. They are each 22" tall and were produced by World Gallery. I also have the character dolls that were sold in conjunction with the release of the animated feature film "Prince of Egypt". That group includes a young Moses dressed as a prince of Egypt, Tzipporah, the shepherdess who became his wife, and an older Moses in desert robes. They were produced by Hasbro. I bought mine on Ebay and paid less than $20 each for them but I see they are now being offered on Amazon for $49.95. Apparently they were not produced in great numbers and have passed into the realm of "collectible".

Did Mattel Rerelease "Great Eras" Historical Barbies?

I was surprised this morning to see that Amazon is now offering the "Great Eras" Barbies for sale (again). They listed the Great Eras Elizabethan Barbie for $24.95. I did a quick check and saw that most of the original "Great Eras" Barbies are available. They must have been rereleased by Mattel because I bought mine years ago and they were offered on Ebay at the time as "vintage" items even then. They are really quite nice. The only one whose costume is not terribly realistic is the Great Eras Egyptian Queen although it is quite pretty. My favorites are the Elizabethan Queen, the French Queen and the Medieval Queen. As you can see by the photo above left, the French Queen's costume is historically pretty accurate if you compare it to the costumes of the ladies of Napoleon's court shown in the painting by G. Rouget. Of course they're not as elaborate as the recent collector's edition Elizabeth I, Marie Antoinette and Josephine Bonaparte but they are nicely detailed (and don't cost over $200 each! - although I managed to get my collectors edition historical queens on sale for quite a bit less).

I received my Barbie collector's edition catalog last night and see that they have a new line of DC Comic book hero Barbies that, although not technically historical (except culturally!), are really fun with detailed costumes. I think I'm going to have to make an exception to my historical rule and add these to my collection as well. I wasn't familiar with the "Black Canary" but really liked the Wonder Woman, Bat Girl, and Super Girl. When I went up to see if I could get a better deal up on Amazon I see that there is also a Cat Woman that looks interesting as well!

Collection from Enchanted World of Dolls Goes Up For Bid

A number of years ago on my way back to Oregon from a trip to the east coast, I stopped in Mitchell, South Dakota and photographed a wonderful collection of dolls at the Enchanted World of Dolls Museum. Recently, with sadness, I noticed that the museum had closed.

Now I see that the former owner (I assume the Ebay seller is the museum owner) is beginning to auction off the dolls and its a rare opportunity to bid on some truly world class artist dolls. One of my eBay alerts watches for dolls of Mary Queen of Scots and I received an alert that a Kathy Redmond (one of my favorite doll artists) Mary Queen of Scots was coming up for bid. When I clicked on the link I saw that it was one of the marvelous dolls I had seen in Mitchell. Unfortunately, I'm now retired and with the economy in such a slump, I don't feel comfortable bidding on collectibles right now. There is also a reserve on the doll that apparently is above the current bid of $130. So I guess I will have to satisfy myself with admiring the doll from afar (again).

I see that in this first round there are also two of Emma Clear's meticulously created dolls of George and Martha Washington, too.

Xanthos Kontis Dolls Appear on Ebay

I was browsing the current historical doll offerings on Ebay the other day and came across several historical dolls produced by doll artist Xanthos Kontis in the 1950s. What caught my attention was the facial detail of the Benjamin Franklin doll and the felt coat with painted details. Several years ago I purchased a Benjamin Franklin doll that looked very similar to the one offered on Ebay except the coat was burgundy colored. The Ebay vendor that sold me the doll said it was a doll produced for the country's bicentennial in 1976 but maybe they were mistaken.

I searched the internet looking for more information about Xanthos Kontis and didn't find anything except more listings for other dolls he produced like the Father Knickerbocker (a character from a Washington Irving novel), at right and Thomas Jefferson and Father Juniper Serra, below). All I could find about the man (??) was a Pittsburg obituary for someone named Xanthos Kontis Contaridis dated November 4, 1994. This could be the right person based not only on his name but that one of the dolls offered on Ebay is a portrait of William Pitt - a historical character rarely encountered. It would be natural for a historical doll artist to produce a doll of the local favorite son. If anyone has any additional information about this doll artist I would be interested to learn more.

London Design Centre produced beautifully detailed wood and cloth dolls in mid 1970s

I receive notices of particular historical figure dolls that are coming up for bid on Ebay and today I saw an English seller was offering some wonderfully detailed 12" dolls of King Charles II and one of his mistresses that were made in 1975 by the London Design Centre. I had never seen their dolls before and found them beautifully costumed with delicately painted wooden faces that I couldn't resist.

I searched for other dolls made by this firm and the only other search result I came up with was a clothespin doll of Jane Grey also made in the mid 1970s. I also noticed the company made things like coasters and little wooden double-decker London buses for the tourist market. As I was unable to find anything produced after the 70s, I assume the company is no longer in business but I will keep my eye out for any more of their dolls when I visit London in July.

I have a couple of Charles II dolls in my current collection - a Nisbet prototype and a 16" OOAK handmade doll by Chicago artist Mary Branca. Charles wore such flamboyant costumes that dolls of him are always so colorful and elaborate. This historical figure by artist George Stuart demonstrates the extent Charles would go to dazzle the ladies. Charles was also notorious for his bevy of mistresses.

" Monarchs and mistresses were an expected combination when royal wives were chosen for dynastic or political rather than for personal reasons. However, even by the permissive standards this implied, King Charles II (1630-1685) was an extraordinarily active monarch, who ran more than one mistress in harness at a time and made no secret of his fourteen illegitimate children. Charles started young, at eighteen, when he was in exile in France following Parliament's victory in the Civil War against his father, Charles I. There, in his idleness, Charles had little to do but womanise. The first pretty girl to catch his eye and the first of at least fifteen mistresses, was a Welshwoman, Lucy Walter whom he met in The Hague in the summer of 1648. Lucy took up with Charles shortly after his arrival , and in 1649 gave birth to his first child, James, later Duke of Monmouth. Lucy was her lover's constant companion, but he made the mistake of leaving her behind when he left The Hague in 1650. He returned to find she had been intriguing with a certain Colonel Henry Bennet. Charles ended the affaire there and then, leaving Lucy to a life of prostitution. She died, probably of venereal disease, in 1658.

Charles, meanwhile, moved on to other mistresses and enjoyed at least four more before his exile ended and he was recalled to England to become king in 1660. The list of illicit royal affaires burgeoned after that, and came to typify the unbuttoned society which grew up around the restored monarch. Joyless puritans did not berate Charles as 'that great enemy of chastity and marriage' for nothing, One of the spectacles at his court was Charles ' toying with his mistresses,' and surrounded by his favourite spaniels. For a scene of decadence, that took some beating.

Charles was not fussy about the status of his women. A pretty face and a comely figure were enough for a mistress to be taken on the strength, and he was particularly prone to actresses. . The stage provided a handy hunting- ground for the regular royal theatregoer, and it was here that Charles encountered Moll Davis in about 1667. Moll was a popular singer-dancer- comedienne, but she had her dark side. Mrs. Pepys, wife of Samuel Pepys the diarist, called her 'the most impertinent slut in the world' and she was grasping and vulgar with it. Moll flaunted her success as a royal mistress, showing off her 'mighty pretty fine coach' and a ring worth the then vast sum of £600.

Moll , who gave up the stage in 1668, had a daughter by Charles the following year but soon fell foul of Nell Gwynne, one of the King's concurrent mistresses, who had a wicked sense of humour. Hearing that Moll was due to sleep with the king on a night early in 1668, Nell invited her to eat some sweetmeats she had prepared. Unknown to Moll, her rival had mixed in a hefty dose of the laxative jalap. After that, the night in the royal bed did not exactly go as planned. Charles, too, had a sharp sense of humour, but this time, he was not amused and Moll was summarily dismissed. Being a generous man, though, Charles sent Moll packing with a pension of £1,000 a year...More" - Britannia.com

Charles was even a flashy dresser as a child as seen in this portrait of him with his siblings painted after Van Dyck in 1639: