VENTRILOQUIST'S DOLL, Male

Hand and rod puppet, head only. Clothes may be accessioned separately. Would wear a legless and armless robe. Made by Miss Rogers. Head - Papier mache with moulded features. Has slightly sunken eyes, upturned nose. May have had hair attached for eyebrows. Mouth is hinged internally and opens via a string passed down through the head and out a hole in the bottom of the neck. A metal ring is tied to the string and it is then wrapped around a hook halfway down the rod. Mouth is opened by pulling on the string and closes when it is released. Eyes and eyebrows are painted black, nose mouth and cheeks are red. The head is bald but there are a few hairs still attached so it may originally have had hair. Rod - wooden similar to a broom handle. Attached at neck. The entire collection of marionettes and puppets, which includes 31 marionettes, 26 hand puppets (glove and rod), 20 puppet heads, 9 hand sticks, 3 stick dolls and a travelling stage, were used, and many were made, by Miss Frances Rogers. Miss Rogers, born on 19 Oct 1904, went to teacher's college in 1930 and joined the Education Department of WA in 1934. Between 1934 and her retirement in 1967, she taught at various country schools, took special classed for deaf and dumb children in Mosman Park, and classes for mentally and physically disabled children in Leederville. She used the puppets as teaching aids for the disabled children.

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History Collection

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