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Penny Woodens, as they are sometimes called, are among the most fascinating dolls ever made. Their legs and arms could be moved into very lifelike positions. Their heads and bodies, carved in one piece, could survive the roughest treatment. Their painted faces suffered, it is true, from too many washings or from being left out in the rain, but that was not too serious an injury. Someone in the family could always repaint the face when needed. Best of all, they cost so little that almost any child could afford to have a family of them.

An uncle or a brother who was clever at whittling could make a Penny Wooden in a very short time. In New England, if the men of the family were not so talented, the poppets could be bought for a penny in any Cent Shop. It was an adventure to be allowed to go to the Cent Shop all by oneself. There in a little glass case all by themselves were the penny dolls. On the shelves behind were ranged the more expensive dolls that cost five, ten, fifteen, or twenty-five cents each.

The wax babies were small and pretty. So were the china ones. But they were made all in one piece so that their arms and legs could not be moved. That made them hard to dress. The more expensive wax and china babies had movable arms, but even the tiniest wooden one had both legs and arms that moved.

On a special shelf were the doll heads of various sizes. They were made of glossy white china and had shiny black painted hair, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and tiny rosebud mouths. Sometimes, but not often, you could find a china head with brown eyes, and once in a very great while, you might even get a gray-eyed doll head.