Haddam Neck Frozen Charlotte

                                                                                                    This  Frozen Charlotte doll was found on walk in Haddam Neck recently. Frozen Charlotte dolls were made from about 1850 to 1920 and were one solid piece of white china or bisque. Originally known as Penny Dolls they originated in Germany as a bath toy and became very popular and affordable throughout Europe and the United States. During the Victorian era they were sometimes baked into cakes.

The name Frozen Charlotte came from the ballad “Fair Charlotte” which was based on the poem “A Corpse Going to the Ball”. A young woman named Charlotte going to a ball, refused to cover herself in the open carriage because she wanted to show off her dress. When she arrived at the ball she had frozen to death. Below is the last verse of the poem by Seba Smith

Then quickly to the lighted hall
Her voiceless form he bore—
His Charlotte was a stiffen’d corpse,
And word spake never more.