Joy Bringer – The Salvation Army Woman | Simpich Character Dolls, Caroller Collection | Designed by Jan Simpich
Condition: Pristine | Ultra Rare Caroller
Most of the ultra rare Simpich Carollers are rare because they came at the end. The Salvation Army Woman is rare because she came in the middle, and that's what makes her different.
Jan Simpich created her in the 1980s, during the shop's season of growth, right around the time the family purchased and moved operations into the now-iconic storefront at 2413 W Colorado Avenue. She was made only briefly, as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army, which makes her one of the very few Carollers tied directly to a charitable cause rather than to a shop wind-down. Fewer left the studio than almost any other design, and she is seldom seen for sale.
She stands with her face lifted, eyes up, as if singing or listening to a band on the corner. A full red wool cape falls over a dark navy dress, and her black bonnet is tied under the chin with a black ribbon bow. The bonnet is the detail collectors look for: its red band is lettered "The Salvation Army," a touch you only catch from above. In her hands she holds a miniature Christmas Number of War Cry, the Salvation Army's historic publication, printed with a mother-and-child cover; over her other arm hangs a woven splint basket lined with gauze and filled with bread, blue grapes and a sprig of holly, provisions for someone who needs them.
There is nothing showy about her, and that's the point. Among the singers and shopkeepers of the Caroller Collection she is the one out doing the quiet work of Christmas, and she remains one of the most sought-after and emotionally resonant Simpich designs, a small reminder of what the season is actually for.
Joy Bringer – The Salvation Army Woman | Simpich Character Dolls, Caroller Collection | Designed by Jan Simpich
Condition: Pristine | Ultra Rare Caroller
Most of the ultra rare Simpich Carollers are rare because they came at the end. The Salvation Army Woman is rare because she came in the middle, and that's what makes her different.
Jan Simpich created her in the 1980s, during the shop's season of growth, right around the time the family purchased and moved operations into the now-iconic storefront at 2413 W Colorado Avenue. She was made only briefly, as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army, which makes her one of the very few Carollers tied directly to a charitable cause rather than to a shop wind-down. Fewer left the studio than almost any other design, and she is seldom seen for sale.
She stands with her face lifted, eyes up, as if singing or listening to a band on the corner. A full red wool cape falls over a dark navy dress, and her black bonnet is tied under the chin with a black ribbon bow. The bonnet is the detail collectors look for: its red band is lettered "The Salvation Army," a touch you only catch from above. In her hands she holds a miniature Christmas Number of War Cry, the Salvation Army's historic publication, printed with a mother-and-child cover; over her other arm hangs a woven splint basket lined with gauze and filled with bread, blue grapes and a sprig of holly, provisions for someone who needs them.
There is nothing showy about her, and that's the point. Among the singers and shopkeepers of the Caroller Collection she is the one out doing the quiet work of Christmas, and she remains one of the most sought-after and emotionally resonant Simpich designs, a small reminder of what the season is actually for.
