Laura's Doll Hospital

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Laura's Doll Hospital

I repair and restore antique, vintage and modern dolls. Please see my website for more information.

28/03/2026

These two lovely dolls are named April and Aloysius. Both are English composition dolls. April dates from the late 1940s/1950s and Aloysius maybe a decade or so earlier. I've restrung and redressed them both, and given April's hair some much-needed TLC. The customer very kindly sent photos of them back at home with the rest of her collection.

26/03/2026

Dina is a sweet little black Rosebud doll, only 9" tall. She was a Christmas present in 1950. 76 years later, she came to me for a new hand and new irises in her eyes.

22/03/2026

Now and then, I'm lucky enough to receive donations of dolls whose owners can't care for them anymore. This is Pamela Jane, who came to me broken so that I could restore her to keep, along with notes about her original family for posterity. Pammy Jane was given to a six-year-old named Mavis in the 1930s and was later passed on to Mavis' daughter. She's been played with and loved so much, she's had various repairs over the years, and she came with an amazing trousseau of clothes and accessories.

20/03/2026

Jemima is a Palitoy 'Happy Face' doll from around 1970. She's much happier after a having thorough clean, an ink stain removal treatment on her forehead, and a new pair of eyes!

18/03/2026

***update - Bess has now been rehomed***

I'm very reluctantly seeking to rehome one of my dolls. Bess is a big girl at around 26" and I need the space! She was made in about 1950 and is marked IDL Made in England. She has a working mama voice box and she can wear baby clothes, although I'm happy to include this lemon-coloured outfit I've dressed her in. She may have a few minor imperfections here and there but she's in good condition for her age. I'm asking £50 and the buyer will need to collect her from Southampton.

14/03/2026

Often what's trickier than repairing broken dolls is undoing other people's botched repairs. Suzella is a gorgeous unmarked Roddy doll and she arrived with some seriously crazy eyes that had been glued in! She's looking much more like herself after a thorough clean, having some better eyes fitted, and a new outfit.

12/03/2026

This is Mimi. She was another doll hospital 'emergency' as she belongs to an autistic little girl who loves her very much. She's been cleaned; she's had her heel repaired and her matted hair detangled; and she has some new shoes and socks (plus a set of spares!).

10/03/2026

I had a lot of fun restringing and dressing this 1960s/70s Sebino Singer 'Golden Princess' doll.

08/03/2026

Black dolls of the 1950s were often named Topsy (after a character in Uncle Tom's Cabin), Boko (after the surviving Siamese twin), or Mandy Lou/Cindy Lou/Mary Lou (as sold by Pedigree). This one is a Topsy. She came to me for a repair to her arm, re-fixing of her voice box, and restringing.

06/03/2026

I cleaned and sewed up this little baby doll in rather a hurry after a very tearful goodbye from her two-year-old owner. This is a 1980s Lissi Batz doll. They're always good quality and were designed to be repairable, which some dolls definitely are not!

04/03/2026

This is Sophie. As you can see, she was in a bad way! Her poor hair had to go as the moths had eaten away at it. Her restoration was an incredibly thoughtful gift from a husband to his wife.

01/03/2026

Another soft-bodied vintage doll cleaned and refreshed now that she's being loved by a new generation. This one is known as Dolly Annabelle.

Address

Southampton

Website

https://www.laurasdollhospital.co.uk/

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