Frozen Charlotte Doll

This Frozen Charlotte doll was found during the 2015 excavations of the Saints' Rest privy. Frozen Charlotte dolls were first made in Germany in 1850, but became quickly associated with an American folk ballad based on a poem by Seba Smith. In the tale, Charlotte is a young woman taking an open carriage ride to a New Year's Ball. In her vanity, Charlotte refuses to bundle up on the journey so that everyone can see her beautiful dress. Sadly, she freezes to death on the way there. This was a cautionary tale for children and the small china dolls were incredibly popular in America. Frozen Charlotte dolls were also commonly baked into Christmastime cakes during this era as a "fun" surprise. However, this doll's presence in the privy comes as no surprise as faculty members and their families lived on campus during the early days of MSU's history. Check out Lisa's blog for some more information as well as the full poem: https://campusarch.msu.edu/?p=3934 Model made by Jack A. Biggs with the Artec Sapce Spider