298 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ISABEL BELAUNSARAN 



Maker of the smallest dolls in the world. 

 She holds a tiny doll in her left hand (see page 

 ^95) • 



uct shows no signs other than those of 

 .artistic skill and extreme patience. By 

 working steadily for 10 hours the sum 

 of $1.25 may be earned — less than that 

 paid for the same period of time to an 

 •ordinary day laborer in the United States 

 for work of the crudest kind. So con- 

 stantly has this little maiden used her 

 eyes that she is beginning to lose her 

 -eyesight. 



The dancing-girl dolls are particularly 

 attractive. Miniature roses are embroid- 

 ered on their dresses and hung about the 

 shoulders. Ornaments are arranged in 

 the hair and the tiny limbs are formed in 

 graceful and lifelike attitudes of dancing. 



The costume of the matador doll is 

 gaily embroidered in colors and its hair 

 dressed in Spanish style, including the 

 •conventional cue. Slippers are added, a 

 sword and muleta are placed in the 



hands, and the manikin bull-fighter is 

 ready to enter the ring, so far as minia- 

 ture details of dress and equipment are 

 concerned. 



The flower-girl dolls are dressed ac- 

 cording to the custom and provided with 

 small baskets woven of fine hair filled 

 with flowers of variegated colors. The 

 hair is arranged in a double braid, and 

 artistic shawls, brilliantly colored, are 

 hung loosely about the shoulders. The 

 tiny flower-sellers are then not unlike 

 those seen in the flower markets through- 

 out Mexico. 



Vaqueros are represented in their most 

 attractive and picturesque attire. Faith- 

 ful reproductions of the native serapes 

 are thrown about the shoulders, and som- 

 breros, woven of fine hair, are placed on 

 the heads in true Mexican fashion. 



Aguadors are provided with tiny ollas, 

 made from clay and fashioned on the 

 exact lines and proportions of the prac- 

 tical sizes, and are considered important 

 members of the doll family. 



Religious dignitaries are also repre- 

 sented in this remarkable doll family and 

 are dressed in full accordance with the 

 character which they are supposed to 

 represent in dignified miniature. 



It is difficult to believe that human 

 hands could have fashioned such wonder- 

 ful little figures. A photograph cannot 

 do justice to the coloring and execution, 

 and it is only after they have been ex- 

 amined carefully through a magnifying 

 glass that they can be fully appreciated. 



The first dolls of this kind made by 

 Isabel were secured by several of the 

 royal families. They were also included 

 in many private collections, where they 

 are always greatly admired. 



A German traveler criticized the dolls 

 one day and told the little Indian maiden 

 that in Germany they had fleas fully 

 dressed and trained to perform the most 

 wonderful feats. "Yes," answered she, 

 "I remember my father telling how those 

 trained fleas were first sent to your coun- 

 try from Mexico. We cannot dress the 

 fleas so completely as the dolls, however, 

 as we cannot make them stand still long 

 enough. I suppose," she added, naively, 



