Jig Doll - History

History

Dancing dolls have been popular street entertainment for hundreds of years. Older versions dating back to the 16th century were known as Poupées à la Planchette or Marionettes à la Planchette. These puppets, operated by a horizontal string attached to the musician's leg, 'danced' on a board on the ground as the musician tapped his foot. They were, and still are, popular street entertainment throughout Europe.

At some stage, possibly in the mid-19th century, the string was replaced by a wooden rod fixed into the back of the body, or attached to a wire loop on the top of the doll's head, with the doll dancing on a vibrating board. Later, some jig dolls were automated.

The East Anglian Traditional Music Trust (EATMT) reports that the earliest jig doll yet discovered is one from the Victorian Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace dating from 1851. A female figure, dressed in a skirt, petticoat, bodice and shawl, it is now in the Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley, Yorkshire."

Old ones have become collectors' items and can fetch high prices. Some antique clockwork tin-plate 'jiggers' can fetch anything up to £2,000 (in 2009).

Traditional English folk singers and musicians such as Bob Cann from Dartmoor, Billy Bennington and Walter Pardon (both from Norfolk) sometimes made their own jig dolls. In England, jig dolls have perhaps survived better in East Anglia than other parts of the country; the EATMT has commissioned a collection of them.