Names: Abigail “A Father’s Joy” and Fidelia “Faithful One”
Made by and When: Engel-Puppen for Vision Forum, 2006
Material: Vinyl heads, arms, legs; stuffed cloth, acrylic
Height: 18 inches
Marks: (Abigail’s head) 177/16 / Engel-Puppe in raised letters. (Fidelia’s head) Engel-Puppe / 182/16. Both dolls have cloth body tags that read: Engle-Puppe Made in Germany. The hang tags read: Since 1896 / Engel-Puppen [website address] Hand-Made in Germany.
Hair, Eyes, Mouths: Both dolls have black-rooted hair. Abigail has curly bangs and a high ponytail with curly ends. Fidelia has long straight hair with bangs. Both dolls have brown sleep eyes with attached upper eyelashes and closed mouths. Abigail has dimpled cheeks.
Clothing: Abigail wears a baby blue-and-white checkered dress. Fidelia’s dress is identical except for the yellow and white colors. Both dresses have a wide white satin ribbon waist sash and an attached white underskirt. White pantaloons, white knit socks, and white faux vinyl shoes complete their costumes.
Other: Abigail and Fidelia are from the original four-doll “Beautiful Girlhood Collection” made in Germany by Engel-Puppen for Vision Forum, a now-defunct Evangelical Christian homeschooling organization*. Each doll has a theme as follows: Liberty (“Freedom in Christ”); Evangeline (“Proclaimer of Good News”); Abigail (“A Father’s Joy”); and Fidelia (“Faithful One”). The dolls have specially designed, Vision Forum-exclusive, historical costumes. Similar to American Girl dolls, accessories included girl and doll matching outfits. The original dolls, which included Abigail and Fidelia, were made by Engle-Puppen, while later versions were manufactured by Gotz.
*Vision Forum, led by Doug Phillips, was a prominent ministry promoting a strict conservative ideology centered on biblical patriarchy, the Quiverfull movement, and homeschooling. Their principles emphasized that men are ordained to lead families, women should focus on homemaking, and education should be home-based, often holding that daughters should stay in their father’s home until marriage. Following a scandal involving the founder, Vision Forum closed in 2013.
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