It is commonly thought among Hitty friends that the Original Hitty was created to resemble one of the more expensive, (as compared to cheaper homecarved or purchased wooden dolls,) chinas of the 1800s. The main evidence is Hitty's hair, which upon close examination contains a certain set of features that were popular for a period of time and were replicated on hordes of china dolls. China dolls evolved over many years of production, so some other types of chinas also bear some of the Hitty-like features.

In particular, the Original Hitty has two rather rounded bumpy curls of hair in the front, over her forehead. The back, lower half of Hitty's hair is carved in rows of neat, rounded bumps to represent curls, and two 'wings' of hair, carved somewhat separately from the back rows of curls, frame Hitty's face on either side in the lower half of her hair.

It is a matter of great debate among Hitty friends what this really means about the Original Hitty's carving date, as compared to the storyline in Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, but it is indisputable that there are some china dolls whose hair looks almost EXACTLY like Hitty's. These "Hitty-Style" Chinas are the subject of the China Doll Project. We are showcasing "Hitty-Style" Chinas to encourage comparison between "Hitty-Style" Chinas and the Original Hitty. I also hope these photo galleries will provide other Hitty artists with some of the inspiration I have enjoyed, by contributing to a new understanding of Original Hitty's look. When you are viewing our Hitty-China photos, you might want to compare them to the Original Hitty's features as they appear in our photo galleries on The Hitty Research Pages, or if possible compare them to the features on a Michael Langton Resin Hitty-- the closest replica of the Original Hitty that exists.