I found these dolls at my sister-in-law's this weekend. They were made by her piano teacher, Margherita Menaboni who was the sister of Athos Menaboni, a bird artist. J. is 50 years old, so these dolls were probably made in the 1960's.

They are made of felt with a wire armature. There is a tiny bandana in the boatman's pocket; the fingers on the hands are defined. The faces are embroidered.

As you can see, they are pretty dirty. If you have any ideas on how to clean them, I'd love to hear them. Not sure if the felt is wool or synthetic. J. doesn't know.