He's A Genius

He's a genius

Angie Hoffmeister’s illustration for Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House.

Take a look at these antique doll eyes. 👁️👁️ They’re early examples of blinking doll eyes, which were invented and first used for dolls made in the late 19th century. The set is made with a heavy weighted pendulum attached, which was the open/close mechanism, and the eyes were fitted into the sockets. When the doll is upright, the weight hangs down towards the face, keeping the eyes open. When the doll is set in a lying down position, the weight swings backward away from the face, pulling the eyes closed. 

These weighted eyes predate the blinking eyes on dolls like American Girl and Our Generation, but the concept is kind of the same. In the more durable modern sleep eyes, the weight is contained inside the eye, and the eye rotates in its own separate cradle.