Charlotte, his love, perished one snowy night. But for Charlie, it was seasons of wrenching grief. Her parents urged him toward the sun, but his heart felt no warmth there and finally shadow settled completely over him. He sought a fragile, fleeting peace but could not find it.
The verse says his heart did break. It says it plainly, without ceremony — tucked between the mourning and the tomb. He found her grave on the first heavy snowfall. Lay down. Held the heart to his chest through the blizzard. When it stilled, so did he. Together at last. A broken heart. A shared grave. The end.
This piece is built from that heart.
He is authentic antique German bisque, circa 1850s — pale, still, cast in a single unjointed piece the way all the early ones were. A century of living has settled into his surface. I gave him a silver top hat, because he showed up for her until the very last moment. Two antiqued bronze angel wings hang from a delicate chain at his collar — one on each side, symmetrical, earned. At his chest, a large detailed anatomical heart in pewter, worn openly where the tin heart once stilled against him. Heavy. Specific. Impossible to ignore.
He travels on a long strand of white pearl beads — luminous, cool, the kind Charlotte herself might have worn to the ball.
Read the full story: Frozen Charles – My Nostalgic Soul
Details
- Authentic antique German bisque Frozen Charles doll, circa 1850s
- Silver top hat
- Two antiqued bronze angel wings on a delicate chain collar
- Large pewter anatomical heart charm
- Long white pearl bead chain with clasp
- One of a kind — you will receive the exact necklace shown
- Handmade with love in my cottage studio in Kansas
From My Nostalgic Soul to yours. — Gwendalynn Grey
