Text and Photos by Denise Van Patten
Source: About.com

There is so much to learn about antique dolls and their costuming–their history, the history of their creators, manufacturers and seamstresses, how children played with them–research turns up more information about all of this each year, as prices and collector interest continues to rise on all but the most common antique dolls.

All dolls created before approximately 1930 are considered antique. This is a somewhat arbitrary division, but in general, most pre-1930 bisque, china, papier mâché, wood, and wax dolls are considered antique by collectors. For years, all-composition dolls were considered modern, but that is slowly changing, and many of the pre-1930 composition dolls are now considered antique. One reason for this division is that many of the German manufacturers of bisque dolls made them from the 1890s through about 1930, and it is often hard to tell exactly what decade the doll was produced if it is not in original clothing. Most dolls you find today are, unfortunately, not found with original clothing, wigs, shoes and undergarments. Although this is mostly a historical series, general price ranges have been included for many types of dolls.

Early Dolls

The majority of antique dolls found today were manufactured from 1850 on, although dolls representing adults from the 17^th and 18^th century are rarely found. Most of the very early dolls were made in England by individual craftsmen who carved the dolls of wood,painted their features, and also costumed the dolls. Collectors call the wood dolls from England from the 18^th and early 19^th centuries “Queen Anne” dolls, which is somewhat confusing, since Queen Anne’s reign ended in 1714! These dolls, in good to excellent condition, are extremely rare, and cost from about $1,500 for an early 19^th century doll, to well over $20,000 for dolls made in the late 17^th century (very few have survived–less than 30 by some reports).

Papier Mache

Next oldest, and easier to find are the papier mâché dolls made from the beginning of the 19^th century through the early 20^th century. These dolls were mass-produced in Germany, France, and the United States, and proved a cheaper alternative to wood dolls, since molds could be used. The beginning of production of these dolls marked the beginning of the powerhouse German dollmaking industry, which would dominate the doll industry (except for the heyday of the French Bébé) until World War I. The first well-known American doll maker, Ludwig Greiner of Philadelphia, made papier mâché dolls from 1840 to 1874, and then his sons until 1883. Most papier mâché dolls have molded hair painted black, wooden limbs with a kid body, and painted eyes. A few choice dolls have glass eyes. The value of papier mâché dolls has started to rise because of the difficulty of finding them in excellent condition, as well as the out-of-sight prices of the sought-after early French and German bisque dolls. Prices range from about $500 for a small, marked post-1872 Greiner up to $2,000+ for exceptional German “milliners” models, and French examples from the early to mid 1800s.

Wax Dolls

The wax doll is generally a contemporary of the papier mâché doll. The earliest wax dolls found by collectors tend to be the poured wax dolls made in England (after the demise of the wooden doll industry) from 1840 through the remainder of the 19^th century, although pressed wax dolls were made before this time for the very wealthy. The poured wax dolls were made by pouring liquid into warm molds, and then, the hair, and glass eyes were set in the head. Poured wax dolls were mostly made in home-based businesses, and making wax dolls was very hazardous–if a doll maker wasn’t seriously burned by the hot wax, he could have his lungs harmed by the sawdust used to stuff bodies, or, he could be poisoned by the lead used to color the wax!

Bodies of wax dolls were generally made of stuffed cloth, with wax limbs (as you can see, the genre that dolls fall into is determined by the material that their heads are made of–NOT from the materials used for the bodies). Wax dolls can have beautifully realistic heads, because wax can mimic skin much better than either wood or papier mâché. Poured wax dolls from mid-19^th century England are mostly valued between $1000 to $2000; earlier dolls much higher. Some later wax dolls are stamped by the maker on the torso; such identification greatly enhances the value. Wax dolls were also made with plaster or papier mâché reinforcement in both England and Germany, and later examples are less costly to today’s collectors, often only a few hundred dollars.

In Part II of this series, we will turn our attention to China and Parian Dolls, French and German fashion dolls, French Bebes and the German Dolly-faced dolls.

Portions of this series first appeared in County Lines Magazine, March 1999.

Make sure your antique teddy bear is authentic. Don’t be confused by artist bears, which can often be heavily aged, but don’t claim to be old. Be sure to pay close attention to the teddy bear’s look and construction.

• Teddy bear’s label: The label won’t lie. Even if most of the label on a teddy bear has worn away, you can compare what remains to pictures in books in order to identify your bear.

• Teddy bear’s hump: Unlike most modern teddy bears, early teddy bears were designed to look like real bears, with a muscled hump between the shoulders. A bigger hump could indicate an older bear.

• Teddy bear’s limbs: Early teddy bears can be distinguished by their long, thin curved arms. The legs usually have narrow ankles ending in big feet, and the hips are wide.

• Teddy bear’s nose: A long nose indicates an earlier bear. The long nose was meant to mimic the look of a real bear.

• Teddy bear’s eyes and footpads: A teddy bear with plastic eyes and synthetic footpads generally dates from the 1950s and 1960s. Early makers of bears used boot buttons or glass for eyes, and velvet or felt for the footpads.

• Teddy bear’s joints: Most teddy bears made from about 1905 on have wooden disc joints that allow their limbs to move. The limbs of earlier teddy bears may be connected to the body with metal rods, but usually, those rods are only seen in low-quality teddy bears. An upper-end bear will have two arm joints, two leg joints, and a head joint, while other teddy bears often skip the head joint.

• Hand-sewn seam: Traditionally, the body was the last part of a teddy bear to be stuffed, and it was usually sewn up by hand. Most often, the hand-sewn seam runs down the back of the bear, but Steiff, Bing and Farnell bears all have seams in the front. To identify hand sewing, look at the quality of the stitching. Puckers may also indicate that the seam was finished by hand.

• Fabrics: Soft yet durable, mohair was the fabric of choice for most early bears. Made from goat hair, mohair feels like real hair. Bears made after 1930 may have silk plush fabric, while bears made in the 1950s are often made of synthetics.

• Teddy bear’s stuffing: The earliest bears are stuffed with wood shavings, called wood wool. In the 1920s, other fibers, such as kapok and wool waste, began to be used for the body and limbs, but the heads were still made of wood wool.

• Teddy bear’s pads: Felt pads are associated with high-quality bears. Lower-quality bears had pads made of brushed cotton.

• Stitching: Although most bears featured straight claws, bears from Merrythought and Farnell usually have stitched “webbed” claws on the back of their paws.

Source: Ebay Teddy Bear Buying Guide

Christmas continues to be the most popular holiday of the year. It is a time to get together with family and friends, exchange beautifully wrapped gifts, eat lots of delicious food and drink homemade eggnog. During the Christmas season, people enjoy decorating their homes inside and out and putting up a Christmas tree. It’s the decorations that make the Christmas tree turn into a self-made masterpiece. Don’t be afraid to load your tree with lots of colorful ornaments.

At Christmas many collectors like to deck their tree with classic ornaments. However, collectors realize that antique ornaments from the 19th to the early 20th century are getting harder to find making their price tags quite expensive. Some even sell for as much as $50. Since the price is high and they are becoming rare, many collectors are turning to ornaments made in the 20 years following World War II which would include the ’50s and ’60s. They are especially interested in those made in America.

Where can I find information?

Bookstores have plenty of good books on the subject of collecting. You can also obtain a subscription to different magazines on collecting. Two good books on this subject are Christmas Ornaments, Lights and Decorations, by George Johnson, and Holiday Collectibles by Lissa Bryan Smith and Richard Smith. Also, you can search online for information on Christmas ornaments.

History of early glass ornaments:

The idea of decorating a Christmas tree did not become official until the early 19th century. When people first started putting up a Christmas tree they didn’t trim them with the type of ornaments we use today. For many years they garnished them with different kinds of candies, sugar coated fruits, nuts, homemade cookies, ribbons and small gifts.

In eastern Germany the town of Lauscha is known as the birthplace of the Christmas tree ornament. In 1590, a glassblowing center was established there. German Protestant glassblowers from Swabia started it there when they settled to escape religious persecution. Soon, the glassblowers created a profitable business by making glass toys including dolls eyes and drinking glasses.

By the 18th century, the Lauschan glassblowers started making tubes of connected glass beads, which they sold to merchants all across Europe. Later glassblowers from other countries started making beads and other items. The Germans made silverglass balls called kugels.

In the mid-1870s, merchants in the town of Sonnebery discovered the Lauschan kugels and received the rights to export them. Because of F.W. Woolworth, the Lauschan glass ornaments caught on quick. In 1880 he decided to give kugels a try in his store and bought some from his American importer for his five-and-dime stores. He sold out of the gorgeous ornaments immediately and women asked for more.

American Ornaments:

In the 1920s, the Czechs began making a good quality of ornaments, some were there original designs and some were copies of German molds. They sold the ornaments for less money than the Germans. The Japanese came along and made their decorations even cheaper than the Czechs. Because of the Depression in 1929, people were not able to spend as much money as they would like so the Japanese decorations fit nicely into their budget.

Max Eckardt, a German immigrant decided to produce his own line of ornaments. He opened his company in New York City and sold his ornaments under two different names, Shiny Brite and Max Eckardt & Sons. In 1939 F.W. Woolworth placed a large order and sold them in his stores from two to ten cents each. After World War II, ornaments were being sold in economical boxed sets. Usually a 12-piece set of solid colored ornaments sold for 63 cents or cheaper. A boxed set of 11 balls and one bell shape ornament sold for about 77 cents.

Types of Ornaments and prices:

• Japan’s hand-painted balls from the late ’40s to early ’50s. The tops are marked “Japan,” and they sell for $3-$5 each.
• American, hand-painted ornaments date to the ’50s, and sell for $6-$10 each.
• Shiney Brite indented bumpy ointments. Made from 1948 into the early ’50s sell for $6-$12 each.
• Shiny Brite striped and indent balls and other shapes. 1950s vintage. Indents sell for $6-$12 and stripes for $2-$3.
• Various shapes and indents from Poland. From the 1960s sell for $3 each.
• American design balls including glitter. The painted ornaments were produced from the late 1940s to the early 1950s. The glitter balls produced in 1950s and early’60s sell for $3.50-$6 each.
• Shiny Brite solid color balls and oval shapes. From the ’50s sell for $6-$8 for a 12-piece box.

Where to find them:

They may be found in antique stores or where you least expect to see them in such places as yard sales or thrift stores and flee markets. Special place to find them would include collectible shops specializes in vintage ornaments and is probably the best place to search for them.

Join a Christmas Ornament Club:

You can join a club if you are interested in collecting all types of Christmas ornaments and other items. As long as you are into collecting Christmas items you can join these clubs and even meet other collectors. Annual membership usually runs $20, which almost always includes a bimonthly newsletter. To find these clubs you can search online or in books and magazines.

Source: Essortment.com