Exciting news!! Karen’s Collectors Cottage, Inc. & Art Gallery has just been featured as Ruby Plaza’s Shop of the Day! We are so honored to be chosen for this special recognition. Ruby Plaza is comparatively new to its counterpart Ruby Lane, but is picking up momentum quickly. Where Ruby Lane features antiques and vintage items mostly, Ruby Plaza differs by specializing in home decor and new handmade items. There are also some areas that allow for crossover making this truly a one-stop shopping experience on the internet.

Karen’s Collectors Cottage, Inc. & Art Gallery has it’s Ruby Lane shop and its Ruby Plaza shop. Currently they offer a lot of the same items, but new items are being added frequently. We currently have limited edition art prints, used books, used lp music albums, and gorgeous collectible dolls. There are a number of collectible plates included, as well. Check out our shops to see our many wonderful collectibles and find that special item to add to your collection.

Karen’s Collectors Cottage, Inc. & Art Gallery on Ruby Lane

Karen’s Collectors Cottage, Inc. & Art Gallery on Ruby Plaza

Karen’s Collectors Cottage, Inc. & Art Gallery article on Facebook.

by Denise Van Patten
Source: About.com

Wood is one of the earliest known materials used to make dolls. However, very few dolls are made of wood today–wood is not a preferred material for children’s dolls (and wasn’t in the 20th century) because wood is hard and unyielding. Also, most wood dolls must be hand carved since wood does not lend itself to easily molding as does vinyl, bisque materials.

Wood was one of the earliest materials that dollmakers looked to, since wood was easily carved to resemble human form, and it was sturdy and unbreakable. However, most wood dollmaking was done by artists or by cottage industries. Today, most wood dolls are made by doll artists (such as Jean Lotz and her Hitty dolls) or in special limited editions for collectors (Madame Alexander). Wendy Lawton makes highly poseable wood bodies for her porcelain-head dolls.

The earliest dolls made out of wood were not playthings–they were symbolic and ceremonial figures, often of a religious nature. Italian creche figures made for hundreds of years are an example of this. Some of the earliest known examples of wood dolls made for play are from England, and later Germany as well. Today, most wood dolls made are created for collectors. They have a particularly folk-art feel to them, and are prized because they are handcrafted.

As mentioned, wood dolls are known from ancient times. Italian creche figure examples are known as early as the 1500s (very rare) and English wood dolls from the late 1600s and early 1700s are quite rare. English wood dolls are more plentiful from the late 1700s and early 1800s, and German Grodner Tal and Peg Wood dolls are from the 1800s. A cottage industry created peg woodens well into the 20th century, and there are artists today still making wood dolls.

The names of most early companies that produced wood dolls in Europe have been lost to time. Most wood dolls have been hand-carved by artists or artisans, or are from small cottage industries. In the United States, companies (artists) that produced wood dolls in the late 1800s include Joel Ellis and Mason, Taylor. Today, as mentioned, several artists make Hitty (a popular storybook character) including Jean Lotz. Madame Alexander makes Wendy Woodkin wood dolls hand-carved in China today.

The very earliest wood dolls, when found in excellent or better condition, generally sell for many thousands of dollars at auction. French Court dolls and very early English dolls from the late 1600s and early 1700s are dolls that are in this category and which can sell from $5,000 to $50,000 or more. An early Italian creche figure sold at auction at Theriault’s last year for $21,000.Later Queen Anne dolls (which are not actually from the Queen Anne period) from the late 1700s to early 1800s can be found for much lower prices, especially when worn.

American wood dolls such as Joel Ellis and Mason, Taylor dolls are generally found quite worn today, with prices from $500 to $1,000. German Grodner Tal and Tuck Comb dolls vary, from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand for very early or large examples, and those with unusual hairstyles and other features.

Modern wood dolls, such as the Wendy Woodkin series from Madame Alexander, generally sell between $150 to $300. Hitty doll reproductions vary widely in prices.

by Gary Sowatzka
Source: Sowatzka’s Dolls

Wax dolls come in two main types. Wax over composition dolls were made by applying a thin coat of wax over composition heads and limbs. They were easier and less expensive to produce than the poured wax dolls. The wax over composition dolls had a more natural appearance than the ones made of only composition. They were made from the 1830′s to the 1900′s, mostly by German doll makers. In the 1870′s, the English started producing some wax over composition dolls. These dolls by the English are usually well marked with body stamps, therefore, wax over composition dolls with no marking are assumed to be German.

Unfortunately, these dolls were subject to the changes in climate, much like their all composition counterparts. Changes in temperature and humidity caused the composition bases to shrink and expand, resulting in cracking and crazing of the wax covering.

Poured wax dolls originated from the widespread Roman Catholic practice of creating religious effigies and votive offerings from wax. The craftsmen expanded their art into wax doll-making. This was developed in London and between 1850 and 1930, most of the fine wax dolls were created. Wax dolls were much more realistic looking than any other type of doll. The wax was translucent, luminous and warm to the touch. The properties of wax allowed the artists to create portrait dolls which accurately depicted the facial features and expressions of their subjects.

Poured wax doll modelers all used basically the same process to create their dolls. First, a doll was sculpted from either wax or clay, which was then used to create a plaster mold. The molds were then used to cast the doll pieces. The techniques used to finish the dolls are what made them unique. Some wax dolls have inset hair where strands of clumps of hair were inserted into the scalp. This made for a more realistic head of hair than wigs produced. Blown glass or molded eyes were set into the cut-out eye sockets, and eyelashes were also inserted with a technique similar to that used to insert hair in the scalp. Most of the poured wax dolls have bodies made out of calico stuffed with animal hair or other wooly fibers. The arms and legs were cast at the same time as the head to ensure color match.

by Katharine Swan
Source: WiseGeek

Although it seems like a defiance of common sense, by the time vinyl was first used as a material for manufacturing children’s toys, dolls had already had a long history of fragility. Vinyl dolls solved that problem. They didn’t break easily, as porcelain and bisque dolls did; they didn’t manifest crazing or chipping over time as did composition dolls; and they didn’t crack or split at the seams, as with hard plastic dolls. Vinyl dolls also made rooted hair possible in dolls, replacing the glued-on wigs of hard plastic and composition dolls.

Of course, early vinyl dolls still had their problems. Hard vinyl tended to lose its color over time — these days, many vintage vinyl dolls have arms, legs, and torsos that are each a different shade, making them look rather washed out from the neck down. Likewise, soft vinyl sometimes discolored as well, darkening or turning orange or yellow with age.

Vinyl became popular as a material for making dolls at a time when fashion dolls were also becoming very popular. As a result, many vintage fashion dolls are made from vinyl. Although at the time, toddler dolls — dolls that take the form of a small child, or a toddler — were being phased out, the few companies that continued to make them began to convert to vinyl dolls, as well. Vinyl was also a good material for baby dolls, as it is flexible and durable enough to withstand the play of small children.

Rooted hair was a huge incentive behind the shift to vinyl dolls. Although saran wigs could be washed, combed, and curled, they were also more likely to lose hair with repeated combing, among other problems. The rooted hair of vinyl dolls was much more appropriate for “beauty shop” play, as it tended to be more durable. As a result, when companies made the shift to vinyl dolls, it was usually first to a hard plastic body with a vinyl head. Such dolls started appearing as early as the early to mid-fifties.

Baby dolls, on the other hand, typically had a hard plastic head and a soft vinyl body; vinyl, a much softer and more pliable material, is more realistic as baby’s skin and more huggable for young children. Later baby dolls were made entirely of soft vinyl, some with rooted, baby-like hair. These vinyl dolls sometimes had drink-and-wet devices in them, which enabled them to pass water, bottle-fed to them through a hole in their mouths, through another hole into their diapers. Sometimes vinyl baby dolls also had voice boxes or “criers” in them.

Although today’s vinyl dolls are very different than the first ones to appear on the market, many modern dolls and toys are still made from vinyl. Vinyl has proved to be a durable material, not just in its ability to withstand playwear, but also in its ability to answer to the demands of the toy market.

by Denise Van Patten
Source: About.com

Papier Mache dolls were introduced in Germany in the early 1800s. Prior to then, most dolls were carved out of wood; a few were molded (simply) in wax. Papier Mache was a good material to make doll heads from because it could be molded and painted. Molding allowed more realistic doll features than carving, and the dolls were lighter than carved wood. Papier Mache was the preferred material by German doll makers until the mid 1800s when China Dolls were introduced.

Although very early (pre-1800) Papier Mache dolls have been found, they are relatively rare. In the early 1800s the German doll industry discovered Papier Mache dolls, and by the 1830s and 1840s, they were the most popular material for dollmaking. Papier Mache dolls were also made in France and the United states in the 1800s. Although production of the dolls greatly declined when china dolls became common, they were made throughout the 1800s, and some doll artists today still work with it.

Papier Mache dolls don’t tend to be very tiny because it is a coarse material–the smallest antique ones that you tend to find are 8 to 10 inches; the vast majority are larger. Most antique Papier Mache dolls are between 12 and 28 inches; larger ones do exist.

Some of the earliest commonly found Papier Mache dolls are called Milliner’s Models today. These dolls were made from approximately 1840 through 1860, and are often found in smaller sizes (9 to 15 inches) and with wooden limbs. Many German dollmakers made Papier Maches that greatly resembled China dolls. Some fashion dolls from the mid-1800s were made in France (predecessors to the later French bisque and china dolls). Later, some German Papier Mache dolls resembled their bisque sisters.

When German china dolls displaced Papier Mache dolls as the doll of choice for children and manufacturers, production of Papier Mache dolls plummeted, and it plummeted further when bisque dolls came into favor. In the history of dolls, it is common to see this sort of displacement of one material for making doll heads by another when technology and tastes change.

Very early Papier Maches, Papier Maches with rare molded hairstyles, early French Fashion dolls made of Papier Mache and some rarer and fancier Milliners Models can bring prices of several thousand dollars at auction. More common mid-1800s Papier Maches, Greniers, and late 1800s/early 1900s Papier Maches generally are valued at several hundred dollars. Prices vary greatly based on the condition of the dolls.

by Katharine Swan
Source: WiseGeek

Hard plastic dolls were first made in the late 1940s. Hard plastic replaced composition, the material that had previously been made to make dolls. Hard plastic dolls were much more durable than composition dolls, making them better suited for children’s play. Hard plastic was also better for creating fine details, such as the dimples on fingers and toes.

Hard plastic dolls were created in molds; as a result, a mold line is usually visible on the sides of each body part. The hollow torsos and heads were made in two pieces — front and back — that were later glued together. Early hard plastic dolls were strung, meaning their head, arms, and legs were connected to the body with a rubber band or elastic cord that was run through the hollow torso. Starting in the early to mid-fifties, hard plastic dolls were marketed as “walkers” — dolls with an interior mechanism that turned their head from side to side as their legs moved back and forth.

Early hard plastics dolls were molded out of pale flesh-colored plastic, then painted with a darker flesh shade. On top of the flesh paint, other painted features were added, such as blush to the cheeks, the backs of the hands, and the knees; painted eyelashes; red rosebud lips; and/or nail polish on the tiny fingertips. Some hard plastic dolls had painted eyes, but most had sleep eyes: glass eyes that were weighted so they closed when the doll was laid on its back, and opened when the doll was placed in a sitting or standing position.

Some hard plastic dolls, such as baby dolls, had molded hair, which meant that the head was shaped and painted to look like it had hair on it. Many other hard plastic dolls had wigs glued onto their heads. Early wigs were made of mohair, while later wigs were made of saran, a type of plastic hair that could be brushed, washed, and curled using doll-sized curlers. In the mid-fifties, when vinyl was first used, some hard plastic dolls had “skull caps” — vinyl or soft plastic hairpieces, rather like wigs except with rooted hair — which were glued to a doll’s head just like a wig. Later on, some dolls had hard plastic bodies and vinyl heads with rooted hair.

Most early hard plastic dolls came in larger sizes, such as 14-inch, 17-inch, and 20-inch dolls. Hard plastic quickly became a popular material for the eight-inch toddler dolls of the 1950s; later on, hard plastic was even used for a few of the fashion dolls that became popular in the late fifties and sixties. The bodies were usually six-piece bodies: arms, legs, torso, and head.

Because hard plastic is such a durable material, it is much easier these days to find a hard plastic doll in good condition than it is to find a composition or china doll without chips, cracks, or breaks. However, hard plastic dolls are not without their problems. One of the most common problems is that hard plastic tends to separate at the seams of the hollow pieces, such as the torso and head. Usually, such seam separations happen because of pressure on the seams; for instance, dolls that are strung too tightly may eventually show seam separations at the neck, and walker dolls often have separations in the bottom of the torso, where the walking mechanism is located. Hard plastic dolls can also crack or break if they are dropped, but on the whole, hard plastic is a much more durable material than those that were previously used to make dolls.

General Instructions

Room temperature should be around 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity should be about 45-55%. To monitor your temperature, you have your thermostat, to monitor humidity you will need to purchase a humidity gauge. You can find these at a hardware store or museum supply stores. You can also purchase Humidity Indicator Cards, which provide a visual record for monitoring humidity in display cases.

• Try to avoid drastic temperature changes – this causes the doll’s composition to expand and contract

• Keep dolls away from forced air heating and cooling systems (dries them out, causes paint flaking)

• Try to keep your dolls in a display case or showcase (keeps the dust off of them)

• Keep your dolls away from direct sunlight or any intense lighting units

• NEVER store your dolls in a basement or attic!

• Cigarette smoke is one of the worst things for a doll collection. It leaves a residue on the doll’s finish and the smell permeates the hair and clothing

• Do not clean the composition on your doll – No wax, cold creams, nothing. I’ve heard in the past that people use these things to ‘shine’ their doll up, but what they don’t realize is the most minute crack or craze can absorb these things and eventually could cause lifting of the composition. The most you should ever do is take a piece of very tightly woven cotton material and slightly buff your dolls finish – THAT’S IT!

If your doll is kept in a protective enclosure, there is no need of further cleaning. You want to maintain as much of the original patina of your doll as possible.

Caring for Doll Eyes

Composition dolls have eyes made from a variety of materials. Tin, metal, plastic, celluloid or glassine. And we all know that the two latter materials sometimes craze or crystallize. This is the result of the metal behind the eyes rusting and this causes the crazed effect. Sometimes this is not that noticeable but at other times you get that eerie greenish effect which is not very attractive. If this is the case, have the pupils replaced. NEVER OIL your dolls eyes! This is only a temporary fix to disguise the problem, it does not last. And the worst part of this is most people are not careful when putting the oil in the dolls eye and they get the oil on the dolls composition around the socket of the eye. If you have ever seen a doll with haloed eyes that are a very light olive green color or just a slightly darker color around the eye socket, then you know some heavy-handed individual was oiling the dolls eyes. A good doll restorer can replace the pupils with beautiful results.

Caring for Doll Hair

Your doll’s hair is either human or mohair. Synthetic hair was not used on composition dolls. Regardless of the condition of your doll’s hair, try to keep the original wig. Even if you replace it with an appropriate wig, keep the original wig with your doll to retain it’s originality; never throw it away. If your doll’s wig is a little flat or slightly matted you can use a toothpick or skewer stick and lightly pick and fluff the hair. Mohair tends to become matted, so with this technique you can give it a little life. Never comb human or mohair, it will fall out. If your doll’s wig is thin or sparse, try using a light colored hairnet and this pulls the wig more closely to the dolls head and gives a fuller appearance. Never wash your dolls hair; this is a process that is very tedious. The wig must be removed and washed properly. Leave this to your doll restorer. In my opinion this only needs to be done if your doll’s wig is in deplorable condition.

Excerpts from ‘Care of Compositions Dolls’ by Louise Sleeter, Composition Doll Specialist and Restorationist. For the full article, including valuable information on cleaning composition dolls, click here.

by Katharine Swan
Source: WiseGeek

Composition dolls began to replace porcelain and bisque dolls in the American market during the early part of the twentieth century. This transition took place because of two different factors. First, because of World War I, Americans stopped buying imported German dolls, which enabled composition dolls to make their entrance. Second, composition dolls became preferable because they were much less expensive and much less likely to break than bisque dolls.

A china doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of glazed porcelain. The name comes from china being used to refer to the material porcelain. Colloquially the term china doll is sometimes used to refer to any glazed porcelain or (bisque doll), but more specifically it describes only glazed porcelain dolls.

Antique china dolls were predominantly produced in Germany, approximately between 1840 and 1940, with the peak in popularity between roughly 1840 and 1890. Unglazed bisque dolls became popular after 1850. Harper’s Bazar referred to china dolls as “old fashioned” in 1873, though they continued being made well into the early 20th century. China doll heads were produced in large quantities, counting in the millions. Some of the most prolific manufacturers were companies like Kestner; Conta & Boehme; Alt, Beck and Gottschalck; and Hertwig. China dolls were also produced in Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Poland, and Sweden.

A typical china doll has a shoulder head made of glazed whitish porcelain, with painted molded hair and facial features. The glaze gives the doll a characteristic glossy appearance. The head is typically attached to a body made of cloth or leather, sometimes with arms and legs made of porcelain. Some early china head dolls were placed on peg jointed wooden bodies. China doll parts were also sold for the customer to fashion a body and clothing. The largest cloth bodied china dolls could be more than 30″ (76 cm) tall, and as small as 3″ (7.5 cm). Some china dolls, like the “Frozen Charlotte dolls”, were made entirely out of porcelain, with head and body made in one piece without any articulation. The Frozen Charlotte dolls range in size from 2.5 cm (1 inch) in height up to 46 cm (18 inches).

The earliest china dolls often depicted grown women. From approximately the 1850s on child like china dolls became popular. Blond haired china dolls became more prevalent at the end of the 1800s. These dolls display contemporary hairstyles: sausage curls, ribbons or headbands. Rare and elaborately decorated antique china dolls can have value on the collectors market.

Most china dolls are unmarked or marked with only a size number. Alt, Beck and Gottschalck dolls will sometimes have a size and model number. Rorstrand dolls usually are marked with a model letter and size number on the bottom front of the shoulder plate. KPM, Meissen, and Royal Copenhagen products will bear company markings.

Parian dolls are similar to china dolls in that their heads are made of untinted porcelain, but they are unglazed with a matte finish. They are found on similar body types. They were also mainly made in Germany, from around 1860s to 1890s.

There was a resurgence in the popularity of china dolls in the mid 1900s when many were reproduced in the United States by companies such as Ruth Gibbs of New Jersey and Californians Emma Clear and Mark Farmer, among many others. From the 1930s Emma Clear became renowned for her high quality, finely made reproduction china heads. She also produced some all-original, non-reproduction dolls, including portraits of George and Martha Washington made in the same manner as antique dolls.

Some hobbyists purchased or made molds from original antique china dolls and created reproductions in low fired ceramic. These home made versions are typically of poor paint quality and may exhibit crazing in the glaze due to poor firing technique. Another tip off that such a doll is a reproduction is if it is signed with an individual’s name and/or date. The antique dolls were not typically signed in this manner.

There were several models of china dolls made in Japan and marketed in the 20th century too. These doll heads were often labeled only with easily lost stickers inside the heads. They are frequently mistaken for their antique German predecessors. Trading companies in The United States, such as Shackman, Brinn and A A Importing company, distributed these dolls, frequently in kit form. The Standard Doll Co. of Long Island, New York also advertised china dolls in the 1970s.

Excerpt from Wikipedia

Some of the most beautiful dolls ever made were manufactured around the turn of the 20^th century from a newly invented material called celluloid. This material revolutionized the toy making industry, and today it is changing the way some people view doll collecting.

Until recently celluloid has been frowned upon by many purists who have an affinity toward dolls made of traditional materials like bisque, china, porcelain and composition. According to some doll experts, celluloid has little appeal to the “serious” collector because it is a material that has certain drawbacks; it fades, it cracks and it is flammable.

It’s true, celluloid is not as sturdy as other doll making materials, but that’s because it wasn’t meant to be. Early advertisements claim that celluloid was lightweight, unbreakable and waterproof. These were qualities that made it conducive to play rather than collecting, and while its drawbacks are valid concerns, today’s collector of the celluloid doll is putting it on display rather than storing it in a trunk or blanket chest.

The First Celluloid Dolls

In 1895 Frederich Bensinger, the owner of the Rhenish Gummi und Celluloidfabrik Company of Neckarau, Germany gave one of his engineers the task of creating a doll from celluloid. That man was Robert Zeller, and by 1897 he had successfully developed a method of blowing steam into tubes of celluloid that were placed in a doll shaped metal mold. The process was so successful the company went into full scale production. In 1899 the Rhenish firm registered their now famous turtle trademark and named their doll making division Schildkrot — the German word for turtle.

At first parents were skeptical about buying celluloid dolls for their children because it had a reputation for being dangerously flammable — which it was. Furthermore, at the time celluloid dolls were no less expensive than porcelain or bisque dolls, so consumers were hesitant to pay for something they knew little about. Eventually, however, its lightweight durability and realistic appearance won out and celluloid baby dolls became popular.

Celluloid Dolls in France

In France things were quite different. Celluloid had been widely used in the manufacture of ornamental hair combs and jewelry since the first European celluloid factory had been built in Stains, near St. Denis in 1875. But it wasn’t until after the turn of the 20^th century that celluloid dolls and toys began to make their appearance.

The most famous of French manufacturers was Petitcollin, originally founded in Oyonnax in 1860 for the manufacture of combs. Petitcollin began to fabricate celluloid in 1898 and registered their trademark, the profile of an eagle head, in 1901. They began to fabricate celluloid dolls and toys in 1907, with the earliest advertisements appearing in 1909.

Petitcollin became well known for its boy doll, Petit Colin, which was introduced in 1924. The success of this baby doll was a catalyst for a whole cast of characters, so that by the mid-1930s Colette, Coline, Colinette and Parisette dolls joined the family and became just as popular as their older brother Colin.

Petitcollin also made a large number of small jointed standing dolls which were finished with mohair wigs and dressed as souvenirs in regional costume. The firm is still in business today but discontinued use of celluloid in 1957 when the material was replaced with a non-flammable substitute.

Societe Nobel Francaise was formed in 1927, registering their trademark, SNF in diamond in 1928. The firm absorbed the Convert company and used their molds to make a variety of animal toys, as well as beautiful fashion dolls ranging from 5 ½ inches to 10 inches, which were dressed in fancy costume and sold as souvenirs. The most interesting of SNF baby dolls are toddlers who have mohair wigs and glass eye mechanisms that allow the eyes to open and close as well as shift side to side.

Celluloid Dolls in Japan

Most Japanese celluloid doll makers focused on mass producing small, inexpensive carnival- type dolls, so it isn‘t very often that collectors find good quality sturdy examples of babies or toddlers. There were a few firms, however, that made a limited quantity, and although these cannot compare with the high quality of French and German baby dolls from the same period, they do deserve to be recognized.

Sekiguchi was one of the largest and most prolific manufacturers of celluloid toys in Japan. The company was founded in 1918 by Moto and Tomokichi Sekiguchi for the sole purpose of manufacturing and exporting dolls to the United States. Their most recognized creation is a variation of the Kewpie, which they called Cupid. Later, during the 1920s, the naked carnival type Boopie doll became popular. Often these were decorated with brightly colored feathers or crepe paper costumes and exported in great number to the United States where they sold for mere pennies.

On occasion, sturdy Japanese toddler or baby dolls can be found with the trademarks of Sekiguchi (a three lobed flower) the Royal Company, Ltd. (a fleur-de-lis) and Sato Sankichi (SS inside rhombus). Often these are made in the likeness of Baby John, a doll which became so popular it was produced in a variety of sizes by a number of different manufacturers.

Celluloid Dolls in the United States

In America, where celluloid was invented in 1869, the doll and toy industry had a slow beginning. An assignor to the Celluloid Novelty Company patented several designs for dolls during the 1880s, but to date no examples have been found that support any evidence of production. It appears, rather, that the Germans dominated the toy market in the United States up until the onset of World War I, when trade ceased. It was then, out of opportunity and necessity, that America entered the celluloid toy making industry.

In 1914 the Viscoloid Company of Leominster, Massachusetts (founded in 1901) hired a German artist named Paul Kramme, who began to design toy molds for the firm. Viscoloid became prolific in their manufacture of small figural dolls and toys up until after DuPont bought the company in 1925. Although not as common, Viscoloid also produced a limited number of jointed baby dolls measuring between 10 inches and 16 ½ inches. Today these may be found trademarked with the words Made In USA, and sometimes accompanied by an intertwined VCO logo or a number.

Little is known of the Marks Brothers Company, of Boston, but according to Coleman’s Encyclopedia of Dolls, a firm named Marks & Knoring Company, was producing dolls with celluloid faces between 1915 and 1917. The Marks Brothers Company made its appearance in the sales catalogues beginning in 1918 until the mid-1920s. Marks Brothers’ socket and shoulder plate heads in celluloid can be found, on occasion, bearing the shield trademark of the firm or the words, Marks Bros. Boston.

The Parsons-Jackson Company, of Cleveland, Ohio (originally a celluloid cuff and collar manufacturer) patented a unique baby doll in 1914 out of their brand of celluloid called Biskoline. Today these dolls, which bear a trademark of a standing stork and the words Parsons-Jackson Co. Cleveland, OHIO, U.S.A. on the back, can be found for between $75-$175 depending on condition.

Excerpts from “Celluloid Dolls — European, Japanese and American” by Julie Pelletier Robinson
Source: Celluloid Forever