People have made dolls for thousands of years for use as religious objects, toys, and holiday displays. Many traditional dolls, like the Japanese Kokeshi, are still highly desirable today. Many early American dolls were made of rags, or cloth, and are a reminder of the simple life in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In the 19th century, French and German dolls were the most popular and innovative dolls in the western world. In the early 1850s, the Bebe doll appeared in France, starting the custom of making dolls in the form of infants and young children (as opposed to adults). The Germans caught on, and soon both countries were producing porcelain-headed dolls.

Late in the 1800s, the French started making dolls with unglazed heads, and the unglazed colored clay more accurately represented a human skin tone. These dolls became known as bisque dolls, and they remain a staple of doll-making...

Shortly thereafter, German doll makers started experimenting with celluloid, a lighter-weight and less breakable material. Celluloid dolls were popular for a number of years, despite the fact that the material was flammable. Dolls in Europe, Japan, and America made of celluloid, such as the famous Kewpie doll, were eventually replaced by dolls made of plastic, or composition dolls, made of a mix of materials including glue and sawdust.

The early 20th century saw the launch of a number of famous doll-making companies, such as Ideal, which became known among other things for its best-selling Shirley Temple dolls. Another was Vogue, which produced the Ginny doll, and of course Mattel, which launched its blockbuster Barbie line in the late 1950s.

Though most antique dolls started out as toys, some dolls have been sought by collectors from the beginning. A good example is the Simpich Doll Company, which produced small numbers of limited edition Christmas and Americana-themed dolls for over 50 years.

About our sources | Got something to add?

▼ Expand to read the full article ▼

Show & Tell

Antique Procelain Boy & Girl - Dollsby mosk
in Dolls
Old Photo of Girl and Her Doll 1930's - Dollsby AMoment…
in Dolls
sweet  baby's  sweet - Dollsby jody2011jody
in Dolls
See all dolls posts

Interviews & Articles

Black Is Beautiful: Why Black Dolls Matter

As a little girl, Samantha Knowles didn’t stop to consider why most of her dolls—her American Girl dolls, her Cabbage Patch Kids, … [more]

Antique Dolls, from Wood and Wax to Kewpie

We have a very small team here at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, so we all have to do lots of different things. I do… [more]

Dolls Are More Than Toys

In a New England parlor of the 1890s a doll of the period was perched on top of a high book case, well out of the reach of grimy c… [more]

Random Thoughts on Dolls

This is a most unorthodox treatise on dolls as we are neither collectors nor authorities on their histories, but for the past thre… [more]

Childhood In Early America

With children of early America, deference to parents and other elders and unquestioning obedience to those in authority were of pr… [more]

▼ Expand this section

Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Dollreference.com

Dollreference.com

This densely packed index of antique and vintage dolls claims to offer over 10,000 images of dolls from the 1800s … [read review or visit site]

Vintage Dolls of the 50s

Vintage Dolls of the 50s

Rhonda Wilson's collection of 1950s dolls, organized by name (Ginny and friends, Littlest Angel and friends, etc.) … [read review or visit site]

Kaylees Korner of Collectible Dolls

Kaylees Korner of Collectible Dolls

Kaylee's extensive collection of vintage dolls from the 1930s to 90s. Click the balloons to browse. Though Kaylee s… [read review or visit site]

Museum of Childhood

Museum of Childhood

Embrace your inner child on this website from the Victoria and Albert Museum, filled with high-quality images and i… [read review or visit site]



Clubs & Associations: Dolls

Discussion Forums: Dolls

Other Great Reference Sites: Dolls

Top eBay Auctions

Showing 60. See all 216 by  highest bidmost watchedcompleted
Outstanding Georgous Petit All Original 11Original 1915-24 Sfbj BleuetteAntique French Poupee Bisque Head Doll Candy Container Orig Clothes & Jump Rope1915 Helena Paderewski Waif DollAntique Dolls And Dresses, Hats, Shoes And MoreNice Bleuette Unis France 60 8/0 In Perfect ConditionAntique 15" Jumeau Poupee French Fashion Bisque Head Doll, Leather BodyAntique Sfbj Paris 226 French Bisque Head Character Little Lord Fauntleroy Doll12in Alice Leverette Ultimate Fashion Doll - Zezette - Portrait JumeauVery Beautiful Antique Tete Jumeau Bisque Head French Doll Marked Sfbj Number 823" Tete Jumeau Closed-mouth Antique French Doll Beauty Starts At Just $1 LookAntique French Bisque Doll 19" Jumeau Doll, Perfect On Fully Jtd Body Hh Wig NrHeinrich Handwerck 32" #99 Dep Antique German Bisque Doll Circa 1900Outstanding Early Rare Large 25" K * R 121 Character Toddler W/original Dress LrAntique C1900 Kestner Child German Bisque Head Doll & Leather Body *nr*Antique French Bisque Doll 22" Sfbj Jumeau Doll, Perfect On Fully Jtd Body NrFabulous 18Antique Carl Bergner Black & White Face Bisque Head Multi-face Doll Antique (circa 1890) German Bisque Doll (girl) Beautiful Blonde Pale Antique Bisque Head Girl Doll Pieced Ears Handwerk 10916" 1920s Volland Cottage Industry Raggedy Ann W/cardboard Heart,single LashFabulous Beautiful Early 25" Jdk / Kestner 146 Character W/original Dress LrSweet Antique Simon And Halbig Doll With Lovely Pink Antique Dress Rare! 15" Antique Gerbruder Heubach German Bisque Head Character Boy Doll11" A. Marque /bleuette Size (ready To Dress) By Branka SchAntique Rare Bisque Doll 36" Simon Halbig 1079 Dep Germany 1890's Green Eyes Antique C1900 French Jumeau Fashion Child Bisque Head Doll, Leather BodyExquisite French Fashioh Doll16" Closed Mouth Kestner Antique Lady Doll With A.t. Face C.1885!2dolls--antique Tete Jumeau Bebe(15+") & Her Doll--original Head-body ConnectionRare Bleuette Friend Antique French Doll-now Reduced!Lot Of 5 All Bisque Antique French Jointed Miniature Crochet & Lace Blonde DollsLarge 27" Antique Simon & Halbig Kammer & Reinhardt 68 German Bisque Head DollLarge 28" C.m. Bergmann Simon & Halbig Doll Bisque Head Konig Wernicke Body Antique Handwerck Child Doll #109 29' Tall Composition Wood Body Antique ClothesMagnificent All Original 28" 70cm. Armand Marseille Bebe.22" -tete Jumeau Bebe-big Brown Eyes-closed Mouth/stamped Body!!Exquisite Magnifique Antique French Poupee Bisque Steiner Bebe Doll Jumeau WowAntique German Bisque Doll 30" 164 Kestner, Perfect On Fully Jtd Body W/pate NrAntique Simon Halbig 116/a Bisque Head Character Doll Tremble Tongue & Mama BoxAntique Parian Bisque Shoulder Plate With Glass Eyes Blond Curly Hair Child DollThe Sweetest Lass 26" Heinrich Handwerck 109 Antique Doll C1900 In Antique DressAntique Bisque And Leatherette Body Simon And Halbig 16" #1009Antique Simon And Halbig Unknown Mold # Bisque Head Doll 11" TallAntique French Bisque Doll 17" Jumeau French Fashion Poupee Peau, A Beauty! NrPretty Handwerck With Antique ClothesAntique German Bisque Doll 31" Kley & Hahn 282, Perfect On Fully Jtd Body NrVery Rare Antique 1890's Cabinet Size Bisque Head Novelty Doll Coin Piggy Bank Large, Perfect Marked Heubach German Bisque Porcelain Piano Baby FigurineAntique Terracotta And Wood Doll Santos Antique 1907 Tete Jumeau--26 Inches--wearing Jumeau Cream & Redprint Dress5.5" BBleuette Sisters With Wooden Trunk By Gildebrief Antique German Bisque Head Doll With Jointed Body Handwerck 11+1/2 99 Dep Antique Simon & Halbig German Bisque Head 1160-3 Little Women Doll Blonde CurlsEarly Antique Wood Schoenhut Carved Hair With Pink Bow Doll Orig Underclothes NrClosed Mouth Character Baby Doll - Rare Mold 1488 Simon & Halbig Circa 1912Antique French Bisque Doll Head Large 7" Tall 17 1/2" Circ Mkd 236 Sfbj NrHeinrich Handwerck Simon Halbig 24" #69 Antique German Bisque Doll Circa 1900

Recent News: Dolls

Source: Google News

Hubbard City Trade Days Planned - The Hillsboro Reporter
Hillsboro Reporter, May 16th

Historic Hubbard High School will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. so that visitors can tour museums, library, Gremillion Genealogy Center and Berta Leon Hackney Antique Doll Exhibit. The Hubbard Rodeo Association will host the 11th annual...Read more

Collage Unique Gifts' grand opening
KFMB News 8, May 10th

Collage Unique Gifts features a year-round holiday room with an antique doll house filled with ornaments. There are also carvings from local crafters. "I have a gentleman who carves these. They are beautiful, they are redwood -- you can put them...Read more

China Grove Roller Mill preserving history of milling, town
Salisbury Post, May 6th

All of the equipment is still in place in the mill for visitors to view. photo by Wayne Hinshaw, for the Salisbury Post; An antique doll that belonged to Jane Cooper Marrow. The mill is a study in machinery gears, belts, pulleys and wooden shoots. The...Read more