Vintage Doll

Vintage Doll

Vintage Doll

Well known manufacturer of German quality dolls and dolls' heads, is that ofJ.D. Kestner.

The firm commenced in the early 1800s, again as a porcelain factory, and they continued in business until almost the Second World War, and in many ways they were similar to Kammer and Reinhardt.

Early on in their business, they produced wooden dolls and slightly later, papier-mache, china, bisque and celluloid.

Towards the end of the last century, there seems to have been a great deal of interchanging with other quality German firms as well as French ones, as the quality of the latter was extremely high.

Their use of jointed kid bodies was quite considerable as was the custom of making dolls with moulded hair, and indeed, all bisque bodies

Vintage Doll

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These were often small dolls suitable for use as residents of doll's houses and were jointed so that they could sit and be placed in different poses.

Their range of larger dolls was considerable, one of which is a lovely girl doll with huge brown eyes.

I was invited to give a display on a fund raising day at a home for the elderly in Oxfordshire and afterwards the Matron asked me if I would like her own doll which she had in her room. She was quite insistent that we have her and 1, of course, was delighted.

When I tried to contact her to say her doll was in the museum she had retired and was not traceable.

I am sure she would be pleased to know it is still giving pleasure.

Vintage Doll

Usually most of the dolls were dressed, which was not always the case with other firms, and although the outer garment was sometimes a shift, usually the clothing was more attractive - especially as most of the dolls were either females or babies. Somehow, as today, boy dolls were not so popular.

To own a Kestner doll today is the aim of most collectors of antique dolls and as they brought out so many small dolls, it is possible for most collectors to own one.

Frequently, though not always, the letters J.D.K. And 'Made in Germany' are to be found on the back of the head so that they are easily recognisable. People often say to me, "If only they made dolls like that today", and this was true about 20 years ago, but not now.

If one wants an unusual quality doll they should go to a specialist shop (like us, who do mail order on items), where people know the subject well rather than gift shops, for whilst they do stock 'everyday' dolls, they are not in a position to know all the sources and have specialist knowledge but then, I suppose, this applies to everything collectable today.

More German Doll manufacturers

Vintage Doll

Two German firms named Heubach, do sometimes cause confusion, especially among new Collectors.

Firstly there was Ernst Heubach of Kopplesdorfer, whose daughter, in about the year 1915, married Herman, the son of Armand Marseille, whose firm we featured in an earlier issue.

The two family businesses merged and became the Kopplesdorfer Porzellan/fabrik firm.

They made a variety of bisque dolls heads attached to either jointed or bent limb bodies. We personally find the most frequently found today is the bent limbed toddler which was made as late as the 1920s.

Personally I am not quite so keen on these as 1 am of some of the earlier dolls as often the bisque was of a less superior quality and the colouring was rather 'ruddy', this does seem to be the case with later dolls of other makes.

Vintage Doll

It is however nice to have an example in every collection. Marks found on these dolls' heads often includes the name 'Heubach', then a number, and the words 'ThuringalP or 'Germany' and sometimes a horseshoe design with a number underneath.

In actual fact there were other firms making dolls with the name Heubach but the one frequently causing confusion is the name of the Heubach Brothers (Gebruder) who commenced their business in Thuringa in the first half of the 1800s and continued until after the Second World War.

Their range was significant, considerable and varied and included dolls with moulded hair, flock hair, intaglio eyes, hair wigs and open mouths showing teeth.

The firm seems to have specialised in character dolls which are especially attractive to today's collectors.

The most commonly found marks are either a sunburst or a square.

One of the heads in our collection, for which we are hoping to find a body one day, has an attractive face and a moulded Dutch style bonnet with a hole in either side through which a ribbon can be inserted to tie under the chin and a row of pink flowers painted around it.

Vintage Doll

These dolls are sought after by collectors for their quality and variety of styles but for new collectors it is really necessary to remember the markings of this particular Heubach Company.

Schoenau and Hoffmeister Dolls

This German Firm (mentioned in a previous issue), was also very well known in the doll manufacturing world, although it appears to have been on a smaller scale.

It commenced as a joint enterprise at the turn of the last century and continued until after World War II.

Prior to their amalgamation they had made either complete dolls - some with leather bodies - or heads, to supply to other German Doll makers.

Many were of the pretty girl type although we have a baby doll with a painted hair, opening and closing eyes and soft cloth body filled with straw - there is no shape to the straw filled feet - although it has attached composition hands.

One of this firms successes in the late 1920s was a Portrait Doll of our present Queen - Princess Elizabeth - what one would give to have one of those today!

The markings on the Schoenau and Hoffmeister dolls are usually a five pointed star with the letters S and H on either side and a P & B in the centre.

There seem to have been dozens of firms in Cermany during the latter part of the 19th Century and the first part of the 20th Century, making a variety of dolls, any one of which is to be treasured today.  




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