Half Dolls

  

         

 

FROM:  Doll Collecting Guide - Denise Van Patten, About.com Guide

Half Dolls - An Introduction:

Half dolls are just that--generally, the upper half of a human figure, without legs. Half dolls were produced without legs so that they could be attached to something useful--very commonly, pincushions, but also wisk brooms, tea cozies, and numerous things that could grace a ladies' dressing table, such as powder boxes.

Half Dolls - Years of Production:

The vast majority of Half Dolls were produced between 1900 and the 1920s, although some were produced earlier than that and some later. Some half dolls are still reproduced today.

Companies That Produced Half Dolls:

Most half dolls were produced in Germany, by firms such as Dressel & Kister, F. W. Goebel, Ernst, Bohne & Sohne, Heubach, Hertwig, Karl Schnider and many others. Japan also flooded the market with inexpensive models.

Sizes of Half Dolls:

Most half dolls are between 2 and 6 inches tall, although there are smaller and also a few larger examples.

Materials and Characteristics of Half Dolls:

Half dolls are generally made of porcelain (glazed bisque, sometimes called china) although there are also models made in unglazed bisque. Half dolls have also been made out of composition, wax, and many other materials.

Marks on Half Dolls:

Half dolls are often found unmarked, marked Germany or "Made in Germany", or with a four or five digit mold number. Models from Japan can be marked "Japan" or "Made in Japan." Only a few companies such as Dressel and Kister and Goebel would sometimes mark half dolls with their company's distinctive mark.

Prices of Half Dolls:

Simple, crudely painted half dolls from Japan or Germany with close arms (see below) are priced at no more than $20 to $30. A good German half doll with arms away or nice detailing and clothing can be valued at $100 to $300+; half dolls with elaborate hair and rare accessories can bring several hundred dollars; elaborate, rare Dressel & Kister or Ernst, Bohn & Sohne half dolls can be several thousand dollars. Chocolate ladies on the market can vary from $400 to $2000+ depending on the maker.

How To Identify Desirable Half Dolls:

There are so many thousands of styles of half dolls made, and so few good reference books available, that many doll collectors throw up their hands in frustration and feel that half dolls and their values are nearly impossible to decipher. That is not true--with a keen eye, and a few basic facts about half dolls and half doll pricing, any collector can start to understand the fascinating area of half doll collecting.

The complexity of the mold used to make the half doll is very important. The more complex the mold used, generally, the more valuable the half doll. Simple half dolls with arms "close" to the torso (no separation of arms from the torso, made with 2 mold pieces) are generally the least expensive. Next are half dolls with "open and returning arms, which show some separation between the arms and the torso. The most desirable have "arms away," which have arms modeled completely away from the body of the half doll, and which generally require complex molds.

The painting of the half doll also contributes to price differences. Delicately and precisely painted half dolls are worth more than those with crude painting. Although most crudely painted half dolls were made in Japan, many budget models were also made in Germany, so having a half doll marked "Germany" is no guarantee of quality.

The third major factor in half doll desirability is the type and complexity of the modeled clothing and hair, and also which accessories the half doll is holding. More complex clothing (ruffles, hats, feathers) and more complex hairdos add to the value. Also, is the doll holding an accessory? A famous accessory that increases the value of half dolls greatly is a "chocolate tray" with a pot of hot chocolate and a cup. Other desirable accessories can include delicate grooming items, small animals, and flowers and flower baskets. See pricing above for examples of variations on pricing depending on the complexity and rarity of half dolls.

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AUTÓMATAS

CAJA MUSICAL ALEMANA

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Armand Marseille Dolls

Armand Marseille Doll Co. Dolls 1885-1950's German

Armand Marseille of Sonneberg & Koppelsdorf, Thuringia, Germany was one of the worlds largest and best known bisque doll head manufacturers.  Herman (surname is unknown - Armand Marseille was the chosen business name) was born in 1856 in St. Petersburg, Russia the son of an architect, and immigrated to Germany with his family a short while after 1860.  In 1884 he bought the toy factory of Mathias Lambert in Sonneberg and in 1885 acquired the porcelain factory of Liebermann & Wegescher in Koppelsdorf . . . and his empire in the doll world began.

My Dream Baby #341, 15" tall, 

(#341 with closed mouth & #351 has an open mouth with two upper teeth).

From 1900-1930 it's reported they produced 1,000 bisque doll heads a day.  They made bisque headed child, baby, lady & character dolls with kid bodies and most with glass eyes but some were painted eyes, as well as bisque and composition dolls and bisque heads with cloth bodies.  They interestingly did not produce the body of their dolls but purchased those from other doll manufactures.

ca. 1894+ Doll, 10-42" tall, bisque shoulder head, kid body or cloth, wigged, glass eyes, some have fur eyebrows, open slight smiling mouth. Usually has Made in Germany/AM/Armand Marseille in the marking with the mold number.

Shown on left is the face mold 370, Shown at right is a Floradora marked doll, 19-20" tall.

Some of the dolls names are: Baby Betty, Beauty, Jubilee, Majestic, Princess, Queen Louise.

Doll shown on right is a

Queen Louise doll, 23" tall.

Doll, Bisque Socket head, various sizes from 10 - 42" tall, wood & composition jointed body, wigged, glass eyes, open slight smiling mouth. Usually has Made in Germany/Armand Marseille in the marking with mold number.

Doll shown on left is ca. 1900 and is mold 29, Princess doll, with the jointed composition body.

Other dolls names were:  
Baby Betty, Floradora, Queen Louise, Rosebud.

Doll, Bisque Socket head, various sizes from 10 - 42" tall, wood & composition jointed body, wigged, glass eyes, open slight smiling mouth. Usually has Made in Germany/Armand Marseille in the marking with mold number.

 

Doll shown on right is mold 390 with the "stick" legs 

on a joined composition & wood body.

Character Baby, 10" mold 985

Character Baby, usually has Germany A.M. DRGM in marking with the mold number.

Bisque head, glass eyes, painted upper & lower eyelashes, feathered eyebrows, open or closed mouth, wigged, composition jointed baby bent limb body.

Other similar doll molds are: 

256, 326, 327, 329, 347, 352, 360a, 750, 760, 790, 900, 927, 971, 980, 
984, 985, 990, 991, 992, 996, 1330, 1333, usually has DRGM in marking

FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE: http://www.dollreference.com/

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LINDA PIRULA

Linda Pirula

Muñaca Linda Pirula, de muñecas de Alba, fabricada en Onil a finales de los años 50 y durante los 60.    . Se hicieron muchas versiones y hubo una gran serie de Lindas Pirulas regionales. Esta va vestida de Andaluza.

Linda Pirula es  una muñeca  de pequeño tamaño. Las primeras estaban hechas con pelo natural, posteriormente se empezó a usar el pelo sintético, su fisonomía  fue cambiando  un poco con los años. Los ojos durmientes ( o flirty), solían ser claros, independientemente del color de piel de la muñeca.  Están hecha de material plástico, con brazos y piernas articulados por gomas.

fueron variando un poco con  el tiempo

Las negritas eran muy usuales, aunque también las había de otras razas

Distintos ejemplos de Linda Pirula con diferentes trajes regionales 

Con su versión masculina Lindo Pirulo

Vestidas de primera comunión

Variante en la que sustituían las piernas por una especie de cono vacío que se llenaba de dulces  o bombones. Ésta era una versión para pastelerías o confiterías. 

En su caja

Etiqueta que llevaban en la muñeca

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Norah Wellings Dolls

Norah Wellings Dolls: An Introduction:

Norah Wellings was from Shropshire, England. She was the main doll designer at Chad Valley Dolls from 1919 to 1926, when she left to form her own doll company with her brother Leonard. The resulting company was the Victoria Toy Works, located in Wellington, United Kingdom. All the dolls produced here were from various types of cloth. Norah's dolls were sold worldwide, and many were made for various tourist industries, most notably the cruise ship industry, for which Norah's sailor dolls were made for various cruise ships as souvenirs.

Materials Used To Make Norah Wellings Dolls:

All Norah Wellings dolls are made out of cloth. They have stitched joints and various tyes of molded faces. They usually have painted features, including eyes, but rarer models have glass eyes.

Years of Production of Norah Wellings Dolls:

Norah started producing dolls through her own company in 1926, and the dolls were produced until the factory was closed in 1959 (although the dolls were available into the early 1960s). The vast majority of the production of the Victoria Toy Works factory was in the 1930s and 1940s.

Sizes of Norah Wellings Dolls:

The smallest dolls, small child or souvenir dolls, were only 7 inches to 9 inches tall. More deluxe dolls could be as large as 24 to 29 inches or more, but I think the vast majority of Norah Wellings dolls are under 18 inches, with many smaller.

Companies That Have Produced Norah Wellings Dolls:

Norah Wellings dolls have only been produced by The Victoria Toy Works; however, dolls designed by Norah Wellings (not with specific credit) were made by Chad Valley.

Market Report for Norah Wellings Dolls:

The vast majority of Norah Wellings Dolls can be found for under $200 each; many can be found for under $100. Larger, rarer models, as always, will sell for much more.

Marks on Norah Wellings Dolls:

The dolls themselves are not marked except with a paper tag on the foot or wrist; however, the dolls have a distinctive look and can easily be identified without the tag present.

For More Information:

Gillian Trotter, the author of the now out of print "Norah Wellings Cloth Dolls and Soft Toys," has a wonderful blog about Norah Wellings Dolls and Soft Toys. If you can find a copy of "Norah Wellings Cloth Dolls and Soft Toys," it is an excellent reference, although used copies start at about $50.

Norah Wellings Ship Souvenirs:

Some collectors of both dolls and cruise ship memorabilia collect Norah Wellings Sailor dolls, with particular attention paid to the ship which is indicated on the rim of the sailor hat. An example of one such doll is shown; for another example from a collector of Queen Mary memorabilia, with an excellent photo of the original Norah Wellings Production tag, see theS.S.Maritime web site -

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BOUDOIR DOLLS

Boudoir Dolls; Bed Dolls or Sofa Dolls, Flapper Dolls, French Dolls as they are referred too, were used to decorate "beds & sofas", which is where they got their name.  These dolls were not meant to be played with, but to be displayed or as decoration, which today we have replaced with a mountain of pillows.

Made from about 1915 to the 1930s, boudoir dolls usually have cloth bodies with elongated legs, heads can be of various materials; all cloth, cloth with a mask face covering usually made of composition or all composition head, often with painted facial features, some have partial composition limbs some have celluloid arms, which may help with dating.  Boudoir doll heads were also sold separately to which a seamstress could add their own homemade cloth body.  

Clothing can be very elaborate, high quality material, (it's the clothing that matters the most on these dolls - if the clothing is missing they lose about half of their value) and many have high heel feet. 

There is of course, much variety among boudoir dolls, as they were produced in several countries over quite a number of years, notably; America, England, France, Germany and Italy.

Boudoir dolls are usually unmarked - so finding its origins can be a "mission impossible" except by an expert, thus dolls are usually just identified by type as a Boudoir Doll. We particularly get a kick out of the politically incorrect (today)Cubeb cigarette, smoking dolls, as shown above right, made by the Mutual Novelty Corp.  See below, for a list of the many doll makers of antique Boudoir dolls.

Some Boudoir Doll makers; 

Stella Adler, Ernst Alart, Alma, B. Altman department store, American Stuffed Novelty, American Wholesale Corp, Anita, Arrow Doll Wig Co, Austin Gray, Baltimore Bargain House, Beaux Art Shade Co, William P. Beers & Co, Bloom, Blossom, Blum-Lustig Toy Co, Bon Marche department stores, Butler Brothers, Chad Valley, Hilda Cowham, Louis Eisen, W. R. Ekart, England Art Toy, Etta, European Novelty, Flapper Novelty, Fleishman, Jane Gray, Gerbs Poupée, Arthur Gerling Toy Co, Gerzon Co, Charles F. Gibson, Goldberger (Eegee), Heho Art Dolls, Hollywood Imps, Kat-a-Korner Kompany, Victor Keney (Keeneye patent 1763930, 1796997), Konroe Merchants, Lady Godwyn, Lenci, Levallois, Mizpah Toy & Novelty, Claire Morris of LA, Munich Art Dolls, Mutual Novelty, Paramount Doll Co, Erma Petzgold, Pierrot and Pierette, Erma Pinner, Paul Poiret, Pollyanna Doll Co, Pompeian Art Works, Sanlys, Sayco, Sterling Doll Co, T. A. F., Unique Novelty Doll Co, Nora Wellings, Ethel Westwood and probably others.
FROM: http://dollreference.com/index.html

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