Antique Doll

Q: I have a 19th-century doll that belonged to my grandmother. The doll is 17 inches tall with a porcelain head and a stuffed leather body. Her hair is styled in a long braid down her back. I was told that her wig is human hair. She has pierced ears and blue glass eyes that move. She wears a skirt, a petticoat and pantaloons under her maroon coat. I haven’t found any markings on her, but a medal embossed “Souvenir, International Range Cattle & Horse Growers Association, Denver 1886” is tied to her waist. Can you tell me any history and value of the doll?

A: Dolls like yours, with leather bodies, porcelain heads and movable glass eyes were made in the mid-1800s and early 1900s. Glass dolls’ eyes were made in Germany, France, England and other countries in the mid 1800s. An English maker of dolls’ eyes said blue was the most popular color because it was the color of Queen Victoria’s eyes. Several French and German doll makers made dolls with leather bodies and bisque heads about 1900. Not all dolls were marked, but if you can find a mark it will help to date and value the doll. Look for a maker’s mark on the back of the doll’s head. You might have to lift up her wig slightly to find the mark. The souvenir medal attached to the doll’s waist probably has nothing to do with the doll but might indicate she was bought about the same time.

Barbie Still Top Doll for Collectors 

On March 9, 1959, teenage fashion model Barbie Millicent Roberts from Willows, Wisconsin, made her debut at the American Toy Fair. Barbie quickly became one of the most recognizable dolls ever created, sought after by young girls and collectors alike. A recent sale of Barbie dolls by Apple Tree Auction Center of Newark, Ohio, included […]

AE Nippon Doll

Q: I’m writing about a 24-inch doll my mother left to me. My mother was born in 1926. The doll’s arms, wrists, legs, and neck are all moving joints. Her eyes close when she lies down, and I believe her hair is real. Her face looks porcelain but I don’t know what the body is. The back of the doll’s neck is marked with the letters “AE” within a rectangle and “Made in Nippon.” I’m hoping you can tell me something about the doll and what it might be worth.

A: “Nippon” is the Japanese word for Japan and was used as a mark on dolls and other items imported from Japan from 1891 to 1921. The words “made in” were added after 1914. This “AE” mark has been attributed to the Allied Grand Doll Manufacturing Company, a company in business in Brooklyn, New York, from 1915 to 1980. The company was also called Allied Eastern Doll Company, Allied Imported, Allied Doll Company, and Allied Doll & Toy Company. It is best known for its fashion dolls. Composition, vinyl, and hard plastic dolls were made, many for other companies that sold them under their own names. The company also made and sold doll parts to other companies. The value of an old doll depends on maker, rarity, size, clothing, and condition of the doll. Look at old dolls at antiques shops and antique malls to see what similar fully-jointed dolls are selling for. With no clothes she is probably worth $25 to $50.

Oil Patch Kid Doll

Q: This “Oil Patch Kid” doll was in my mother’s stuff when she passed away. The doll’s face, hat, and coveralls have “oil dirt” on them. It came with a “Patch Pal” that looks like a large drop of oil, albeit in a fuzzy form. It was in a clear plastic “oil drum” with a […]

New Exhibit Helps Girls Dream Big, Just Like Barbie

Imagine it and it will happen. That is the message behind a new exhibit opening August 1 at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis called “Barbie, You Can Be Anything: The Experience.” 

The museum is partnering with Mattel to celebrate 61 years of Barbie with a new exhibit showcasing the iconic doll’s many careers (more than 200 and counting). Careers include judge, astronaut, gold-medal gymnast, reporter, paleontologist, doctor, nurse, journalist and zoologist. Barbie, created by Ruth Handler in 1959 and said to have been inspired by the German doll Bild Lilli, was probably the first American teenage doll. The Indianapolis exhibit shows Barbie dolls through the decades and explores 15 careers and looking at some of Barbie’s other vocations with the goal of inspiring girls to break down barriers and follow their dreams. Maybe Barbie’s next career could be an expert on antiques and collectibles? For more about Barbie’s history, visit our identification guide.  

Photos: © Mattel 

 

 

Is My Doll A Collectible?

A collectible doll is quite often the same as one collector played with as a child. Shirley Temple, the Dionne Quintuplets, Chatty Cathy, and Barbie are all collectors’ dolls made since 1930. The Brownies, Campbell Kids, Kewpie dolls, Raggedy Ann, Buster Brown, and other comic figures were dolls made years earlier. They have all become […]

Barbie

Barbie, said to have been inspired by the German doll Bild Lilli, was probably the first American teenage doll. She was introduced in 1959 and may be the most successful doll ever made. Mattel, Inc. continues to make the doll, along with a huge wardrobe of clothes and accessories. The 11 1/2-inch fashion doll with […]

Computer Engineer Barbie

Barbie’s in the news again. A 2010 book with a cover picturing a glamorous Barbie doll computer engineer— who can’t do her job without asking men for help—was recently discovered by a blogger. She was enraged by the book, titled I Can Be a Computer Engineer. Other women took note and also objected to the outdated stereotype of the dumb blonde. Young girls who are fans of the doll were getting the wrong message, they complained. The women went after Mattel, which pulled the book off Amazon and says it has “reworked” the book. Barbie has already been a successful astronaut, doctor and lawyer.

Storing Barbie

Keep Barbie barefoot. Don’t store a Barbie doll with her shoes on, because the shoes may damage her feet.

 

Mexican Barbie

Mexican Barbie has ignited comments and complaints. The doll is part of Mattel’s “Dolls of the World” series. Her fiesta dress, pet Chihuahua and passport have been interpreted by some as insulting. But all of the dolls in the series have passports—they’re traveling to visit foreign countries and learn about different cultures. Others suggest Barbies’ “World” costumes could use updating. Many wear fashions from an earlier era, not modern clothing.