#A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

1840

The first American dollmaker is granted a patent and dolls begin to be mass-produced in America.

1887

The speaking doll, which had first been invented by Johann Maelzel in 1820, is improved when Thomas Edison combines his phonograph technology with a doll, allowing it to speak.

ALL-BISQUE: 

Doll, usually quite small (under 8") that is made entirely of bisque parts.  Most all-bisque dolls are from the late 1800s and early 1900s, to about 1930.  Kestner and Simon and Halbig made many of these dolls; many other makers of generally lesser quality also did.  Most of these dolls were made in Germany, but some very early exquisite dolls were made in France, and many crudely made later dolls were made in Japan.

 

ALUMINUM:

A silvery, lightweight, easily-worked metal that was used for dolls at the end of the nineteenth century until the early 1920s.

 

ANTIQUE:

All dolls created before approximately 1930 are considered antique. This is a somewhat arbitrary division, but in general, most pre-1930 bisque, china, papier mâché, wood, and wax dolls are considered antique by collectors.

 

APPLIED EARS:

Ears applied to a doll AFTER the mold for the head has been poured (The ears are molded separately then "applied" to the doll's head before the head is put in the kiln).

ARTICULATION:

Refers to the jointing of a body.

B

BALL JOINTED:

Common method of jointing composition bodies; uses little wood "balls" at joints for movement.

 

BÉBÉ:

Term commonly used to describe French dolls representing small children.

 

BELTON DOLLS:

Dolls with bald heads made of bisque.

 

BISQUE:

Unglazed, tinted porcelain; color is added prior to firing, usually molded into shape then baked in high temperatures in a "kiln" to form doll heads and doll body parts.  Most German and French dolls from the late 1800s and very early 1900s had heads made of bisque. A finished doll may require many firings.

 

BLUSH:

To deepen flesh tones with paint giving a doll color.

 

BREATHER:

A doll with open nostrils.

 

BREVETÉ:

The French word for "patented."  Sometimes abbreviated to Bte. or B.T.E.; can be found stamped on antique dolls.

 

BOOK VALUE:

The value of your doll in a price guide;  NOT the value you can expect when you sell your doll either on the internet or to a dealer.  Also, please note that a Book Value is generally for a doll in excellent condition; dolls of lesser condition are valued accordingly.

 

BOXWOOD:

Some Parisian dolls were made of this material in the early 1900s.

 

BUTTERFLY DOLL:

A bonnet-type doll with molded butterfly headdress. About 1901.

 

BYE-LO BABY:

A "life-sized" baby (three days old) doll designed and copyrighted by Grace Storey Putnam in 1922, the first of four such copyrights.

C

CELLULOID:

A pre-plastic material used to produce dolls in the 1860's; highly flammable and usually quite thin.  Used for dollmaking from approximately the 1920's to the 1940's.

 

CHARACTER DOLL:

Doll made to look like a living child or adult (and not stylized like most earlier dolls from the 1800s); term popularized in the beginning of the 1900s.

 

CHINA DOLL:

The first first type of antique doll that is widely-known among non-doll collectors is the china doll. The china doll was popular between 1840 and 1880, before bisque dolls became preferred by children., although china dolls were still mass-produced as late as the 1920s. China dolls have heads of glazed porcelain that has a glossy finish and is translucent similar to china dishes.   Very old or very thick china is not as translucent.

 

CLAY DOLLS:

Material from the river banks was used in medieval times, probably even earlier, to make crude dolls.

 

CLOSED MOUTH:

Doll sculpted so that the mouth is closed with no teeth showing.  Prized by collectors of bisque antique dolls, who prefer the closed mouth dolls to the open mouth dolls. 

 

CLOTH DOLL:

Doll that is made from textiles. Many were lovingly made by mom or grandma from patterns.

 

COIFFURES:

Hairstyles.

 

COLLECTABLE:

Dolls over 75 years are considered antique, whereas dolls less than 25 years are considered modern.

 

COMPOSITION:

A mixture or combination of wood pulp, sawdust, glue and similar items which is used to make bodies for antique dolls and also for entire dolls (head and body) during this century until the advent of hard plastic dolls.

 

CONE:

A clay bar formulated to melt or bend at a specific temperature.

 

CRAZING:

Little criss-cross cracks that sometimes form, with age, over the surface of a composition or china doll.  Most composition dolls found today have crazing to some degree.

CROWN OPENING:

Cut away part of head.  French dolls have deep sliced off crowns or pates.

D

DEP: 

Often found on French and German dolls; an abbreviation for the French and German words for "patent."

DOLL: 

A small figure of a human being, usually used as a child's toy. The many types of dolls found among the relics of primitive peoples were cult objects. Egypt, Greece, and Rome have left well-preserved dolls of wood, clay, bone, ivory, and bronze that were used symbolically and probably also as children's' playthings. 

 

DOLLHOUSE DOLL: 

Doll generally scaled 1 inch to 1 foot for use in dollhouses (although the earliest dollhouse dolls do not hold to these proportions and are generally larger).  

 

DOMED HEAD:

Also known as a "Belton Head" this is a head that is made with a closed, or domed top (as opposed to an open head; see below).

E

F

FASHION DOLL:

A French or German lady doll made, generally, with a bisque head, and dressed in fashions of the day (much like our modern Fashion Dolls).  Doll's body can be made of kid, cloth, wood, or other materials.

 

FIVE-IN-ONE DOLL:

Five screw-on heads distinguished this particular doll made of celluloid around 1912. One of the five heads was that of a cat!

 

FLANDERS BABIES:

An early name for dolls with wooden bodies.

 

FLANGE NECK:

The bottom of the  doll head and the top of the shoulder piece fit together with a flat surface. This type of neck is usually found on cloth bodies with a rim around the neck.

 

FLIRTY EYES:

Doll eyes that can move from side to side.

 

FLUX:

An element used in china paint as a binder, causing the china paint to adhere to the porcelain when fired.

 

FRENCH BÉBÉS:

Bébés, or dolls made to represent children, were quite revolutionary for their time (starting about 1850), since most dolls up until that time were made to represent adults. Eventually, Bébés would overtake fashion dolls in popularity, and would lead to their demise. French Bébés, made by the master doll makers Jumeau, Bru, Steiner, Rohmer and others would have their ascendancy from the 1860s to the 1880s, followed by the German doll makers, who basically took over the industry with their quality.

 

FROZEN CHARLOTTE:

An un-jointed doll, usually of china, with arms molded away from the body.

G

GERMAN DOLLY-FACED DOLL:

Bébés, the German "dolly-faced" child dolls are the ubiquitous antique bisque dolls that collectors today are most likely to find, produced from 1890 to about 1930, from such manufacturers as Armand Marseille, Simon and Halbig, K*R,  and Kestner. Most of these dolls came from the Thuringia region, which had rich clay deposits used to make the porcelain. 

 

GES:

Abbreviation for "Gesch" which is the German word for patent. 

 

GODEY-HEAD:

A blonde or brunette china-head doll, with molded headdress of vertical pointed curls.

 

GOOGLY EYES:

Big, round, side-glancing eyes, very popular on dolls from 1910s through the 1920s.

 

GREENWARE:

Clay ware or piece in it's unfired state.

 

GREINER DOLLS:

Ludwig Greiner made papier-mache dolls' heads and took out the first U.S. patent for a doll's head in 1858.

 

GUSSETED JOINT:

Type of joint sewn into leather and cloth bodies that can allow the joint to bend.

H 

HARD PLASTIC:

This medium was introduced after World War II and provided wonderful definition to the doll's features.

 

HAIRLINE:

Type of crack in bisque dolls that can often only be seen upon close examination, usually with the assistance of a light.  Hairlines can also be seen with the naked eye; not considered as bad a flaw as a crack that has been repaired or one that has bisque missing.

 

HIGH COLORING:

The bisque has much more paint with an orange look when compared with early dolls.

 

HTF:

Common abbreviation at online auctions and doll lists; means 'Hard To Find."

I

INCISED:

Marks that are "incised" are actually scratched into the bisque on a dolls head or shoulder plate. 

 

INSET EYES:

Eyes that are set into the doll's head that do not move; common setting for eyes in dolls from the 1800s and earlier.

 
INTAGLIO EYES:

Painted eyes with concave pupils and irises that are molded into the head.  

JOINTED:

A doll that has any number of movable joints.

 

JOHNNY DOLL:

These were English sailor dolls, made for baby boys in the 1890s.

K

KID:

A leather made from the skin of a goat and used to make French and German antique doll bodies.

 

KISS BABY:

A doll with a jointed composition body, whose right arm bends to the doll's mouth, then throws a kiss.

L 

M

MARK OR MARKINGS:

Imprinted letters and/or numbers and symbols placed by the manufacturer of a doll on the doll's head or body which are invaluable for identifying dolls today; it is often impossible to identify an antique or vintage doll without a mark.  However, please note that not all marks have been identified today.

 

METAL:

Metal dolls have been in existence since the mid 1880's. The dolls may consist of all metal or metal head only. Some of the metals used were aluminum, brass, pewter, silver, steel, tin or other metal alloys. The French and American dollmakers made most of these just prior to the Civil War until the early 1920s.

MINT CONDITION:

This is a term often associated with a doll in it's original condition, that appears to look brand new and has all it's accessories.

MODERN:

Dolls made that are less that 25 years old.

MOHAIR:

Hair of the angora goat, used for antique doll wigs. Very desirable; very soft and natural looking wigs are made of mohair. 

 

MOLDED EARS:

Ears that are molded right in with the doll's head, as opposed to "Applied Ears" (see above). 

 

MOLD NUMBER:

See "Markings: above; the mold number designates the mold that was used to make the doll's head and can be an invaluable part of the markings for doll identification.  

 

MONTANARI DOLLS:

A wax doll made in England around 1850. Each hair was individually inserted in the head, eyelash into eyelid. Costumed, it was considered a doll for the wealthy.

 

N 

NECK BUTTON:

A round button that comes in many sizes, placed inside the head and attached with a hook to the body elastic, to hold the head in place.

O 

OPEN HEAD:

Doll head with the crown cut out so that eyes can be inserted; crown opening is usually covered with a "pate" so that the wig can be put on the doll.

 

OPEN/CLOSED MOUTH:

Mouth molded to appear open, but which does not actually have an opening in the bisque.

 

OPEN MOUTH:

Mouth molded open to, generally, reveal teeth inside.  Can also reveal tongues on bisque baby dolls. 

P 

PAPER MÂCHÉ:

A substance made from bits of shredded paper, water and glue to form a modeling compound. When this product dries, it can be sanded and painted. Papier mâché dolls were made from the beginning of the 19^th century through the early 20^th century. These dolls were mass-produced in Germany, France, and the United States, and proved a cheaper alternative to wood dolls, since molds could be used.

 

PAPERWEIGHT EYES:

Beautiful glass eyes usually found on finer dolls and give off a very realistic appearance.

PARIAN:

Doll made of unglazed bisque that is also finished without a wash of color; generally bisque appears pure white.  Many of the fine statues and figurines from the mid to late 1800's were parian. The bisque used was not tinted, resulting in quicker doll production. These dolls are very pale in color, often had molded hands and features, and their eyes were either painted or glass. A glaze was used in the areas that required a color.

PATE:

Covers the crown hole in an open-head doll; can be made of cardboard, cork, or other materials.

 

PEG WOODEN:

Early simple wooden doll made with peg joints.

 

POOR CONDITION:

Doll is a mess; major major flaws; maybe doll is salvageable but even that is in question!

 

PORCELAIN:

A fine grade of clay that is fired at a high temperature. It is translucent in texture and is usually non porous in the fired state.

 

PORTRAIT DOLL: 

Term used for dolls late 1800s and early 1900s bisque dolls representing a person.

 

POUPARDS:

Simply dolls without legs; babies wrapped in long, thin bands of cloth or swaddling.

 

POUPEÉ:

Term used for French fashion dolls; also means "doll" in French.

 

PRESENTATION BOX:

Original presentation of antique dolls, doll furniture, clothing and accessories (sometimes in combination)  as found in the original retail stores.

 

PROVENANCE:

An antique doll with a provenance is lucky indeed; a provenance usually consists of historical information regarding the original and subsequent owners of the doll.

R  

REPRODUCTION:

A doll made from a mold, to look like antique bisque, china and pariah dolls. NOT fakes; most reproduction artists are meticulous about marking their dolls as reproductions, BUT be on the lookout for unsuspecting or unscrupulous people who DO try to sell a reproduction as an original. 

RUBBER:

This product was introduced to doll-making from the mid 1800's to the early 1900's. The main benefit was their durability although they were subject to deterioration with age.

S 

SHOULDER HEAD:

Doll's head and shoulders molded together in one piece; usually attached to a kid or cloth body. 

 

SHOULDER PLATE:

The shoulder portion of a shoulder head usually separated from the head by a joint at the neck, or the bisque shoulders used with a swivel head. 

 

SLEEP EYES:

Dolls eyes that are open when the doll is upright, but close when the doll is put prone. 

 

SOCKET HEAD:

Doll's head is molded with a neck that is placed into the doll's body with a cup and saucer like arrangement. 

 

STARFISH HANDS:

Doll hands with the fingers spread apart like a starfish made after 1910.

 

SWIVEL HEAD:

A socket head using separate shoulder plates. 

T

TOMMY ATKINS:

A doll made in the early 1900s, the name taken from a poem by Rudyard Kipling.

U 

UNDERGLAZE:
Pigment applied to the greenware and fired to cone 6

V 
VERA DOLLS: 

A type of doll offered as a subscription premium with the "Youth's Companion", in the late 1890s.

 

VINYL: 

Plastic developed in the late 1940s that is the dominant type of plastic used to make dolls since the 1960s; can be hard or soft. 

 

VOICE BOX:

Mechanism in a dolls body that allows the doll to make some sound such as "mama."

W

WAX:

This is an old technique for doll-making and can be worked in many ways including modeling, carving and casting. Generally a contemporary of the papier mâché doll. The earliest wax dolls found by collectors tend to be the poured wax dolls made in England (after the demise of the wooden doll industry) from 1840 through the remainder of the 19^th century.

WAX-OVER:

This is a doll-making process in which a doll's head is made from a solid material and is dipped into the wax. The wax layer thickness varied.

WIRE EYES:

Eyes made to sleep, or to move from side to side by means of a wire from the doll's head or body.

 

WOOD:

Wooden dolls date back to primitive folk art pieces. These charming dolls were often intricately carved from basswood or linden woods. They were produced by hand carving, molding or turning.

Y 

Z  

Space Coast Doll Works ~ Port St. John Florida ~ Phone 321.433.DOLL
Fax 443.582.2565 ~  Toll Free 866.789.DOLL

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