China
Head Dolls
Still Hold Their Charm
By Robert Reed
When it comes to antique dolls
probably none other has the lasting charm and enduring popularity
of the classic china head doll.
These dolls were and adored by children as far back as 1750, but
they were not widely produced and marketed until the 1840s. The
reign lasted well into the 20th century.
Historically speaking these dons came from the Victorian era, and
in keeping with the period they resembled formal looking, mature
ladies that were always fashionably dressed.
Those who produced them felt there was little interest in child-like
dolls or male dolls, so few were ever made in the china form. Moreover
a ‘baby doll’ suggesting children as mothers-to-be rather
than proper ladies would have been shocking to Victorian parents
at the time.
Most of the grand china head dolls came from Germany.
“By, the middle of the 19th century the heavy clay pottery
district of Thuringia in Germany, inheriting earlier techniques,
was producing a plentiful supply of sturdy china dolls in great
variety,” notes Mary Hillier the author of Discovering Antiques.
 “Typically,”
she writes, “the German doll was black-haired, blue-eyed,
rosey-cheeked with a sparkling glaze, but fair-haired types and
many variations in hair styling were produced and there was a constant
experimentation in novel patterns."
Most all early china head dolls did have black hair giving German
doll makers a sharp contrast between the snowy white glazed porcelain-and
the coal black hair. However by the 1870s blondes became more prevalent
with makers. By 1900 one out of three regular china head dolls was
blonde.
Kaolin used in making fine porcelain or china was almost as common
as wood in 19th century Europe. Once these dolls caught on major
porcelain companies like Limoges, Limbach, and Meissen were finding
time in their production schedules for doll as well.
Just as it was important to the women of the Victorian era, hairstyles
were important on china head dolls too.
Researchers point out that the high swept-back topknot worn by Queen
Victoria and fashionable in the 1830s could likewise be seen on
many of the dolls that followed.
During the 1840s the dolls depicted more fashionable women with
oval-shaped faces, delicate features, blue eyes, and black hair
in tight curls or swept back in a bun. In the 1850s the china heads
had black hair parted in the middle with flat waves sometimes termed
the covered wagon. The high forehead and center parting of the highbrow
was very much in vogue in the 1860s and early 1870s.
 While
production hummed in Germany, thoughts in America of owning such
a creation of image and fashion were climbing.
"A doll is one of the most imperious wants," wrote the
highly influential Godey's Book and Magazine in 1869, "at the
same time one of the most delicious instincts of feminine childhood.
"
Unlike many dolls, china heads bear few markings. Before 1891 many
simply had numbers for part identification at the factories. However
1891 federal law required that imports to the United States be properly
marked from the country of origin, so later dolls can be found marked
with the word Germany.
The bodies of china dolls were typically made of cloth or kid leather.
Arms and legs were sometimes made of the same material or china.
"The sewing of the body is an indication of a doll's date,"
according to Dorothy Coleman in the Collector's Encyclopedia, as
the sewing machine was not in general use until around 1870, and
even after that many clothes were made entirely by hand. It would
be unusual to find a commercially doll sewn by hand after 1890."
China heads and shoulders were designed to be fairly easily sewn
to leather and cloth bodies that could even be homemade. Most early
heads came with three sew holes in the shoulder plate, later the
number was reduced to only two.
Besides hairstyles, the dolls often made a fashion statement with
their footwear.
Generally those china head dolls made in the 1840s and 1850s wore
flat painted on shoes on their feet. Starting in the 1860s they
were given more fashionable heels. High heels, or at least some
suggestion of a pronounced heel were produced from 1875 on into
the turn of the century. Of course some dolls were not given shoes,
and only cloth feet to match their bodies.
Hairstyles, clothing and footwear are important clues in learning
about the uniqueness of china heads and the period they were produced,
but it is not the whole case.
"It is important not to strain the conclusions drawn from the
hairstyle too much when attempting to date dolls' heads," points
out the author the book, Dolls, Antonia Fraser, "as the head
mold was sometimes still used after the hairstyle had gone out of
fashion."
One example the author and many others cite is the short-curled
flat-top of the middle 19th century which was shown at the gala
1862 London Exhibition. Scholars say it was still being marketed
and advertised as late as 1884."
Except for a brief period around World War I when Japan had an involvement
in the production of china head dolls, most everyone was coming
from Germany."
Manufacturers included Alt, Beck and Gottschalk, Hertwig & Company,
Kling, Kestner, Bahr & Proschild, and Royal Copenhagen in Denmark.
Among the firms which specialized in the distribution of such dolls
during the same period were Butler Brothers, Morimura Brothers,
Strasburger & Pfeiffer, and Stirn in New York City.
The amazing production of china heads was documented in 1884 by
an article in Harper's which mentioned, "china dolls are more
exclusively the product of the factory. A single oven contains 5,000
dolls, and 30 ovens are often full at one time in the one factory...
One Germany factory has been running about 130 years, and has produced
about one billion dolls."
As lovely and enduring as they were, such dolls began losing ground
to the even more delicate and distinctive bisque dolls by the late
19th century even though they were much more expensive. In a vain
attempt to stem the tide toward the more costly bisque, manufacturers
produced more and more china heads at steadily cheaper prices.
At most any time in their history a very nice china head doll could
be purchased for less than one dollar which was reasonable to the
average wage earner who was making between $10 and $15 per week
at the time. Meanwhile, a fully clothed bisque Jumeau doll would
retail for prices up to $20 each.
By 1894 Montgomery Ward and company the great mail order house was
offering mostly bisque dolls, but did include a few "china
heads, with painted hair and eyes" in their listings. They
were priced from ten cents to 35 cents each.
Demand for the once highly sought china heads continued to wane
into the 20th century although production remained relatively strong.
In some cases older model molds were simply reused in an effort
to capture fashions of the past in a much more economical way.
Another gimmick was the Pet Name lady doll that featured popular
female names of the period such as Agnes, Dorothy, Pauline, Edith,
Mable, and Helen. They were stamped in gold letters on each doll's
molded yoke.
Condition and original clothing are major factors today in determining
price, but generally the older the china head the more value it
holds. Some very nice china head dolls remain available for a few
hundred dollars on up to a few thousand dollars.
"They are perhaps the most under-valued of all antique dolls,"
a former executive with a major auction gallery noted more than
a decade ago, "china dolls represent a good buy for those who
appreciate their serene beauty."
©
2010 Mountain States Collector
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