An Introduction to Buying an Antique Doll

By: April Kerr

It could be said that the best time for the production of dolls was between 1840 and 1850. This is largely because a great amount of work and pride was used when making these dolls. Every little detail is crafted and thought about from details like hand painting the eyes to riveting the cloth or leather bodies. The clothes that adorned these dolls were also made to the highest of standards by seamstresses. All of this work produced a doll that was of considerably higher standard than many of the cheap dolls you buy today that have been mass produced in factories.

Perhaps this is part of the reason that antique dolls hold so much fascination for many antique doll collectors. Even although many of them have seen better days, it's just so wonderful to own an antique doll that is so many years old. You really need to look at all the details such as the heads made from porcelain or other materials along with real human hair set into the plates. Owning a doll from this period takes us back to an age of innocence.

Of course, you will notice that the antique dolls available will often come dressed in clothes that reflected the fashions of the day. You will notice that there is a lot of work involved including different layers of underclothing along with shoes and maybe even a sun hat.

Many of the most popular producers of doll included Pierre Jumeau, Ernst Heubach, Franz Reinhardt, Armand Marseille, Leon Casimir Bru, Ernst Kammer, Heinrich Handwerck and JD Kestner. These are amongst the most sought after of dolls today and what most antique doll collectors are searching for. In Germany there was Kammer, Handwerck, Kestner and Marceille whilst in France you had Bru and Jumeau.

When searching for an antique doll you will notice that the prices can vary enormously. How much you spend will be determined by how much popularity there is in that particular doll, who made it, how old it is, what material it is made from and the condition. Because these dolls are often over 100 years old it is very rare to find an antique doll that looks as if it has just come out of the wrapper. Obviously nearly all the dolls of the time were actually played with by little children which is why you will normally find missing limbs, cracking and frayed cloth. This may be what you want from a doll or maybe you want something a bit more perfect. If you buy one that is in poor condition, please be aware that if you try to "improve" it, you might unwittingly be lowering the value. So be careful.

Article Source: http://collectibles-articles.com

April Kerr runs a website where you can find details of where to buy antique dolls such as antique bisque dolls and antique doll clothes.

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