Early 19th Century Dolls

       Dolls which predominated during the first forty years of the nineteenth century had heads made of papier-mache, sawdust-stuffed kid or cloth bodies, extremely narrow at the waist, and long spindley wooden arms and legs. China heads and wooden peg-jointed dolls were also sold, and some of the latter boasted china heads. From about 1840, china, wax, then wax over papier-mache were popular, bisque taking the lead as soon as costs decreased. 

Example of wax grave doll.

       In the nineties of the last century and on into the twentieth century, bisque headed dolls were by far the most in demand. They had come within the reach of almost everyone.

       Many novelty dolls appeared at intervals during the whole of the nineteenth century. In the year 1827, Malzel made possible the first successful "mamma-papa" speaking doll (earlier experiments had been made) and at about the same time, 1826, "walking" and "sleeping" dolls were invented. Eyes were first made to open and shut by pulling a string, but after 1826, the counter-balance weight idea came into use. Since the old method continued to be followed for some time, one is apt to think that the counter-balance weight was a later invention. It has even been stated that the latter was not in general use until the 1890 's, a statement easily disproved by many examples in existence long before 1890.

       Patents for "crying" and "singing" dolls were issued in the United States from the 1860 's on. Among the most interesting were the Webber singing dolls, the patent dates for which began about 1882. It operated by means of a bellows arrangement and had only to be squeezed to emit cute little popular tunes of the day. The W. A. Harwood crying doll of 1877 operated by blowing into a reed mouthpiece inserted in the breast of the doll.

       In 1893, J. P. King of Philadelphia, Pa., patented an ingenious method of producing a crying sound. Two rubber bulbs, one containing air, one water, the whole surrounded by tubes with reeds inserted therein, were placed in the body of the doll. Pressure on the bulbs caused a realistic wail. Old dolls with simple little bellows inside their bodies are legion, but the more complicated are difficult to find.

       As early as 1888 a phonograph doll was invented. In that year, William W. Jacques of Newton, Mass., patented a combined doll and phonograph.

(18) Bisque-headed walking-talking doll of the late 19th 
century. Note winding key at the right of the undressed
doll and patent symbols on soles of the doll's shoes.

       We are prone to think of the nursing doll that "drinks" from a bottle, such as the Betsy-Wetsy and Dy-Dee, as entirely modern, but the idea is not new. In 1890, Rudolph Steiner of Sonneberg, Germany, patented just such a doll in America. While the manner of elimination was a little different, the same idea was utilized. The Steiner doll siphoned the milk from a bottle, the long end of the siphon coming out from the back of the neck, down the spinal column, and ending in a pan placed under the seat.

       Patents for creeping dolls were granted in March, 1871, to Robert J. Clay, and in August of the same year, to George P. Clarks, both of New York City. They were operated by clock-work mechanism. From the patent drawings, one would judge the Clay doll to be the more interesting. 

       The number of walking dolls of the nineteenth century is legion. Most of these acquired their accomplishment by means of mechanical equipment, and some bear the patent date. One showing the E. R. Morrison patent of 1862 has a most interesting china head with flowers molded on. It winds with a key, as so many of them did, and walks for an astonishing length of time around a wide area. Some have Parian heads.

       Mrs. William Knobloch of Washington, D. C, is the proud possessor of a fascinating bisque-headed walking doll (about 20 inches in height) which not only steps along at a lively pace, but repeats in English (although she is a French doll) "Hello, hello, hello!" at the same time moving her head from side to side and bringing up her arms to an inviting outstretched position. 

German bisque head doll with glass eyes and real hair wig.

      Two of the most interesting walkers of the nineteenth century which do not have clock-work mechanism are the A. W. Nicholson doll of 1869, and the Henry C. Work doll of 1873. Patent drawings of these two dolls are given here in order to show how they work. The heads of the actual dolls found do not look like those in the patent sketches. For instance, at least one specimen of the Nicholson doll has a beautiful china head with flowers molded on. Such dolls are apt to be found with the china legs entirely missing. This of course does not affect the forward motion. Patent for the Work doll of 1873 calls for either simple movement‚ pushing or pulling with the hand‚ or, if the manufacturer desired, clock-work mechanism. The latter was evidently not used, for those found in collections are the simple kind. The idea of the rotating wheel of legs was also used for a paper doll of the twentieth century.

       Patents for automatic walking dolls were granted here in 1826, '62, '69, '73, '75, '86 and '96. Twentieth century walkers, as a rule, do not have clock-work mechanism or wheels.

       In 1902, E. U. Steiner of Brooklyn, N. Y., invented the first of the walking dolls to perform by merely holding its hand and giving it a slight lateral sway as one walked with it. This was followed by the more simply constructed Schoenhut walking doll of 1913, then by the clumsy "Dolly Walker" patented in 1917 by Harry H. Coleman, a ventriloquist. In 1933, the Ee-Gee Company of New York brought out an unexceptional walker, and a few years later, the loveliest of the modern walking dolls was placed on the market by the Alexander Doll Company of New York City. It was designed by Mrs. Adel Tongren of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This doll, Jeannie Walker, was a well-proportioned "child" that could "sit, stand and walk like a perfect little lady."

Jumeau baby from a Paris Museum

       Other dolls which performed without elaborate mechanism were the "flirting-eye" doll, used by Jumeau as early as 1895, still used in America; the clown doll (German) which clapped cymbals and squeaked at the same time by a simple pressure of his "tummy;" the recent "magic hand" doll which picks up things by means of magnetic steel hidden under the finish of the hand; the "beating-heart" doll of 1941; and "Dy-Dee and Betsy-Wetsy" of about the same time. Music boxes concealed in the bodies of dolls and stuffed animals were popular in the thirties of this century.

       The art of making automata, in existence as early as the third century B. C, was revived and utilized for "play" dolls all through the nineteenth century. Attached music boxes added to the interest. An early "Jumeau" dressed as a hunter, still operating, can blow his horn and nod his head while his music box plays "Toreador," loudly and long; another, a lady, can raise a beautiful bouquet of flowers to her nose and alternately lift a fan with the other hand; ladies at a tea party pick up tiny cups and bring them to their lips; a wee woman sits at a miniature piano and plays; a bisque-headed little girl in a swing moves back and forth to bellows music; eighteenth century ladies in a "coach and two" bow their heads to the audience while an elegant coachman proudly drives his horses round and round a large table; and there are dolls galore‚ relatively speaking‚ which can curtsey and dance to music.

       Creeping dolls seem to be America's specialty, although most of them are short lived. Off and on for the last forty years street vendors in large cities have cried their wares while these little performers crawled away on the side- walk until their clock-work mechanism slowed down and stopped. The cheap ones were soon out of order.

       Movable figures and toys have always delighted grown-ups as well as children. Before the eighteenth century, they were made mostly for adults, if we except the costly affairs made for children of the rich. In Arabia and Byzantine before the year 1,000 A. D., there were artificial birds that sang and flapped their wings, dogs which could wag their tails, and dolls that could move. For the child of these early days, and later ones too, for that matter, there were the jumping- jack, the corn-grinder and the fist-puppet, none of which needed delicate mechanism. Today we still have the jumping-jack and the fist-puppet and many other toys moved by the simple methods employed by the Egyptians two thousand years before the birth of Christ. And the child now enjoys a greater number of more complicated mechanical toys. The nineteenth century brought a great increase in these products.

(23) German bisque-headed, kid-bodied doll, late 19th century. Courtesy Mrs. Franklin Hill Davis, Washington, D. C. (24) French doll of the 1800's with unusual joints. They are of wood, covered with kid. (25) China-headed peddler doll, circa 1840, made to represent the vendor who hawked his wares about the streets, selling everything imaginable, from hand-made lace, scarfs, ribbons, etc.. to books on various subjects. (26) "The Working Doll." This was mentioned in a French hook of 1S64, long since out of print. (27) Jumeau doll of 1S70, Courtesy Mrs. Henry A. Diamant. This doll was purchased by the owner many years ago. Slip has her original costume. (2S) French bisque-headed doll, circa 1S90. (29) Doll with bisque head, arms, and legs, circa ISSO's. Her dress was removed to show her dainty bisque legs.

        Between the years 1860 and 1900, a number of dolls with two to five faces were manufactured, and, within the last few years, Japan exported two-faced baby dolls, one with a crying, one with a sleeping face. The head revolves in a socket. The earlier multi-faced dolls were made to turn faces by means of a string attached to a revolving pin. Sketches in the chapter on Wax Dolls will give an idea of the method of construction. In the late sixties and early seventies of the last century a number of patents were issued for multi-faced dolls; one firm, M. Bru of France, took out three patents of this kind during those years. Germany used the idea, and one German firm took out a patent in this country (1881) for a double-faced wax doll. Domino Checkini of New Haven, Conn., patented a four-faced doll in 1866. His dolls had wax faces.

       Although Germany dominated the world of dolls during the nineteenth century and earlier, each country was noted for a particular kind‚ England for her wax and rag dolls, Holland for her wooden ones, "Flanders' babies" as they were called; Germany for her china-heads, papier-mache and wooden dolls, and France for her bisque and papier-mache.

       Before the First World War, America made few dolls. There were some of composition, rubber, cloth, wood, described in the chapters dealing with each particular type. However, as noted elsewhere, several American firms made doll bodies to be used with heads imported from Germany. One firm, Gold-smith of Covington, Ky., employed German workmen to make wax and composition heads in its own factory.

       It is from the nineteenth century that collectors of antique dolls obtain most of their treasures, and every period of the century produced interesting ones. It has been said by inexperienced collectors "I do not buy any dolls marked ''Germany'' they are so common." What a mistake! There are some lovely, and also uncommon ones with this mark, specimens in flesh-colored china with beautiful coloring and well defined features. But any doll that has been loved and played with is interesting; so also are its little clothes. As Sappho said, in ancient times, when she dedicated her doll to Aphrodite: "Aphrodite, despise not my doll's little purple neckerchief. I, Sappho, dedicate this precious gift to you!" Perhaps, in days to come, when all present collections will have passed into the hands of persons still unborn, there will be amongst them some who will despise neither these "common" dolls nor "their little purple neckerchief." Fawcett

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