Restoring JUNO 5 Open Mouth Doll from Germany

Child version of JUNO 5, with open mouth
and teeth. Wig not cleaned or styled yet.

        Just right, you can see the metal head doll from Germany that I am in the process of restoring. In this photo, I have yet to do anything with the wig. The white chalky surface on her breastplate is a filler that I use to seal up the exposed metal surface. This will be sanded and painted to blend into the original paint eventually. 

       JUNO 5 dolls are easy enough to find at resale, antique dealers or ebay. The pricing on the metal heads in particular varies widely. I have payed as little as twenty-five dollars for these old beauties; condition is everything. Also the open mouth may determine it's cost.

       Metal heads only, where often purchased through the mail directly from the companies that produced them. The quality of their bodies and clothing was often determined by the sewing skill set of the child or mother finishing and dressing the doll. 

       I have detached many disgusting bodies from dolls in my lifetime and have refused to pay higher prices for the heads based upon the opinions of collectors when it comes to the finished pieces. These were the kinds of dolls that were frequently reattached to new bodies and also had their parts changed out by mothers that wanted to refresh the appearances of an old favorite doll. The bodies and clothing when discovered in dirty, hoarded environments may not be original to the doll heads at all. Clean them up folks! 

       A nice kid skin body is something that I might reconsider dismantling however. If you find a doll similar to mine with a kid skin body, it was likely finished in a factory. These versions are often worthy of leaving "as is" or restoring if the leather is still in good condition.

       The JUNO 5 was produced up until the 1940s. That means clothing could represent many diverse fashions ranging from the early 1900s. If I find clothing with dolls like these, it is usually something reminiscent of the Victorian Era.

• Dolls made from metal parts
• JUNO 5 (lady version) closed mouth doll restored

Left, Some of the characteristic features of this metal head doll from German are: large ex-
aggerated eye-brows, painted eye-lashes and a red painted pouty mouth. Right, see small
molded ears and subtle childlike profile.

Left, see the inside cavity of the metal head. Her eyes fell out but the medium used to
hold these in still remained. Right, the JUNO 5 in profile.

Left, This doll had pealing paint. Above you can see her marks and the brass colored metal beneath
 the pealing paint. Right, She had an open mouth with broken teeth; I replaced these as well.

Left, the doll's head and shoulder plate mounted on a canvas doll body with porcelain arms, hands
calves and feet. Right, I glued in hand-blown glass eyes inside her skull, cleaned the surface paint,
repaired the pealing paint, sculpted a new set of teeth and glued these in and added a wig.