Antique Doll Collecting Can Be Serious Business

Long ago, near the beautiful German city of Waltershausen, Wilhelm Simon and Carl Halbig joined forces in 1869 to do what they did best ... produce bisque heads for beautiful dolls manufactured by other companies. Gorgeous dolls (or "puppens") were one of Germany's most famous exports for years. During Chicago's 1893 World's Fair, when different nations participated in creating exhibits for the colossal Manufacturers & Liberal Arts Building, one of the German exhibits was a shop crammed full of beautiful dolls and other toys.

The Work of Many Hands

It may take a village to raise a child but in those days, it took many villages to make a child's doll. These beloved toys assembled at German factories really resulted from the work of many hands. Deep in the Thuringer forests, whole familities worked in their homes to create various doll components. In an early example of outsourcing, a village might specialize in nothing but carved legs or arms, stuffed bodies, wigs or exquisite doll garments and accessories which were paid for by the piece and shipped to factories for final assembly with beautiful bisque heads often contributed by Simon & Halbig. Ahead of their time, the Germans came up with curvacious 13" "fashion dolls" and beautiful Black dolls also. Today, French antique dolls are considered to be more valuable but I think that the Germans were unsurpassed for the beauty and uncanny sensitivity of expression in their dolls' faces. I can almost spot an "S&H" doll at 50 paces. Truly, they are in a class by themselves.

Serious Business

Today, dolls aren't just for children but rank right up there as one of the most collected items, highly treasured and sometimes costing thousands of dollars. Most of my own doll acquisitions have been bargains either in bad shape or treasured gifts from dear friends and relatives. Once I bid for an S&H doll on E-Bay. Unable to get a really good first-hand look at her, I had to take a lot on faith but she turned out to be the "real McCoy" and a great investment.

The experience also taught me a lot about bidding and human nature. Armed with Christmas gift money and desperate desire, I plunged in, tossing down the gauntlet with a somewhat premature opening bid. Over the next four days, competing bids volleyed and thundered, the fragile veneer of civilization wore perilously thin and the price soared to $700 ... the most which I have ever paid for anything I could pick up and carry. I must have been the only survivor left at a keyboard waiting to make that last-minute killer bid when the wire finally came down at 3 a.m. on the appointed day. By that time, I almost had to crawl on all fours from a blood-soaked arena, dragging my prize with me.

A few days later, "Jossie" was shipped to me, beautifully dressed with her wig detached so that I could see the S&H trademark on the back of her head. Later, I sat on the couch silently regarding her from across the room where she sat wearing her wig in my best chair, a little lopsided and sporting that dazed look common to all newly transplanted dolls. I have never regretted this purchase but strangely that was the end of my doll collecting. I still treasure the occasional doll gift but haven't shopped for one in a long time.

A Few Tips for Successful Doll Collecting

Don't worry too much about that "Blue Book" value or at least don't adhere to formal appraisals too inflexibly when buying or selling a doll. Of course, a little assertion and careful negotiation is good but look -- you and the buyer (or seller) are going to end up having to settle on a sum agreed to by both parties for the sale or purchase of a doll or any other antique. When push comes to shove, you will have to take it or leave it so whatever kind of collectibles you are into should be acquired primarily for your own enjoyment and not for their resale value.

A jointed doll is held safely together and can be posed certain ways because of the incredible pressure exerted by a complicated internal system of cords -- the "strings" -- and usually these are bad shape in an old doll which means that she is wobbly and vulnerable to toppling over. Getting the strings replaced should be your first priority because if your doll is sitting up and suddenly falls over, its delicate hollow porcelain head may shatter. Once that happens, your valuable doll will be Gone, Baby, Gone.

In the old days, little girls knew how to play with and care for fragile bisque-headed dolls. This isn't true of most kids today. So if you have small children who love dolls, you might want to consider avoiding a lot of frustration and anguish by buying them more durable dolls to play with and putting your antiques away until everyone is grown up enough to handle them safely.

If your dolls are really, really valuable, you may want to consider special insurance for them.

Make Sure She Wasn't Born Yesterday.

If you want an antique doll, make sure it is really an antique. You are actually at an advantage if the doll is in reasonably bad shape. If a doll is covered with dirt, has tangled hair and has been incarcerated in a doll hospital for 30 years, this is a good sign that she is an antique or at least old. It is normal for even dolls which have been carefully played with to show signs of use so if the doll you want looks like it was born yesterday, it probably was.

Actually, there are beautiful bisque-headed dolls being made today. Fine reproductions of Simon & Halbig antique dolls are available. These newer collectibles can provide great enjoyment and enhance the beauty of your home. There is nothing wrong with buying a new doll as long as you don't have to cough up the price of a rare antique for her.