Antique Dolls

Early Dolls: Rare 18^th century English wooden dolls, especially examples in original condition, are extremely sought after and constantly achieve high prices at our auctions. Early 19^th century German Grodnertal wooden dolls are very popular with collectors as are wax dolls, china and parian headed dolls from the first half of the 19^th century.

Bisque Headed Dolls: Bisque headed dolls are perhaps the most popular with collectors with the most sought after being the fine French Fashion dolls 1860s/70s and Bebes of the 1880s/90s made by famous Parisian makers such as Jumeau, Bru, Gaultier and Steiner. German bisque headed dolls play an important role in the development of dolls which commenced mainly in the 1890s following the affordable production of dolls from such well known manufacturers such as Simon & Halbig, Kestner, Armand Marseille, Heubach and Kammer, and Reinhardt but to name a few. The height of German doll design emerged in 1909 with the introduction of the Character doll who boasted more realistic features, often portraits of real children.

Cloth Dolls 1920s/1930s: Cloth and felt dolls became very popular in the 1920s/30s with Italian manufacturer Lenci paving the way in the 1920s; thier finely produced dolls wore superbly made and brightly colourful clothes and were marketed to both adults and children, often depicting famous film and stage stars of the period including Marlene Dietrich, Rudolph Valentino and Josephine Baker. English toy manufacturers such as Chad Valley, Deans Rag Book and Norah Wellings were also at the forefront of cloth doll production throughout this period.

Post War Vintage Dolls: Barbie, the most famous doll of recent times, was first introduced by Mattel in 1958, who took inspiration from Bild Lilli, a German comic-strip character. Both Barbie and Bild Lilli were portrayed as fashion ladies of the period - an extensive range of clothes, outfits and accessories were produced for Barbie and are highly sought after by collectors. Sindy, introduced in the 1960s, also has a large following in today's market, together with Sasha dolls - Toy dolls which realistically portray young children of the 1960s and 1970s.

If you've any dolls you'd like to have valued, please do not hesitate to contact our Doll Specialist, Leigh Gotch.