These little German-made china head dollhouse dolls measure about 4 and 5 inches tall, and date from the early 1900s. They were sold unclothed, and little girls were meant to hone their sewing skills by making them dresses. These two came from unsold store stock: they still have their legs delicately stitched together, to prevent breakage from clacking against each other during shipping.
This slightly larger doll wears a lovely ensemble crafted for her by her owner many, many years ago.
Those are beautiful. I've never seen them with the legs still stitched together. I've recently become interested in china head dolls. My mom recently gave me an antique doll house size one that I used to play with, and I just bought a head from ebay of a larger doll. Also my mom gave me two other, but I believe one is a reproduction and the other only has an old head.
ReplyDeleteI love the way these look in your photos!
Just found this - lovely little dolls, particularly the one with the homemade outfit. I have one very similar to those that I suspect was also a turn-of-the-century dime store buy and well-loved over its 100+ years:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/gormer/5227032191/
Is yours numbered on the back?
What a beautiful little doll you have: she looks like she could be my doll's sister!
ReplyDeleteSome of mine have numbers (6 and 7 I think) and some just say Germany on the back. The numbers might be the size, I'm told.