Information on Vinyl Hummel Dolls
Hummel dolls are a brand of handmade, collectible dolls crafted in Germany. The Hummel dolls were based in design on the drawings of M.I. Hummel and produced into dolls by the Goebel factory. The material of the dolls has changed over the years; vinyl Hummel dolls were produced from 1963 until 1983.
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History
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Originally, Hummel dolls were made from rubber and stuffed cloth bodies. By the year 1963, the design changed to a blend of rubber and vinyl that made up the head, arms, legs and body of the dolls. This blend refers to the vinyl Hummel dolls. The vinyl design continued in use until 1983 when the body design went back to stuffed cloth with arms, legs, and heads from ceramic.
Models
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During the 20-year span, Hummel created and released 12 vinyl dolls. The dolls are distinguishable according to their names. Hummel doll names are Bertl, Felix, Gretl, Hansel, Liesl, Mariandl, Max, Peterle, Radi-Bub, Rosl and two Seppls. The original models received nicknames and went on sale later in smaller sizes and although they looked the same, had different names.
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Sizes
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The first vinyl dolls were available in 10-inch tall designs. Over the 20-year period in which the dolls were made, the dolls received different nicknames and slightly shorter versions of the same dolls were made to stand 8-inches tall. Not all of the 12 original 10-inch vinyl dolls went under production as 8-inch dolls.
Dress
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Throughout the Hummel doll beginnings in the 1950s, the dolls have continued to wear traditional German and Dutch dress. The female dolls wear Dutch Milkmaid dresses and hats while male dolls wear lederhosen, suspenders, hats, shirts and vests. The vinyl Hummel dolls wore these traditional outfits as well. The traditional dressing of the dolls makes the dolls more collectible due to the cultural ties of the dolls.
Availability
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Hummel doll designs are limited to a national availability of 20,000 copies of each design. That is to say, that only 20,000 copies of the Max model vinyl Hummel dolls are found throughout the world. The purpose of this limit on production and availability is to characterize the Hummel dolls as a collector's item. Because only 12 designs of the 10-inch vinyl dolls were released, only 240,000 originally sized 10-inch vinyl Hummel dolls are found in the world right now. There are even fewer of the 8-inch models.
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