Bisque Doll History
Dolls have entertained and comforted children since early in human history. Bluebird Gardens notes that early dolls have been found in Egyptian, Mayan and Chinese graves from 3000 B.C., with dolls with movable limbs and clothing turning up around 600 B.C. Over the course of history, doll styles and designs come in and out of favor. One such type of doll is the bisque doll, a type of doll made either partially or wholly of unglazed porcelain.
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Early History
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Doll makers in the 18th and early 19th centuries in England carved dolls out of wood, then painted features onto the dolls and gave them costumes, according to Dollymaker. These dolls, known as Queen Anne dolls, turn up rarely for doll collectors but are some of the earliest dolls many collectors have access to. The wooden Queen Anne dolls gave rise to papier-mache dolls, manufactured from the early 19th century into the early 20th century. Doll companies in Germany, France and the United States created these dolls as a cheaper alternative to wood dolls. From here, doll makers turned to wax dolls, creating them from 1840 until the 20th century. Wax dolls mimicked human features more easily than the previous doll materials. China dolls came next, crafted from glazed porcelain and manufactured from around 1840 to the 1920s. From here, manufacturers began to produce bisque dolls, made of unglazed porcelain.
Rise in Popularity
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While bisque dolls were manufactured around the same time as china dolls, it wasn’t until around the 1860s that bisque dolls became popular, according to Bluebird Gardens. Bisque dolls were lauded for their ability to mirror human skin more accurately than china dolls. The Antiques Bible notes that the bodies of bisque dolls at the time were made either of leather or cloth. Production of these dolls started in France. Around the 1880s, with bisque dolls reaching a peak in popularity, Germany became the top producer of this type of doll.
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Bisque in America
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As the popularity of the bisque doll grew, so grew the number of countries and factories producing them. The United States entered the bisque doll manufacturing market early in the 20th century, as stated on Vintage Doll Collector. Bisque dolls began to be manufactured in many different styles. Rose O’Neill, an American illustrator, designed Kewpies, characters with large round heads, wide eyes, rosy cheeks and a distinctive curl atop their heads. This design became a 3D doll model thanks to George Borgfeldt and Joseph Kallus. The design was then sent to German doll makers, and American-designed Kewpie bisque dolls experienced a popularity boom. While bisque declined in popularity after several wars, dolls were still produced and some remained popular. Nancy Ann Storybook dolls made of bisque were sold from 1941 until sometime in the 1950s, at which point the company produced the dolls from hard plastic instead.
Production Decline
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European doll production, including bisque doll manufacturing, experienced a sharp decline during World War I, according to Bluebird Gardens. At this time, bisque doll production was left mainly to American doll companies. Following the war, doll production picked up again, but manufacturers were turning to new technologies and materials. Bisque dolls gave way to plastic and rubber dolls with gimmicks such as drinking water or eating. These dolls grew in popularity, as did dolls such as Cabbage Patch Kids, and bisque dolls fell to the wayside. Though they still were produced, the sale of bisque dolls was not as much as during the boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Bisque Collecting
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Collectors of bisque dolls usually wind up with a number of bisque dolls from Germany, according to Dollymaker. Bisque doll collectors look for dolls with closed mouths as opposed to open-mouthed dolls, as they are more rare. A type of French and German bisque doll known as the bebe, with child-like features and bright rosy cheeks, is popular among collectors. Dolls can reach up to thousands of dollars in price, depending upon rarity.
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References
- Photo Credit small doll image by StephenD from Fotolia.com
