Old Bisque Dolls
Armand Marseille is probably one of the most affordable of the 'antique' doll manufacturers: 'Dream Babies' and the popular 390 girl dolls were manufactured in their thousands, and there are still loads about. Even so, you'll probably have to pay from £150 upwards, depending on size and condition. The good thing about collecting bisque dolls is that most are clearly marked, usually on the back of the neck. There are also plenty of books on the subject, so information on the various manufacturers is quite easy to find. If you're thinking of buying a Dream Baby, watch out for the teeth - there should be two lower teeth. Many open-mouth Dream Babies which you see for sale have lost them, and as the head is solid (unlike wigged dolls, which have a hole in the head) you can't easily reach inside to repair them. The expressions of Dream Babies vary considerably. Sometimes the eyes are tiny, sometimes they are more open, and because they were hand-painted, the colouring can vary too, from a delicate blush to quite a florid pink. Click on the thumbnail of the doll to get a bigger picture. Please note that all doll names have been choosen by us, and do not necessarily relate to the manufacturer's name for the doll. None of the dolls shown are for sale.

	We've called this Armand Marseille Dream Baby 'Laura-Rose'. She is 16" tall, and has the AM 351 mark on the back of her neck. This denotes that she has an open mouth with teeth. Closed mouth Dream Babies are marked 341. The Dream Baby dates from the mid-1920's, and the construction varies. Sometimes the body is soft, as in the one shown here, and sometimes the body is made from composition. The hands of Laura-Rose are composition, but often you find Dream Babies with celluloid hands. Be wary if the celluloid is dented or broken, because it is virtually impossible to repair. Laura-Rose is wearing a hand-sewn muslin gown, flannel petticoat, wool socks and a silk cloak. She was dressed in these clothes by the original owner.

	Here is another Dream Baby, Jennifer-Ann. She is 18" tall, and has the AM 351 mark on the back of her neck. This denotes that she has an open mouth with teeth. Closed mouth Dream Babies are marked 341. Dream Babies date from the mid-1920's, and the construction varies. Jennifer-Ann's body and limbs are made from composition, as opposed to Laura-Rose's soft body. She wears a pure silk dress with matching bonnet, muslin petticoat, wool booties and vest, and cotton pants. The dress and bonnet are trimmed with pink silk ribbons.

	This doll, Daisy - Bea is a closed mouth Dream Baby, mould no. 341. She wears an Edwardian tucked gown with lace inserts.

	Here is Polly. Polly is an Armand Marseille 390, one of the most popular girl doll moulds. They have sweetly pretty, typical 'dolly' faces, and a 390 is probably the first old bisque doll that a collector will acquire, because there are still so many of them around. As with the Dream Bab y, the construction varies. The first 390's were made in 1909, and they continued right up till the 1930's. Polly is 22" tall, and has a ball-jointed wood and composition body with nicely modelled legs. Some 390's have straight, thin legs like sticks and the bodies are poorly made. She has a delicate complexion, not too pink, and an open-mouth with four teeth. Her wig is a replacement - many old dolls have lost their hair, often due to moths who find mohair attractive. Polly is wearing a pink hand-sewn dress embroidered with feather-stitching over a pair of combinations. She also wears a broderie anglaise pinafore trimmed with ribbon, and white lacy socks.

	Charlotte is another Armand Marseille 390, with large dark eyes. Her wooden body is ball - jointed. She is dressed in a modern replica dress of broderie anglaise, which suits her very well. Her metal and enamel necklace is also modern, but provides a perfect finishing touch to the doll, and matches the silk rose she wears in her hair.

	Hannah is an Armand Marseille 990, and is 29" tall - the size of a large toddler. She is wearing her original mohair wig, and has an open mouth with two teeth. Her body is bent-limbed composition. 990's are so-called 'character babies', and often come dressed as boys. Hannah has delicate colouring, with beautifully painted eyebrows. Originally she came dressed in a plain cotton shift, but she now wears an Edwardian hand-sewn cotton baby gown over the top. Goodness knows how a small child managed to carry such a large and fragile doll around; probably the doll spent most of its time seated on a shelf in the nursery, to be admired rather than played with. Armand Marseille 990 dolls date from the 1920's, and come in many different sizes. It's interesting to note how the expressions seem to vary according to the size of the head.

	Ellen is an Armand Marseille 996 A10M character-face girl. She is 19" tall with a composition body. Her wig is a replacement, but is the same colour as her original hair (which we still have, even though it is very sparse.) Sometimes, as in Ellen's case, it is necessary to replace the wig because it is threadbare. However, it's important not to destroy the original hairpiece, or to throw it away. Instead, put it into a plastic bag labelled with the doll's details - after all, it is part of the doll's history, and once gone, can never, ever be replaced. Ellen is wearing a pale green cotton dress with a white broderie-anglaise pinafore, white petticoat and drawers, socks and shoes.

	This is Eliza. Eliza was made by the German manufacturer Heubach-Koppelsdorf. Heubach-Koppelsdorf dolls are usually in a similar, or slightly higher, price-range to Armand Marseille. The two firms had links, as an inter-marriage brought them together. Eliza is fairly large at 24" and is marked on the back of the neck 'Heubach Koppelsdorf 250.3'. She has a beautiful complexion of creamy bisque, faintly blushed with pink, blue eyes and long lashes. Her blonde wig is original to the doll, and is mohair. Her wood and composition body is jointed at wrists, elbows and knees. She is dressed in a dashing red silk dress covered with black lace and net, and wears a matching hat. Her underwear is a cotton chemise with drawers to match, and she wears white socks and white leather shoes.

	Harriet is a Heubach-Koppelsdorf doll. 16" tall, marked 320 2/0, dating from the 1920's. She has an open mouth with two tiny top teeth, and an attractive colouring to her cheeks. The painting of the lashes around her eyes is particularly fine, and she still has her original light brown mohair wig. Her body is a bent-limbed composition baby-type. Harriet wears a white broderie-anglais dress with a pink satin sash, white cotton underclothes, black leather shoes and a frilly, lace-trimmed bonnet.

	Ann is a 17 inch tall Heubach Koppelsdorf with beautiful sapphire blue eyes. Her colouring is more delicate than is usual from this maker. Ann wears an Edwardian dress of white lawn, with pin - tucks, lace trim and two pearl buttons. She wears pink leather shoes, and an old bonnet, made from fine muslin and trimmed with lace.

	This is Ella, made by Schoenau and Hoffmeister, marked 1906. Ella has a wooden ball - jointed body. She has a fine colouring and large brown eyes. Over her cotton combinations she wears an old cotton frock with muslin inserts and a pink - striped pinafore. A pink bead necklace and matching bracelet add a finishing touch.

	Meet Bea. She is one of the tiniest dolls in the collection, standing just 3" tall. Bea is a 1920s doll's house doll, made from white bisque with a short blonde bob hairstyle and cute painted-on strappy shoes. She wears her original floral skirt. Bea is special, because she was found lying in a box of old junk at a summer fete in the 1950s, and purchased for the princely sum of 6d. She is consequently one of the founder dolls of the collection.

	Another 1920s doll, though slightly bigger, is Dotty. Standing 7" tall, she has a moulded headband, typical of a 'flapper' of the time. Her legs are cast all in one with her body and head, but her arms can be moved. She too is made from white bisque, and she has black painted side-glancing eyes, red lips and pale orange cheeks. Dotty has a blue flower painted on her headband, and she is marked 'Made in Japan'.

All pictures and text © Susan Brewer 2004. Virtual Valley Graphics logo and all site design and content © Simon Brewer 2004