Early 1900s Cabinet Doll

Name: Early 1900s Cabinet Doll

Made by and When: Unknown German doll maker, circa 1910

Material: Celluloid shoulder head, composition body with jointed arms and legs, paint

Marks: (On the back of the shoulder head) Germany / M2

Height: 8-1/2 inches

Hair, Eyes, Mouth: Replaced short black curly wig is accented with a faux pearl hairpin, brown painted eyes with thinly painted upper eyelashes, two red dots of paint in the nostrils, and a red-painted closed mouth; the handmade wig is applied over sculpted curls.

Clothes: The original clothing is unknown. The doll wears a hand-sewn full-length dress and its original white plastic hoop earrings. The feet are bare.

Other: The combination of celluloid heads and composition bodies was first introduced commercially in Germany around the turn of the century (late 1890s and early 1900s). Schildkröt was one of the first to create a popular model in 1903, pairing the new celluloid heads with more traditional composition bodies. Celluloid heads were a newer material, and manufacturers found that combining them with traditional composition for the body created a desirable new type of doll. Composition, a material made of glue, sawdust, and other substances, had been used for doll bodies for decades prior to the celluloid/composition combination. This cabinet doll has a chubby body as illustrated in one of the Gallery photos.

Gallery

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