Doll Gallery: Old Bisque

In the last issue we talked about the German manufacturer Armand Marseille, as his dolls are probably the most affordable of the 'antique' makers, and we showed you a picture of our Dream Baby Laura-Rose. Here 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. Jennifer-Ann is wearing 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. 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.

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 quite 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 she wears a matching hat. Her underwear is a cotton chemise with drawers to match, and she wears white socks and white leather shoes.

Click here to see last issue's Old Bisque Gallery.