As with most old toys, antique dolls showing no sign of ever having been played with by a child are the ones that appeal to adult collectors, who are often willing to pay four to six figures for 19^th-century examples by famous makers such as Schmitt & Fils, Jumeau, and Simon & Halbig. Look for a maker’s mark on the bisque portions of an antique doll, often found on the back of the neck or head or elsewhere. Such dolls are unlikely to be found in the average shop – but you never can tell what you may be lucky enough to find!

The history of dolls goes back to early centuries BC, and antique dolls can be found in virtually every culture from Africa to Asia. In fact, archaeological evidence indicates dolls were the earliest known toys. While dolls in unused condition are desired by modern collectors, an unused doll in ancient cultures would have been kept from children if it were believed to be charged with magical powers.

Whatever the maker, the most desirable dolls of interest to collectors today are porcelain dolls that have their original clothing and shoes. Knowledgeable collectors will also look for hidden flaws before buying. They may ask, for example, to have the wig removed to inspect the head for cracks or chips. Firing cracks are common in the bisque porcelain that forms the heads of most antique dolls and do not affect value. Firing cracks are jagged and often have a slight space between, say, the back of an ear and the place it attaches to the head, but a straight-line crack across the neck or head is damage, and that will affect value.

The doll companies mentioned in the first paragraph are no longer in business today. But another famed doll maker, Madame Alexander, is still in production. Its dolls date from the 20^th century, and while the oldest and rarest of them are exceptional and can sell for thousands of dollars, many Madame Alexander dolls can be purchased for less than $100.

The Antiques Roadshow has an instructive video on determining whether a porcelain-faced doll is antique vs. newer. Antique dolls will usually have moveable glass eyes that look remarkably real, although some well-made newer dolls may also have glass eyes. A better clue is that the face of a newer doll will feel entirely smooth to the touch, whereas an antique’s face will feel slightly grainy.

A doll doesn’t have to be made of porcelain, of course. Children have also played with homegrown dolls such as apple head dolls, corn husk dolls, and rag dolls. For Native Americans, corn was an important staple food source with a spiritual aspect. According to the Los Altos History Museum, the first corn husk dolls were made by Northeastern Native Americans, who made the dolls without faces to reflect a tribal myth as described on the museum’s website. Corn husk dolls were attractive to pioneer-era white families because they were easy and affordable to make from materials at hand. The dolls were also adopted by enslaved African American families because they could be made from husks left over after the harvest season.

Peggy Whiteneck is a writer, collector, and dealer living in East Randolph, VT. If you would like to suggest a subject that she can address in her column, email her at  allwritealready2000@gmail.com. ​