To the person that isn’t familiar with their history or details, collecting antique dolls may seem like an odd hobby. Many of the items that would be in a collection such as this would be too delicate to play with and many need to be taken care of as carefully as a fine piece of china, so why invest all that money and effort into collecting them in the first place? But as with so many other types of antiques and items one might collect, antique dolls are worth more to the collector than just their amusement factor. There are many details that go into creating dolls and these details are what make them so valuable.
Typically dolls and toys are made to reflect the thinking, values, and lifestyle of the current culture. Today’s toys of course revolve around video games, MP3 players, and other high-tech systems. Even dolls have computer chips in them so that they can talk, walk, and do so much more. When investigating antique dolls we can see how the makeup of the dolls, the clothing, and every little detail reflect the time period of what it was made. Early Americana rag dolls were made very simply with simple materials and without a lot of details; this is because people at that time did not have a lot of money for fancy items for dolls and toys. However porcelain dolls of the Victorian era were usually painstakingly hand-painted with beautifully intricate clothes and features. When you study these details of antique dolls you see that you’re really getting a history lesson more than anything else.
It’s important to remember also that not all antique dolls are going to be valuable. It’s easy for them to be marred or even ruined by stains on the fabric, chips in the porcelain face, and other such imperfections. Sometimes a professional restorer can fix these types of flaws but it’s important to bring your antique dolls to a professional and not try to do the repairs yourself. Sewing up rips and tears or trying to touch up a painted porcelain face can devalue your items and even make them worthless.
It’s typically the details of antique dolls that affect their value more than anything. For instance, some bisque dolls are painted with closed mouths whereas others have open mouths; believe it or not, the closed mouth dolls are much more valuable than the other types. Of course original accessories and elements are also part of the value of antique dolls; some replacement parts are acceptable whereas poor-quality reproductions are not.
Antique dolls can be very valuable to many collectors for reasons other than how cute they look or whether or not they can be played with. They really tell a story about the time period from which they were created and are real works of art to many. Is it any wonder then that there’s such a big market for them in today’s antique business?
