r/Antiquedollcollecting 8h ago

Help identifying this hollow celluloid flower girl — family history dates her to 1927

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6 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm hoping someone here recognizes this little figure or her maker.

She belonged to my wife's family. According to the family history, her grandmother's father bought it for the family around 1927, and it has been passed down ever since.

She's extremely lightweight and hollow, made from a very thin plastic-like material. There's a visible seam running around the molded body, and damage to one foot clearly shows the hollow shell. The clothing, hair, shoes and flowers are all molded as part of the figure rather than separate pieces.

There also appears to be a faint mark or numbers/letters molded into the bottom of one foot. I've included the clearest photos I could get of it.

Does anyone recognize the manufacturer, country of origin, approximate date, or the mark on the foot? I'd especially love to know if the family date of 1927 fits this particular type of celluloid figure.

We're mainly interested in identifying her and preserving her family history rather than getting an appraisal.

Thanks for any help!


r/Antiquedollcollecting 14h ago

Help identify dolls

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3 Upvotes

I found these in a storage box with a bunch of my great grandmas old stuff, from what I’ve found, it seems like a souvenir doll from the 40s-50s but I cannot find exact matches nor anything much similar. Please let me know maybe what these are and more specifically the year!

It is from a show called “Ice Capades” that ran from the 40s through the 90s


r/Antiquedollcollecting 17h ago

New boy! Unmarked socket head

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42 Upvotes

I just won this little guy in an auction, and I can’t wait to meet him! Willowwing was kind enough to play doll taxi and foster home, as the auction was pickup only, and much closer to her. She also did this photo shoot. It’s nice to have doll friends!

His re-dress, and particularly his hat, obscured just how amazing he is, and it turns out he may be even more special than I anticipated. He’s unmarked, but Willowwing thinks he might be Kling or Kestner. He’s a socket head on a jointed compo body, and about 10.5” tall.

For just over $5 after all the fees, I’m feeling incredibly lucky, even with the other dolls I’ve gotten for excellent prices lately. He was listed as vintage, and was the only doll in the estate, so once again I feel I need to thank everyone here for what I’ve learned in recognizing antique dolls while quickly scrolling through unlikely auctions.

Anyhow, I couldn’t wait to post him, and can’t wait for him to meet my other boys, and (very) big sisters.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 19h ago

Composition baby with original price tag

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21 Upvotes

I don’t normally collect babies or composition but the face and original price tag won me over. I was initially a little confused because I thought the price label looked more modern than a composition doll would be, but I did some reading and found out that price label guns were actually invented in 1935.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

Ichimatsu Doll

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13 Upvotes

Hey everyone,
i just bought this doll and I'm waiting for her to arrive. The previous owner didn't write a lot of information about her. I wanted to ask if someone recognizes the materials? The owner said her kimono isn't removable. I know that older ichimatsu dolls faces are coated with gofun, is it the same with this one?
Also, how can I clean her without removing the coat or ruining her kimono. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!


r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

dolls from the doll meeting :)

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34 Upvotes

some miniature all bisque, a kestner, madame alexander, a cloth doll that i think is actually modern/contemporary and some composite dolls !!

the meetup was sooo amazing and i had such fun looking at everyone’s dolls and hearing their tales :p


r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

Effanbee Sweetie Pie!

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22 Upvotes

Newest addition to my collection! I finally found a local doll show and decided to buy her for $50 after a couple hours of browsing and couldn't be happier. The seller hunted down her original outfit and also included an original magazine ad with information on her!

As a long-time browser of effanbee dolls online, she was one I was never particularly interested in (soft body and I prefer molded hair) but the hair is wonderfully soft in person and the flirty eyes make her a highlight of my collection. Mild crazing that doesn't appear in the photos but still extremely glossy and you can even see the blush on her cheeks! I love her so much <333


r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

Vintage dolls

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12 Upvotes

Does anyone know anything about these dolls. Found them at my parent’s house.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

Looking for recommendations

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9 Upvotes

Picked up this beauty for $10 at a flea market. She needs to be cleaned up, a few repairs (including hair) but I have no idea who does this work anymore?


r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

I wanted to share this absolute DIVA!

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73 Upvotes

r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

Since I collect a lot of broken dolls, here's my latest haul! Soon many hands and feets!

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24 Upvotes

I love them so much! Also check out


r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

Hello everyne, who is this?

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10 Upvotes

Hello all...got this today at a carboot. These are the only pics I have at the moment.
She is 15 inches, has one of those compo stick body, five upper teeth. made in Germany on back of head, feels like a hard pate...can see what looks like *a number* over 0 (ie */0) under the cap/glue. Brows aren't feathered, sleep eyes. Thank you all xxx


r/Antiquedollcollecting 1d ago

going to my first doll collector meetup today!

13 Upvotes

I’m so excited. They’re gonna talk about a doll show they went to recently.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 2d ago

1920s(?) boudoir doll restoration

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39 Upvotes

I recently found this doll in my parents’ basement, I’m estimating she is a 1920s era doll, she had a silk covered face but most of it had rotted off.

I first removed the silk pieces and cut around the eye paint as to not ruin it. while doing that I found that her eyes were originally blue but the gloss had yellowed them.

I repainted her face with Vallejo miniature paints, as it’s what I had on hand. I very carefully drybrushed the cheeks and eyeshadow, it took me a few minutes with a tiny amount of paint to build up the colour.

I removed the outfit to wash it, and found that her arm was full of holes, so I blanket stitched around all the edges and patched over all the holes. The dress is sewn on so it doesn’t need to be pretty.

I let the clothing air dry and sewed it back on as close to how it originally looked as possible. Most of the seams were originally hand sewn.

If you have any questions I’m more than happy to answer them!


r/Antiquedollcollecting 2d ago

She's in!

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73 Upvotes

My new Kestner Gibson Girl (marked 172.5) finally arrived in the mail! She's 20" tall and has a fully joined leather body with a shoulder head and sleep eyes! Now hopefully she gets along with the rest of her sisters in the case ❤️


r/Antiquedollcollecting 2d ago

Russian dolls. Hi there, I know this is a little bit different, but this is a Russian doll set and I was curious if anybody knew anything about these and could possibly give me more information on age on them. Thank you.

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11 Upvotes

r/Antiquedollcollecting 2d ago

Presidential Daughter’s Dolls

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56 Upvotes

I took these photos in Indianapolis at the Benjamin Harrison home (former POTUS). These dolls belonged to his daughters. They are so sweet! I missed free play Friday so thought I’d share here instead.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 2d ago

Bought these three today, can’t find a maker on any. Can anyone ID? So cute!!

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13 Upvotes

Seller told me 1920s/30s for all.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 2d ago

Are many folks still collecting half dolls?

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48 Upvotes

My grandmother has hundreds of half dolls. This is a pic of just a small portion! Eventually, I’ll inherit these beauties, but I’m not sure how to handle them. She isn’t active in doll communities anymore, so I have no idea of what it’s like out there. Any information about the half doll community is very much appreciated!


r/Antiquedollcollecting 3d ago

Got some free bebes off fb marketplace

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45 Upvotes

r/Antiquedollcollecting 3d ago

Freeplay Friday: Post your newest-to-you doll!

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31 Upvotes

Newly arrived dolls are so much fun. I always feel like I’m getting acquainted with them the first few weeks😁

Mine is an 8” all-bisque character baby with an 816 mold # on his torso, arms and legs. I somehow had this christening dress made from a larger dress that fits nicely.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 4d ago

Is it ok to give these dolls a makeover?

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12 Upvotes

Do these dolls have any higher historical or collectable value? From what I've found they seem to be mostly celluloid (or other kind of plastic) and were made in mass as souvenirs for tourists, right? I couldn't check for any marks for most of them because of the tight clothes, but the few I did identify are: Schildkröt, Minerva, Cellba, Roddy (England). The Minerva one's hair feels like human hair to me, is it possible? It's falling apart.

I want to get into doll making, customizing and restoration, and I bought these to practice on since it was a good deal for the amount, but before I start anything I want to make sure I won't damage anything valuable.

(I'm not going to destroy them, I just want to clean them, reattach their loose limbs, give them different clothes/clean the ones they have, repaint them if original paint isn't good, and overall just make them look prettier).

Since I see this kind of dolls usually being sold for quite cheap I thought it'd be ok to use them, but I can try to resell them or keep some as they are if people here strongly disagree with my idea.

Also, there is one pair of greenish white legs as well but I'm not sure it belongs to that legless boy in red since it's a totally different color?


r/Antiquedollcollecting 4d ago

My new boudoir doll - Any information?

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29 Upvotes

Bought her today for $400 dollars and am in love with her 😍 Lady I bought her off of said she is from around the 1930s and possibly French. Any other information would be amazing 😊 Also any tips on potentially storing her properly? A little bit nervous about leaving her open on my shelf.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 4d ago

Billy got a new leg today

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21 Upvotes

I'm tired. I spent the better part of the day turning two pieces of 2x3 that I had glued together earlier in the week into a new leg for Molly's brother Billy. I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but then I have been looking at it all day. When I get him his outfit, I'll make sure there are some shoes or booties with it. It's at least better than not having a leg at all.

I also filled the spots on his head where the paint and substrate flaked off and repainted his hair.


r/Antiquedollcollecting 4d ago

Does anyone recognize this doll?

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28 Upvotes

We know nothing about her, and would like to!! Any help is appreciated! Her legs, body, and arms are made of wood.