e-Powersellers Doll Page
Doll Terms
Dolls, Vintage & Antique
The terms and definitions below are strictly the opinions of e-Powersellers and should not be relied on as for insurance or appraisal. These guides are only to offer assistance in understanding basic terms and conditions. We realize that different people have different ways of grading or determining value. If there are any obvious omissions or errors and you are a qualified expert in your field, please contact us at info@e-Powersellers.com so we can adjust the guides accordingly
Antique Doll
Any doll at 100 years of age or older
Bisque
By and large produced in both Germany and France from 1850-1930. Bisque is a matte ceramic, unglazed surface and can appear translucent in finer antique dolls. Most bisque dolls are flesh colored, however some older bisque dolls would be more pale in color. Higher valued dolls will not have any major damage, cracking, hair pulls, rubbed surfaces or repairs.
Celluloid
Celluloid is an earlier version of “plastic” however is much more fragile and is generally thinner then common plastic dolls. The era for Celluloid dolls is 1910 through the 1920s and then replaced in large with composition dolls.
Composition
Composition dolls include a variety of materials that normally include a boiled mixture of wood pulp and paste that is then mixed with rags and then formed to make the dolls body. Composition dolls replaced bisque dolls. The era for composition dolls are the end of the 1920s through the 1950s. Many composition dolls are composition bodies only with a bisque head.
Hard Plastic
Plastic started its popularity in the 1950s and have continued through today. Most of the dolls created from the 1960s to now will have manufacturer information embossed on the doll usually at the base of the next or the base of the spine.
Shoulder Head: Dolls whose head and shoulders are one solid piece.
Turned Shoulder Head: A Shoulder Head doll whose head sits on an angle like it is looking to the side or away.
Damage Terms
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Cracks / Cracking: Any cracks in the bisque or porcelain that can be seen with the naked eye.
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Firing Line: Cracks that are created during the manufacturing process. This may or may not alter the value of the doll.
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Hairline Crack: Minor crack approximately the thickness of a hair or smaller. Many hairline cracks can only be seen with a loupe or magnifying glass.
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Pepper Marks: Small black specks or dots that were created during the firing process. Usual cause is dirt in the bisque.
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Rubs: A rub or multiple rubs are areas where the original paint has come off or has been rubbed off by use or contact.
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Wig Pull: Exposed bisque where someone removed the hair / wig by pulling and not using a proper solvent.
More to come