She has a soft body that appears to be filled with crushed cork and she has hard limbs and head made from an unknown material. She has sleep eyes, her head appears to be glued to the body fabric, her arms are attached together via metal, and her legs are also attached via metal. She is approximately 20" tall and in need of a lot of TLC.
Any information would be great. Thanks.
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The doll's body parts are composition material. Giving a doll a fabric torso was made for weight reduction that a full body composition doll would have. This makes it easy for a child to carry and hold while playing with the doll and given the name of "mama dolls" even though manufacturers gave their dolls a new name. The composition doll came to existence in 1900s and ended sometime in the 1950s as a more durable and lightweight material was introduced.
Do you have any markings: number or name on the composition body parts which can be found on back of neck, head or bottom of foot. Oftentimes, doll parts were switched with other doll manufacturers and identification of original clothing on the doll helps determine the maker's name. I was not able to learn when cork filling was used in a cloth body; perhaps the owner bought a doll kit and used an on hand ready filler or it came from another country. Notice the hands on your doll. You can find other dolls with the same hands, but painted nails and flesh coloring must match up with the particular manufacturer. The shape of the one piece shoulder/head came in lots of forms; some rounded, with-w/o a shoulder.
You might determine a closer time frame by learning when: open/shut eyes were used
lifelike eyelashes replaced the painted ones
when wigs were used on composition doll heads
Wow! Very cool! I am thinking she is a "marriage" doll as the arms are not in proportion to the body or head. The body also looks like it may not be correct either. I am going to do some digging on the head. When you ping the head does it make a dull sound? I am thinking the head may be a sawdust, composition mix. Trying to figure out how to describe the sound that would make...like a dull thunk.
Let me know! Will post back with more hopefully soon.
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