Does anyone recognize these older dolls?

A question for all past and present doll moms: Who recognizes these dolls?

An 80-year-old friend gave me these little treasures so I could pass them on to someone who’ll take good care of them. However, we only know the exact name of one of them. Maybe you recognize these dolls and can help me out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything online.

So here, I’ll just show you my new (foster) doll children.

First up is this one—this is Strampelchen, a Schildkröt doll that’s about 45 cm tall.




I don’t recognize any of the following dolls, and I haven’t been able to find out anywhere what they might be. They all date from the 1950s to the 1960s and have no brand name on their bodies.

Here’s a very old doll with pretty clothes in excellent condition—she’s only ever sat on the couch (45 cm tall). The body is made entirely of fabric, firmly stuffed, but very flexible all over. The face is painted on. It’s kind of a real work of art.




And here’s a baby doll, clearly a boy, who can wet his pants. He’s 40 cm tall.




And then I have two more tiny dolls—16 and 13 cm tall. They’re filled with something heavy, covered in fabric, and the head is made of a firm material that resembles porcelain. The face is painted on. Size-wise, they could fit in a larger dollhouse.




Now I’m curious to see if any of you can identify them—and perhaps even estimate their age.

Tip: If you click on the pictures, they’ll get bigger.

the boy is from the ’80s, because one of my daughters had one too—I think it was a Mattel doll. My oldest daughter once received a Schildkröt baby doll from my grandma—that is, her great-grandma—so that’s at least from the ’50s or ’60s. I had one like that too, but my brothers had that on their conscience. They used to have a blast taking my dolls, painting them with glow-in-the-dark paint, and then hanging them under my bedroom lamp as a ghost—oh, let me tell you, there was a lot of screaming.
The doll with the beautiful hair is probably even older—I’d guess from the ’30s; and I suspect the little ones are from America, because faces like that were hardly ever seen here, if at all.

Love, Inge

Thank you, dear Inge. You’ve already given me some valuable clues. So I already know that the “boy” is from the ’80s. That fits pretty well.

Yes, the doll with the beautiful hair—the one that’s somehow special—could actually be that old, because my 80-year-old friend’s mother used to have her sitting on the couch. Nobody ever played with her.

Well, you had some mean brothers. That would have creeped me out, too.

Monika, you’ve got a lovely new addition—now you can keep knitting new clothes for them.

Unfortunately, I don’t know what your dolls are called.
I do have two similar ones, though

No, no, Marion, I’m not going to dress them. They’re just staying with me temporarily because they’re looking for a new home. Which of them are similar to yours?

Oh Monika, you’ve got some wonderful doll treasures there. I know they’ll be leaving you again.
Unfortunately, I can’t help you with that either. But this little boy pee-pee doll, I’d say, looks a lot like my Susi. She could really be from the late ’70s/’80s.
I still have my little doll from that time.
I’ve been meaning to show her to you for a long time, but unfortunately she still can’t present herself dressed.

Well, I hope your little treasures find a loving home.

Dear Monika,
your dolls look absolutely adorable.
I know the first doll from my mom — it's a Schildkröt doll. At least hers looked like that.
The second one just made me think of Käthe Kruse, but I'm probably mistaken.
Hmm, the third doll — that's like my Karlie, because I got a little boy like that when I started school in 1973. They called them "pee dolls" because he can "pee." He's from the Sonni doll factory in Sonneberg. Maybe I'll remember to take a photo tomorrow — my mom made clothes for him, and he ended up with her. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the two little dolls.
Best wishes, Ines

I’d also guess that the “fabric” doll is by Käthe Kruse.

Monika, this one really is from the late ’70s. It belonged to my daughter, who was born in ’74. It looks a lot like the boy doll. 


Then I have this one too. It belonged to my mother-in-law and must be from the ’80s. It sat in the old doll pram you know. Just like yours, it’s made entirely of fabric and stuffed. It’s flexible, and the face is painted on too.

Marion, the one with the braids could be a Zapfpuppe, because my daughter had to sew doll bodies like these in the tailoring workshop where she trained; the girls were also given a doll like this every year for Christmas

Best regards, Inge

Andrea, why don’t you show us your doll, whether she’s wearing fancy clothes or not.

Ines, it would be great if you could send a photo of your Karli sometime. He’s definitely very cute.

Marion, your first doll actually looks a lot like my boy, at least in terms of how it’s made. He does have a certain “feature,” though—you know what I mean…
The fabric doll really does look a lot like mine. Exactly the same style. Does yours have a marking somewhere that says what brand it is?

Yes, I immediately thought of a Käthe Kruse too, because it’s made in exactly the same way. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t have a marking, and an original would have to have one. It’s definitely pretty old. What makes it special are the fingers and how flexible it is. The clothes are also from back in the day.

So, that made me think of it right away, and now I’m showing you my Karlie... the wetting doll from Sonneberg

Dear Mowi,

the pretty cloth doll is a Swiss cloth doll (you can google it). The body is sewn from fabric and stuffed.  Optionally with bendable inserts for the arms and legs.  The fabric for the head was surely stretched over a plastic mask with a Styrofoam back of the head, and the face was painted by hand.   I myself made quite a lot of them back when craft materials for them were still available to buy. (among others from VBS mail order).  The manufacturing companies included, for example, Glorex and Prandell.   A wig matching the head size was glued on, which was also available in a wide variety.  The sale of the pattern books and materials probably started in the mid/late 70s and lasted—I know this—until the early/mid 90s.  After that there were other trends, and the Waldorf-style cuddly dolls, which children can play with much better, became more and more popular.  Swiss cloth dolls require quite a bit of time and skill, not only for the sewing but also for painting the face (though there were also already painted faces available to buy), and they cost quite a bit of money.  The craft stores then sold off their remaining stock.  I myself still have quite a lot of material, but it is no longer available in stores. 

In any case, this doll has absolutely nothing to do with Käthe Kruse!

Best wishes,
Xenia

Wow—Xenia, thank you so much for this valuable tip. I’ve now found its “siblings.” Your description actually matches this doll, because the wig is glued on. The arms and legs are completely flexible. And as I’ve now learned, the purchase may have taken place around the 1970s. That brings me a big step closer.

I imagine it would be quite difficult to make this doll yourself. It requires a lot of dexterity and patience. Just the little fingers alone...

Ines, your doll looks very similar to mine. However, the finger position is slightly different. On mine, the left hand is completely closed, like a baby’s. She also seems to be a bit chubbier.

Dear doll moms

Then I’ll show you my Susi too.
The little jacket is still from my children’s going-out set. The hat is from another crochet doll (it came with her). My mom knitted the sweater back then, and the knitted undies are still from my late great-grandmother.
Please don’t be surprised that my doll no longer has fingernails on her right hand. I cut them off when I was a kid, thinking they’d grow back. Fat chance.

Here she is



She’s 50 years old now

Wow, Andrea, what a little treasure your Susi really is. She’s held up really well at 50 years old. And you were seriously going to keep her from us?? And the knitted clothes she’s wearing, too. Those are totally rare as well. Yeah, as kids we treated them like little people. Back then, I ruined my teddy bear by “cutting his hair.” Of course, it didn’t grow back.

my doll is a full 52 cm tall and has sleep eyes. So when you lay her down, her eyes close.
This one has a hollow body made of lightweight material. The arms and legs (which are sturdier than the head) can only be moved up and down. You can comb her hair.

As a child, my dolls always had to have real hair so I could style it.
My mom also had a Käthe Kruse doll. I have no idea where it ended up.

Have fun with your precious little dolls!

Andrea, 52 cm is already quite tall. My boy is only 40 cm and is quite heavy. He can also sleep.