ABJD - Asian ball & socket jointed doll body, modern doll

Adtocolite - light, smooth composition ca.1916

African American Doll versus Black Doll - the preference was that the doll should be referred to as a Black Doll - as all African Americans are not necessarily black, nor are all black dolls depicting Africans.  Just a group of doll collectors opinion.

All Bisque - dolls less than 8" tall made of all bisque material

Alphabet Doll - China head doll with alphabet print fabric body

Animated Doll - doll moves with rotating crank mechanism

Antique Doll - made before 1930, 82 years and older

Applied Ears - ears are separately molded, applied to head

Appropriately Dressed - clothing fits dolls time period & style

Articulated Body - jointed body and limbs for movement

Artist Doll - usually a one of a kind doll, or not mass produced

Automobile dolls - dressed in car driving attire

Autoperipatetikos doll - self propelled walking doll (Greek term)

 

BJD, Ball Jointed Doll Body - ball & socket jointed doll body

Baby Bunting - doll covered in fur prior to WW I

Bald Head - head without a crown opening, see Belton

Bark Dolls - Florida craft doll made and dressed in tree bark

Basia - named doll made to support Polish refugees of WW I

Bass Wood Doll - made of close grain wood

Belton Doll - solid dome head, two or more holes in crown

Bent Limb Body - Baby's body with bent limbs

Biscaloid - durable composition that imitates bisque

Biskoline - similar to celluloid material

Bisque - unglazed tinted porcelain, refers to an Antique doll

Bisquette - durable composition material

Blown Glass Eyes - hollow glass eyes

Bonnet Doll - one piece bisque doll with molded bonnet

Boudoir Doll - ladies bed decoration or sofa accent doll

Breather - open or pierced nostrils

Buckram - stiff cotton or linen fabric

 

Caracul - lamb skin short curly fur for wigs

Celebrity, Personality Doll - resembles a famous person

Celluloid Doll - cellulose nitrate & camphor material

Centimeters to Inches - to convert multiply by .3937

Character Doll - lifelike doll, child or adult

China Doll - glazed porcelain head, partial china limbs

Cloth Doll - made of all cloth, some are called Rag Dolls

Composite - not used by doll collectors, see next entry

Composition - wood pulp & glue doll material

Closed Mouth - closed lips, no mouth opening

Crazing - fine lines on painted surface of composition dolls

Crown - opening on top back of antique doll heads

 

Doll House Dolls - small dolls dressed as family or domestics

Dolly Face - antique child face doll used

 

Embossed Mark - raised letters, numbers, makers symbol

 

Fate Lade - Fortune Telling doll

Feathered Eyebrows - brows painted with many fine strokes

Fixed or Stationary Eyes - eyes that do not sleep

Flag Doll - China head doll with a flag print fabric body

Flange Neck - neck ridge with bottom holes to attach body

Flapper Doll - short bobbed hair, slender limbs, 1920s style

Flirty Eyes - eyes that move side to side

Flocked Hair - short fibers glued to head as hair

Frozen Charlotte, Frozen Charlie - one piece all bisque doll

Fumsup Touchwud - Thumbs Up Touch wood - WW I & WW II good luck charm given to soldiers by their loved ones.

 

Golliwogg - W.O.G.S., Working On Government Service, nickname of 1800s Egyptian natives known as Ghuls

Googly, Goolies, Goo Goo - roguish look to the side eyes

Gusset - sewn triangular insert to allow movement, strength

Gutta Percha - Malaysian gum tree, hard rubber substance

 

HTF - Hard To Find

Hard Plastic - doll material used after 1948

Haunted Doll + a storyline - oy vey, see the L@@K entry

Huminals - figure has both human & animal characteristics

 

Incised Mark - permanent mark impressed into head or body

Intaglio Eyes - eyes inset or cut into head then painted

 

JCB - jointed composition body

Jobber - one who buys, sells doll wholesale

Kachina - Pueblo Indian religious spirit doll

Kapok - ceiba tree seed pod used for stuffing dolls

Kid Body - body made of leather

Labrador Dolls - wood handcrafted dolls by Alaska natives

Lady Doll - female adult doll

Letitia Penn Doll - wooden Georgian type, a gift doll handed from person to person over a long period of time (1730-?), now resides at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

L@@K - an on-line marketing ruse to get worthless item sold

Luster Trim - metallic or pink color applied to glazed porcelain

MC - Mint complete, out of original packaging

MIB - item is Mint in original Box

Mama Doll - 1920s + cloth & composition, crying voice box

Magic Skin - thin rubbery doll material that darkens with age

Mask Face - stiff cover for the front only of dolls face

Modern Doll - a doll made in the last 25 years or so

Mohair - fine goats hair used for glued on doll wigs

Mold Number - impressed, incised number of dolls design

Molded Hair - hair styled into the head mold, often painted

Multi Face Doll - doll has 2 or more faces that rotate

NRFB - Never Removed From Box, not even for it's photo

Nankeen, Nankin, Nanking - commercially made cloth cotton body doll, made in France, Germany and the USA.
 

OOAK Doll - One Of A Kind doll, only one was made

Open Mouth - cut open mouth usually showing inset teeth

Open Closed Mouth - open uncut mouth without teeth

Oriental Dolls - dolls with Asian characteristics

Painted Bisque - paint is not baked into object, can rub off

Paperweight Eyes - blown glass eyes with depth, look real

Papier Mâché - paper pulp, glue, sizing, clay, flour mixture

Parian - fine white bisque without flesh tint

Pate - cardboard, cork, plaster covering of the open crown

Patina - mellow sign of aging

Peddlar Dolls - dressed as a tradesman; Costmonger sells fruits or vegetables, Colporter or Colporteur peddled religious goods, Nanny notions, Tinker sells metal wares etc.

Peppering - tiny black flecks in antique bisque heads

Phonograph Dolls - early talking dolls

Pierced Ears - hole in ear lobe for earrings

Pierced In Ears - hole in ear lobe and goes straight into head

Poppets - wooden handcrafted Kentucky mountain doll

Porcelain Doll - usually refers to a modern collector doll

Portrait Doll - modeled after a real person

Pouty Mouth - closed petulant mouth

Pug Nose - small slight upturned button nose

Rare - over used adjective in on-line auction descriptions, lol

Repo - Repossession, not a good thing, see next below

Repro - Reproduction of an earlier doll mold or model

Resilles - hair net for Spanish comb

Rub - spot where color has worn away

Shoulder Head - head and shoulder all one piece

Shoulder Plate - shoulder portion with socket for head

Sleep Eyes - eyes that open and close when laid down

Slip - liquid clay & water to make porcelain

Socket Head - head with neck that fits shoulder plate or body

Solid Dome - head without a crown opening

Stockinette - soft jersey cloth fabric

Toddler Body - chubby child's body

Topsy Turvy Doll - two dolls in one when turned over

Tuck Comb - wooden doll with carved hair comb decoration

Turned Head - shoulder head with head slightly turned

VHTF - Very Hard To Fine

Vinyl Doll - doll material used after 1950

W.P.A. - Works Progress Administration, artists cloth dolls

Walker Body - head moves side to side when doll walks

Watermelon Mouth - closed smiling mouth in a single line

Wax Over - wax applied over composition, paper mache head

Weighted Eyes - sleep eyes with a metal weight attached