doll reference we help you identify your dolls1

Doll collecting is a fun hobby and more so when you can identify your dolls. If your doll is antique, vintage or a modern porcelain doll, in order to buy or sell with confidence, you need to know what you have. To find the worth or value of something – you need to know what it is. The doll reference website provides a resource to identify dolls – just dolls of all eras, made of most materials and doll types.

Dolls are created by humans as a likeness of a human and evolved from ancient doll-like artifacts found in tombs to a child’s plaything or for an adult to collect, have a piece of history. The material a doll is made gives it’s history, which can help to date a doll. Dolls are made around the world representing every culture, skin color, every type of human.

If you have one or many dolls to identify, are a beginning doll collector or experienced – start here to find answers, for Free.

Dolls by Type of Material
Dolls are classified by the material of the head, also helps date the doll.

Bisque head doll

Bisque

Antique bisque head dolls were made in the 1850s by Europeans in . . .  Read More

celluloid doll face

Celluloid

Celluloid dolls are made from cellulose nitrate, alcohol, fillers and camphor . . Read More

ABG doll mold 1262 China shoulder head doll

China Head

Antique China dolls were made by mostly German companies from 1836 . . .  Read More

cloth dolls

Cloth

The history of cloth fabric dolls goes back as far as humans have been making . . .  Read More

composition dolls

Composition

Early composition dolls were made of glue, glycerin, zinc oxide and Japanese wax . . . Read More

Hard Plastic Dolls

Hard Plastic

The first dolls produce of the new plastic material were by the Ideal Toy . . .  Read More

metal head dolls

Metal Dolls

France has the first patent recorded of making a metal doll head in 1861 . . . Read More

papier mache dolls

Paper Mache

Antique papier mâché, carton moulé, carton pâte or holz-masse are all terms . . . Read More

collector porcelain dolls

Porcelain

Porcelain collector dolls were sold beginning in the 1970s to present, they were meant
. . . Read More

rubber dolls

Rubber Dolls

Caoutchouc, India rubber or gum was used for centuries to make dolls or parts of dolls       . .  . Read More

wax dolls

Wax Dolls

Some of the oldest known existing examples of dolls have been found made of wax  . . . Read More

Wood Dolls

Wood Dolls

Wood is a fairly easy material to carve or whittle to create a doll in the form of a human . . . Read More



Dolls By Type of Doll

Some dolls are unmarked and like other dolls or the brand itself becomes it’s own doll category

Forum Board

Ask your question about a doll on our free forum board, add your photo and we’ll try to help.

Doll Glossary

Words or terms explained that pertain to collecting dolls in English to French or German.

The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Dolls books, vol. 1 in 1968, vol. II in1986 by Dorothy S., Elizabeth A. and Evelyn J. Coleman.
German Doll Encyclopedia 1800-1939 book in 1985 by Jurgen and Marianne Cieslik, Collector’s Guide to Dolls of the 1960s and 1970s books, vol. 1 in 2000, vol. II in 2004 by Cindy Sabulis, Hard Plastic Dolls books, vol. I 1946-1959 in 1993, vol. II in 1994 by Polly and Pam Judd and research across the Internet since 1999 by a doll collector for doll collectors.