Max Handwerck Dolls German

1915 Max Handwerck Uncle Sam googly bisque head doll

Heinrich Wortmann Jr. and Max Handwerck began their doll making business in 1899, located in Waltershausen, Thüringia, Germany.

Mr. Wortmann left the business in 1902. Max designed the bisque doll heads, however many of them were actually produced by William Goebel thus they may bear the Goebel trademark of a triangle with a half moon and possibly other Ohrdruf doll factories just fifteen miles away.

They are probably best known for their Bébé Elité doll, other registered doll trade names are 1902 Triumph Bébé, 1913 Madame Butterfly and 1922 Handwerck Celebrated doll and Max Handwerck Elite googly eye dolls with molded hats. In 1925 the Max Handwerck company filed for bankruptcy.

1915 Googly eye dolls 12 or 16″ tall marked Elite dolls were not distributed, include markings English Bellhop (E), Austria (O), German (D), Japan (J), Turkey (T), Uncle Sam (US), some dolls have two faces. When found in the early 1980s the bisque heads were then put on bodies and dressed in military uniforms to match the molded hats on the dolls.

ca. 1900+ Max Handwerck Bebe Elite bisque doll head 20" — ca. 1900+ Max Handwerck Bebe Elite bisque doll mold 286 head 20″

ca. 1900+ Max Handwerck doll mold 283 body — ca. 1900+ Max Handwerck doll mold 286 body

Max Handwerck doll mark triangle 1/2 moon Max Handwerck Bebe Elite 286 Germany

1915 Max Handwerck Japanese google bisque head doll mark Elite J

handwerck max elite 0 t googly 2 face austria green hat 9 face — 1915 Max Handwerck Austrian googly doll mark Elite O

1915 Max Handwerck Turkish googly doll face — 1915 Max Handwerck Turkish googly doll mark Elite T

1915 Max Handwerck German googly doll face marked Elite 2 D — 1915 Max Handwerck German googly doll mark Elite D

1915 Max Handwerck English Bellhop googly doll face marked Elite 2 E — 1915 Max Handwerck English Bellhop googly doll mark Elite E

Max Handwerck Doll Mold Numbers Identified

Bébé Elite, Elite, 79, 283, 285, 286, 297, 421

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German Doll Encyclopedia 1800-1939 book in 1985 and German Doll Marks and Identification book in 2001 both by Jurgen and Marianne Cieslik, The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Dolls books, vol. I (1800-1925) in 1968, vol. II (1800-1930) in 1986 by Dorothy S., Elizabeth A. and Evelyn J. Coleman.