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Max Handwerck Antique Bisque Dolls 1899+ German

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 Max Handwerck Uncle Sam googly bisque head

1915 Max Handwerck 12″ tall, Uncle Sam googly eye bisque socket head doll, closed smiling watermelon mouth, composition jointed body

Max Handwerck Bisque Dolls & Marks Identified

ca. 1900+ Max Handwerck Bebe Elite bisque doll head 20"

ca. 1900+ Max Handwerck Bebe Elite 20″ doll mold 286 bisque socket head, sleep eyes, open mouth, composition jointed body, doll mark triangle 1/2 moon Max Handwerck Bebe Elite 286 Germany

ca. 1900+ Max Handwerck doll mold 283 body

ca. 1900+ Max Handwerck Bebe Elite 20″ doll mold 286 bisque socket head, sleep eyes, open mouth, composition jointed body, doll mark triangle 1/2 moon Max Handwerck Bebe Elite 286 Germany

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

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

1915 Max Handwerck Japanese google bisque head doll

1915 Max Handwerck Japanese google bisque head doll mark Elite J, blue and gold molded hat, glass eyes, slight smiling watermelon mouth, composition jointed body

handwerck max elite 0 t googly 2 face austria green hat 9 face

1915 Max Handwerck 12″ tall Austrian googly doll mark Elite O, two face doll, bisque socket head, pale green molded military hat, glass eyes, open/closed mouth, composition jointed body

1915 Max Handwerck Turkish googly doll face

1915 Max Handwerck Turkish googly doll mark Elite T, red molded military hat, bisque socket head, glass eyes, closed slight smiling mouth, composition jointed body

1915 Max Handwerck German googly doll face marked Elite 2 D

1915 Max Handwerck German googly doll mark Elite D, green molded military hat, bisque socket head, glass eyes, closed smiling mouth, composition jointed body

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

1915 Max Handwerck English Bellhop googly doll mark Elite E, blue and white molded bellhop hat, bisque socket head, glass eyes, closed smiling mouth, composition jointed body

The 1915 Max Handwerck googly eye bisque socket head dolls are 12 or 16″ tall and marked Elite along with a letter. When these bisque doll heads were found in the early 1980s, they were put on composition jointed bodies and dressed in each counties military uniform to match the molded hats. The Max Handwerck googly doll marks are; English Bellhop (E),  Austria (O), German (D), Japan (J), Turkey (T), Uncle Sam (US), some heads are multi-faced with two faces.

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, 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 and continued research across the Internet since 1999 which we share with you.

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