Max Oscar Arnold – Welsch & Company Dolls German

1909 Max Oscar Arnold phonograph doll 32"
1909 Max Oscar Arnold bisque head phonograph doll 32″

The Max Oscar Arnold Porzellanfabrik (Porcelain Factory) was located in Neustadt, Germany and operated from 1877 to 1931 when they were sold to Philipp Rosenthal. Max Oscar Arnold is best known for their mechanical Talking and Walking phonograph dolls.  About 1909 Arnold began making bisque head phonograph dolls called Arnoldia, that spoke three languages English, French and German.  Each doll had a phonograph inside the body that played records and were advertised to teach children language lessons.

1909 Max Oscar  Arnoldia Doll 32″ tall, bisque socket head on composition and wood body with a phonograph inside, mohair wig, sleep eyes, painted lashes, open mouth with upper teeth, some dolls marked Arnoldia 54 / 14.

Max Oscar Arnold Dolly face dolls 15 – 28″ tall, bisque shoulder head on kid body, wigged, glass eyes, painted lashes, open mouth with upper teeth, dolls marked as shown. 

Some Max Oscar Arnold company doll markings are initials of MOA. Arnold made the bisque heads for Welsh & Company marked with the name Welsh and marked W & C for Wiefel & Company.  After 1917 Arnold bought bisque heads from both Simon & Halbig and Schutzmeister & Quendt. In 1919 the Max Oscar Arnold company purchased the Gebrüder Knoch doll Company.

Max Oscar Arnold Doll Marks Identified

Max Oscar Arnold doll mark Arnola, Arnolia 54
Max Oscar Arnold doll mark Arnola, Arnolia 54

Max Oscar Arnold Doll Mold Numbers Identified

54   130   11510

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Welsch & Company Doll & Toy Factory 1911-1928

ca. 1920 Welsch & Company doll mold 200 dolly face doll 32"
ca. 1920 Welsch & Company doll mold 200 dolly face doll 32″

A brief history of Welsch & Company, it was founded by Ferdinand Welsch and Otto Muhlhauser in 1911 in Sonneberg, Germany. All the bisque head Welsch dolls we have found have the Max Oscar Arnold doll mark MOA and Welsch in the doll mark and are considered Welsch & Company dolls or a Simon & Halbig Welsch doll mark.

In 1917 Welsch & Company became part of Bing Concentra.

ca. 1920 Welsch & Company doll mold 200 dolly face doll 32″, bisque socket head, sleep eyes, open mouth with teeth, dimple in chin, on a composition jointed body, doll mark MOA 200 Made in Germany Welsch.

Welsch & Company Doll Marks Identified

Welsch & Company doll mark MOA 150 Made in Germany Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark MOA 150 Made in Germany Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark MOA 200 Made in Germany Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark MOA 200 Made in Germany Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark MOA 201 Made in Germany Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark MOA 201 Made in Germany Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark MOA 250 Made in Germany Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark MOA 250 Made in Germany Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark Simon & Halbig Welsch
Welsch & Company doll mark Simon & Halbig Welsch

Welsch & Company Doll Mold Numbers Identified

150   200  201   250 

German Doll Encyclopedia 1800-1939 (Arnold) pages 11-12, (Welsch) page 334 in 1984, German Doll Marks and Identification in 2001, books both by Jurgen and Marianne Cieslik, The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Dolls, vol. 1 (Arnold) pages 21-22, (Welsch) page 647 in 1968, vol. 2 (Arnold) pages 46-47, (Welsch) page 1198 in 1986 by Dorothy S., Elizabeth A. and Evelyn J. Coleman.