March/April 2006

By Jan Foulke

NANCY ANN DOLLS

Q: I’ve kept 14 little dolls since I was a child. They are all perfect with little gold tags on their wrists. They are about 5 inches tall. The arms move, but the legs are solid. The tags say “Storybook Dolls by Nancy Ann” on one side and the name of the specific doll on the other side. The dolls are all in white boxes with pink polka dots and a name label. Could you tell me anything about them? Do they have any value?

A: Your cute little Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls were made by Nancy Ann Abbott in San Francisco, Calif. Her forte was costuming, as you can readily see when you look over a group of her dolls, and that’s how she got started. At first she simply dressed dolls for fun, but by 1937, she was in business with the Nancy Ann Dressed Dolls Corp. Her dolls were a great hit and were shipped worldwide. By 1950, she was making and dressing 2 million dolls per year. Her Storybook Dolls are probably the most widely recognized of her line, but she also made an 8-inch hard plastic doll called Muffie that had a voluminous wardrobe and a beautiful 18-inch hard plastic doll called Style Show that was dressed in elaborate and lovely gowns and hats. Today, vintage Nancy Ann Dolls are extremely popular with collectors. Your bisque Storybook Dolls with the stiff legs (collectors refer to these as “frozen legs”) date from the mid 1940s. Earlier dolls had jointed hips, which bring a higher price because there are fewer of them. By the mid 1940s, the firm was in heavy production, so there are more of the frozen-leg model available.

Your pictured doll is #182 Wednesday’s Child. Nancy Ann often created a series of dolls, such as Days of the Week, Months of the Year, Sports, or Family. These Days and Months series were very popular and are the commonly found ones today. Nancy Ann redesigned the costumes often, and some models had 10 or more costume variations. Storybook Dolls with frozen legs in mint condition with original wrist tags and boxes currently sell in the $55 to $75 range. That is the price a collector would expect to pay.

If you would like to know more about Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls, consult the book of that title by Elaine Pardee and Jackie Robertson. You can also read an article in last month’s Doll Reader to learn about what happened to the company. I hope that you have a grandchild who would appreciate inheriting your dolls. If not, you will have no problem finding a buyer for such fine examples.

ARMAND MARSEILLE DOLL

Q: My aunt recently gave me this doll that belonged to my grandmother. She was made by Armand Marseille. I had to have her restrung, and I bought her a new wig. I made her a new gown out of antique material. I used one of my grandmother’s doilies to decorate the bodice of her dress. I would appreciate knowing more about her and her value.

A: You are really fortunate to have inherited a family doll, and I’m happy that you truly appreciate her. The Armand Marseille factories in Koppelsdorf, Thuringia, Germany, were the largest manufacturers of bisque doll heads in the world from 1900 until about 1938. Probably the first bisque doll that most collectors see is one produced by that famous and prolific factory. Since he owned both a doll factory and a porcelain factory, Marseille was one of the few German producers who made complete dolls. He also sold bisque heads and bisque parts to a large number of smaller doll factories and jobbers or assemblers for use on their own bodies. Some factories purchased standard A.M. models, but others had special heads made from their own molds with their own trademarks.

Since the Marseille factory had such a large output, quality became a problem, especially with the smaller, less-expensive dolls, as the buyers wanted cheaper product. That is why some collectors eschew Marseille dolls. However, Marseille made a lot of very beautiful, very good quality heads as well. Your doll has a lovely face and appears to be of very good quality. Since you didn’t give me her height or mold number, I’m assuming she’s about 24 inches tall and mold number 390.

It’s good that you used vintage fabric in making her dress. She is a little child of about 1900, though, so her dress should be shorter, below her knee, but not full length. In rewigging an antique doll, you should use materials that would have been used when the doll was first made – mohair or human hair. The sheen on the wig looks as though it might be synthetic, and that does not have a natural look on an antique doll. As to value, if her head is perfect with no cracks, chips, or repairs, I would appraise her on today’s market at $225, because she has no original wig or clothes. She might be valued higher if she’s larger, lower if she’s smaller. Thank you for sharing her with us.

PARIAN DOLL HEAD

Q: This doll came from my husband’s family. No one is sure whether it belonged to his grandmother or great-grandmother. She is 12 inches tall. Her head is china, incised with a “10” on the back shoulder. She has blonde painted curls with three molded ribbon bands of different widths on the back of her head. Her body is cloth filled with sawdust, I think, with wood lower arms and legs. Her legs have painted red shoes and bows at her knees. Can you tell me anything about her?

A: Another family heirloom! You are certainly fortunate to have inherited such a lovely doll. This type of head was made in Germany and dates to about 1875. Collectors refer to this material as parian, a fine white porcelain bisque with no complexion color and no glaze. China is porcelain with a shiny glaze. Parian heads were produced in a wide variety of models. Doll researchers are working on trying to identify the porcelain factories that produced specific parian heads. We know some of the names of the makers but are not sure which heads were produced by which factory. Parian doll heads were produced by Alt, Beck & Gottschalck; Dornheim, Koch & Fischer; Hertel, Schwab & Co.; Dressel Kister & Co.; Kling & Co.; and others.

Your parian head doll certainly appears to be antique, but I cannot be sure simply from looking at a photo; you should take it to a doll expert to have the age verified. If there are no doll shows in your area, consult the Web site of the National Antique Doll Dealers Association (www.nadda.org) to see if one of their members is near you.

Parian dolls are popular models for reproductions, and even though your doll may have belonged to your grandmother or great-grandmother, that’s no guarantee that it’s an antique. The lady in question could have obtained the doll in her old age. This situation comes up often when we’re asked to look at dolls that belonged to grandma. If indeed the doll is antique, which she appears to be, her value on today’s doll market would be in the $400 range if her head is perfect with no cracks, chips, or repairs. Please do have her authenticated.