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Kestner bisque head Hilda doll mold 245
Photo
courtesy of Flozdolz |
Kestner King of Doll Makers
Johann Daniel Kestner Jr. (JDK) of
Waltershausen, Thuringia, Germany began making papier mache and wood
dolls and toys as early as 1816. Kestner eventually went on to
employ nearly three quarters of the inhabitants of the Waltershausen region which
earned him the nickname "King Kestner". In 1858 J.D. Kestner passed
away and his grandson Adolf eventually took over the running of
the company, around 1860 Kestner produced wax over papier mache doll
heads, by 1860 they
acquired the Ohrdruf porcelain factory and began to produce the bisque dolls known by collectors today. Kestner
kid leather bodies may have a label;
Celebrate, Excellence, Excelsior, Marvel, Par Excellence or Perfection along with the Kestner crown and
streamer label.
Unique to Kestner are
the doll heads plaster like pates. |
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Kestner supplied
most of the bisque heads used by Catterfelder
Puppenfabrik (Carl Trautmann) doll molds 263, 264,
also some
bisque heads for Roullet et Decamps
walking dolls; Bébé Systême and L'Intrépide Bébé and heads for Fischer,
Naumann & Company. Rheinische Gummi und
Celluloid-Fabrik supplied
Kestner with celluloid heads (doll mold 201) and other doll parts. Kestner
made all bisque Rose O'Neill Kewpie dolls, including the very rare closed eyed
or sleeping eyed Kewpie, the eyes on these Kewpies were intentionally left
unfinished, not painted at the factory, marked on back of head JDK plus other
words.
Kestner
dolls were distributed by Borgfeldt,
Butler Brothers,
Century Doll Company,
Horsman, Macy,
Sears, Siegel Cooper, FAO
Schwartz and possibly others. Some trade names for
JDK Kestner dolls are: Baby Jean doll, Dainty Dorothy doll,
Sally doll, Sammy doll (JDK + size number),
** Daisy
doll mold 171 only the 18" tall size, Hilda doll molds 237, 245,
1070, Max, Moritz dolls, the all bisque Prize Baby
doll mold 208 some labels say Brize Baby, Siegfried doll mold 272.
Antique Kestner Dolls Identified
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 JDK
doll
size 4 - A bisque socket head, closed mouth, glass eyes, feathered
painted eyebrows, ball jointed composition body, wigged.
Doll shown is 12 1/2", marked Made in
Germany 4. Similar dolls can be marked with a letter or head
size number. |
 JDK
doll mold 161 - Unique Dolly face, bisque socket head, glass
eyes, painted feathered or fur eyebrows, open mouth, chubby
cheeks, ball jointed composition body.
Doll shown is 23" tall, marked Made in
Germany JDK 161. |
|
 JDK
doll mold 208 - Character Doll face doll, 10-42" tall, bisque
socket head with plaster dome, feathered eyebrows, painted eyes,
closed mouth, wigged on a ball jointed wood & composition jointed
body. Doll
mold 208 photo courtesy of eBay seller
littlemarz. |
JDK doll mold 215 - Unique Dolly face doll, 10-42" tall, bisque
socket head with plaster dome, feathered eyebrows, glass eyes,
open mouth, wigged on a ball jointed wood & composition jointed
body. Doll
mold 215 shown, is 22" tall. |
|
 JDK
doll mold 237, 245, 1070 - Hilda, character
toddler
doll, 10-30" tall, bisque socket head, composition
body, molded or wigged hair, glass eyes, open mouth with teeth. Doll mold
245 shown, is Hilda.
Photo courtesy of flozdolz. |
JDK doll mold 243, Asian, Oriental Chinese Baby doll, 10 - 20" tall, bisque socket
head, jointed composition baby bent limb body, black short wig, brown glass sleep eyes,
feathered eyebrows, painted upper eyelashes, open/closed mouth with two upper
teeth, came wearing a beautiful silk jacket and pants. |
JDK
doll mold 249 - Dolly face, unique character doll, 10-42" tall, bisque
socket head with plaster dome, feathered painted or fur brows, glass eyes, open mouth,
ball jointed composition body, wigged.
Doll mold 249 shown, is 20" tall, doll mark
Made in Germany JDK 24 |
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|
 JDK
doll mold 255 - Character baby, 10-16" tall, bisque head
with flange neck, cloth body, solid dome with painted hair,
glass eyes.
Doll mold 255 shown, is 16" tall with open crying
mouth, doll marked 255 O.I.C. or marked Siegfried 272. |
JDK
doll mold 260 - Character child doll, 8-42" tall, bisque
socket head with plaster pate, glass or painted eyes, open or
closed mouth, jointed composition body, wigged.
Doll mold 260 shown, is 18" tall with glass eyes and open
mouth. |
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** Kestner doll mold 171,
only the 18" tall size doll was used as the Daisy doll for
a mail in premium magazine subscription, introduced
in 1911 as Lettie Lane's actual doll, from the paper doll series Lettie Lane that ran in
the Ladies Home Journal magazine from 1908 to 1912. Heinrich Handwerck's
Bébé Cosmopolite 18" doll was also used.
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Kestner Alphabet series Doll Mark - Bisque Socket
Head = Size Circumference to Inches
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Kestner doll
mark
a Made in
Germany 4 (size number) = 7" |
Kestner doll
mark
b Made in
Germany 3 = 6" |
Kestner doll
mark
A Made in Germany 5 = 8" |
|
Kestner doll
mark
B Made in Germany 6 = 8 1/2" |
Kestner doll
mark
C Made in Germany 7 = 9" |
Kestner doll
mark
D Made in Germany 8 = 9 1/2" |
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Kestner doll
mark
D 1/2 Made in Germany 8 1/2 = 9 3/4" |
Kestner doll
mark
E Made in Germany 9 = 10" |
Kestner doll
mark
F Made in Germany 10 = 10
1/2" |
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Kestner doll
mark
G Made in Germany 11 = 11" |
Kestner doll
mark
H Made in Germany 12 = 11
1/2" |
Kestner doll
mark
I Made in Germany 13 = 12" |
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Kestner doll
mark
K Made in Germany 14 = 12
1/2" |
Kestner doll
mark
L Made in Germany 15 = 13" |
Kestner doll
mark
M Made in Germany 16 = 13
1/2" |
|
Kestner doll
mark
N Made in Germany 17 = 15" |
Kestner doll
mark
O Made in Germany 18 = 16" |
Kestner doll
mark
P Made in Germany 19 = 17" |
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Kestner doll
mark
P Made in Germany 20 = 28" |
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Kestner Doll Mark
- Bisque Shoulder
Head Size Circumference in Inches
The alphabet letter, plus Made in Germany, plus a
size number
located on the lower back edge
of the shoulder plate run slightly larger
than the above shoulder heads.
Note: Other German doll makers may have used these
same letters or mold numbers too, use our search to locate them.
Kestner dolls may also have a red ink kid body stamp, but
sometimes these are faint or may have rubbed off.
JDK, Kestner Doll Marks
As you can guess from the
length of their history, Kestner used many different doll markings; a
letter only, a size number only, Kestner, initials of J.D.K.,
K & Co., Made in Germany, a mold number, symbol of a crown with
JDK or JD Kestner on the crown rim or on ribbons
trailing beneath, Excelsior (trade name for USA distributed
dolls) or any combination
Additional Kestner Doll Mold Numbers
Kestner
began using mold numbers in 1892, dolls prior were marked with
the size number or a letter only.
Note: other
doll makers may have used some of these mold numbers, put your number in our search box to find
them, too.
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X |
XI |
XII |
11 |
12 |
72 |
103 |
111 |
112 |
120 |
121 |
122 |
123 |
124 |
125 |
126 |
127 |
128 |
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129 |
130 |
160 |
132 |
133 |
134 |
135 |
136 |
137 |
138 |
139 |
140 |
141 |
142 |
143 |
144 |
160 |
146 |
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147 |
148 |
149 |
150 |
151 |
152 |
154 |
155 |
156 |
159 |
160 |
161 |
162 |
163 |
164 |
165 |
166 |
167 |
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168 |
169 |
170 |
171 |
172 |
173 |
174 |
177 |
178 |
179 |
180 |
181 |
182 |
183 |
184 |
185 |
186 |
187 |
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189 |
190 |
192 |
195 |
196 |
199 |
200 |
201 |
203 |
206 |
208 |
210 |
211 |
212 |
214 |
215 |
216 |
218 |
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219 |
220 |
221 |
226 |
234 |
235 |
236 |
237 |
238 |
239 |
240 |
241 |
242 |
243 |
245 |
246 |
247 |
249 |
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250 |
254 |
255 |
257 |
260 |
262 |
263 |
264 |
267 |
272 |
277 |
281 |
282 |
292 |
408 |
409 |
635 |
1045 |
1070
7043 70685 70686 Kestner doll mold
172 is a
Gibson Girl,
doll mold
195 has fur eyebrows patented in 1910, Kestner doll mold
221 is an Googly Eye doll |
