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Marseille Dolly Face doll mold 370, antique bisque shoulder head doll,
20" tall on kid riveted jointed body, sleep eyes, painted brows, painted upper
and lower eye lashes, open mouth teeth. |
Armand Marseille of
Sonneberg and Koppelsdorf, Thuringia, Germany was one of the worlds
largest and best known bisque doll head manufacturers. The founder
was born in 1856 in St. Petersburg, Russia the son of an architect
and immigrated to Germany with his family after
1860. In 1884 he bought the toy factory of Mathias Lambert in
Sonneberg and in 1885 acquired the porcelain factory of Liebermann
& Wegescher in Koppelsdorf . . . and his empire in the doll world
began.
From 1900 to 1930 it's reported
Marseille
produced 1,000 bisque doll heads a day, they made bisque head baby, children, lady and character dolls, on cloth, kid or composition bodies, most with glass eyes, some with painted eyes, with the most commonly found doll molds of 370 (shoulder head
on a cloth or kid body) and 390 (socket head on a composition body). Marseille interestingly did not produce the body of their dolls, but purchased those from other doll manufactures.
In 1919
Ernst Heubach
and Marseilles merged
and formed the United Porcelain Factory of Koppelsdorf (Vereinigte Koppelsdorf
Porzellanfabrik vorm Armand Marseille and Ernst Heubach).
By 1932 the two companies went their separate ways.
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Antique Armand Marseille
Dolls Identified
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ca.
1894+ Marseille Dolly Face doll, 10-42" tall, bisque shoulder head on a kid
leather rivet jointed or cloth
body,
partial composition or bisque lower arms, some with composition or bisque lower
legs too, wigged, glass eyes, some have fur eyebrows, open slight
smiling mouth, dimple on chin. Doll mark Made in Germany AM, Armand
Marseille in the marking with the mold number.
Doll names were: Alma doll,
Bessie doll, Columbia doll (made for CM Bergmann, Darling doll, Duchess
doll, Florodora doll, Lilly doll, Lissy doll, Mabel doll,
Miss Millionaire doll,
My Companion doll, My Dearie doll,
My Lovely Doll, My Playmate doll, My Sweetheart doll, Our Anne doll, Rosebud doll, Daisy Dimple doll or Sunshine doll, Dainty Dorothy doll (all distributed by
Sears, Roebuck & Co -
has a paper label on chest with doll name). The red fluted labeled dolls;
Registered
American Beauty Germany doll, Real Kid doll, 1/2 Cork Stuffed, Cork Stuffed, Kid Body
plus doll mold 246 may also be by Marseille. However, other
doll makers used this mold number too.
Other similar doll molds are: 270, 309, 370, 376,
920, 2015, 3200. Florodora, A 2/0 X M, Made in Germany, DRP.
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Marseille Alma
doll 11" tall,
bisque shoulder head on a kid body.
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ca. 1894+ Marseille Dolly Face doll, 5-42" tall, bisque
shoulder head on a kid or composition body,
wigged, glass eyes, open slight smiling mouth, dimple on chin. Usual doll mark AM DEP Made in Germany in the marking with the mold
number.
Some of the dolls
names are: Baby Betty doll, Baby Florence doll, Beauty doll,
Jubilee Dolls for
Strobel & Wilken, Majestic
doll, Princess doll, Queen Louise doll.
Tiny Tot dolls 5-7 1/2" tall, bisque head,
composition jointed body, white painted legs, molded painted high heel single
strap tan shoes, doll head marked; Germany A 12/0 M, round blue tag with
white letters: Tiny Tot Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Germany. Tiny Tot doll,
all bisque with molded painted hair, 2 1/2", closed mouth, same round blue and
white label on tummy, Tiny Tot Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Germany, incised mark
on back Germany.
Doll shown on
right is a Queen
Louise shoulder head doll, 23" tall.
Other similar
Marseille doll molds are:
95, 1374, 1500, 1890, 1892,
1894, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902,
1903, 1905, 1908, 1909,
3091, 3093, 3095, 3200, 3300, 3500, 3700, 4008
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Marseille Queen Louise doll, 24"
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 Marseille
Dolly Face doll, bisque
socket head doll, various sizes from 10 - 42" tall,
composition jointed body, wigged, glass eyes, open slight smiling mouth. Usually has Made in
Germany Armand Marseille in the marking with mold number.
Doll shown on
left; ca. 1900 Marseille Princess doll, mold 29 with jointed composition body.
Other similar dolls
were named:
Baby Betty, Florodora, Queen Louise, Rosebud.
Other similar
Marseille doll molds are:
29, 384, 390a, 390, 390n, 391,
395, 1894, 1897, 2010, 3600
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Marseille doll mold 390 with
a bisque socket head,
with stick like legs on a jointed composition body. |
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Marseille Character Baby
doll,
usually has Germany A.M. DRGM or DRMR in the marking with the mold
number.
Bisque head, glass
eyes, painted upper and lower eyelashes, feathered eyebrows, open or closed
mouth, wigged, composition jointed body or kid. A named doll is Fany
doll mold 231
wigged,
shown at right or Fany doll mold 230 who has molded, lightly
painted hair no wig. Little Sister is doll mold 326
Other similar Marseille doll molds are:
230, 231, 256, 259, 326, 327, 328, 329,
347, 352, 360a, 750, 760, 790,
900, 927, 971, 980, 984, 985, 990, 991, 992, 996,
1330, 1333,
and Baby Betty doll, Fany
doll.
+ DRGM in
marking.
DRGM = Deutsches Reich Gebrauchs Muster
DRMR = Deutsches Reich Muster Rolle
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Marseille
Fany doll mold 231,
23" tall, shown without her wig.
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Marseille
Infant Baby dolls,
bisque head with a composition bent limb body or flange neck with cloth body,
usually marked with AM Germany + a mold number, the bisque doll heads
with a composition jointed body have a K at the end of the marking.
Mold numbers and names:
My Dream Baby doll molds 341, 341K, 341ka, 342, 351, 351k
and Our Pet doll, Kiddiejoy doll or Kiddie Joy.
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Marseille Our Pet doll, 8 1/2"
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Marseille My Dream
Baby doll, 8-22" tall, bisque head, lightly painted
hair, painted or sleep eyes, doll mold 341 has a closed mouth, cloth body with bisque or composition hands
or composition jointed body, came
as either a white
doll or black doll. Doll face shown is a flange bisque head with painted
eyes on a cloth body. |
Marseille My Dream
Baby 15" closed mouth doll mold 341 |
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Marseille My Dream
Baby doll, 8-22" tall, bisque head, lightly painted
hair, painted or sleep eyes, doll mold 351 has an
open mouth with two upper teeth, cloth body with bisque or composition hands
or composition jointed body, came
as either a white
doll or black doll. Doll face shown is a socket bisque head with sleep
eyes on a composition jointed body. |
 Marseille My Dream
Baby 22" open mouth with two upper teeth doll mold 351 |
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Marseille Named Character
Baby dolls, bisque head flange neck or socket head, cloth body
with composition or bisque hands or all composition jointed body, most with
bent baby type legs.
Other named dolls are: Melitta
doll
for Edmund Edelmann,
doll mark Ellar
and doll mold 253, 353, 353k, are Oriental baby dolls, Baby
Phyllis doll, Baby Gloria doll and Kiddiejoy doll, Kiddie Joy doll for Hitz, Jacobs
& Kassler.
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Marseille Ellar marking, Oriental Baby doll, 11"
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Marseille Baby Gloria doll, 16" tall,
bisque flange head (also came with a rubber head), cloth body, bisque or
composition hands, molded painted hair, open mouth, clothing shown may not be
original, Baby Gloria's name is part of the marking.
Baby Gloria was distributed by Roth, Baitz & Lipsitz,
then after 1929 by the Maxine Doll Company. |
Marseille Baby Gloria bisque doll head
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Marseille Baby Phyllis doll mold 240, bisque shoulder head, cloth body, partial
bisque or composition hands, bent baby or straight legs.
Baby Phyllis doll shown
is 11" tall and has her name in the doll marking. A. Bye-Lo Baby type.
Baby Phyllis was sold by Baby Phyllis Doll Company, then Bouton-Woolf.
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Baby Phyllis doll,
11"
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ca. 1920 Marseille Googly Eye dolls,
bisque head
with glass side glancing googly eyes, closed
smiling mouth,
jointed composition or papier mache toddler body, some with
painted socks an shoes.
Doll shown on right; Marseille Nobbikid doll mold 253,
sold by George Borgfeldt, has blue side glancing googly eyes with painted
upper and lower lashes, single stroke eyebrows, closed smiling mouth, jointed
composition toddler body.
Other Armand Marseille Googly eye doll molds
are: 200, 210, 210e, 240, 241, 252, 253, 254, 257,
258, 310, 323, 324, 325. Note: these Googly doll mold numbers
are not exclusive to Marseille, other doll manufacturers may
have also used them as well. |
Marseille Nobbi Kid doll mold 253,
googly eye doll, 10" |
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ca. 1925 Marseille Just Me
doll, Character doll, sized 7 1/2" - 13" tall, bisque socket head,
side glancing sleep eyes, painted lashes, feathered brows, closed bow
mouth, jointed composition body, doll mold 310 or
318.
The Just Me dolls were
first sold by George Borgfeldt, later
by the Vogue Doll Company, too. |
Marseille Just
Me doll mold 310, 12" tall |
Some Armand Marseille Doll Marks Identified
Armand Marseille doll markings vary, but most have A.
M. in them plus a doll mold number, a size number, Germany,
symbols of an
upside down horseshoe, an anchor, another doll makers name, plus many others.
More Armand Marseille identifying doll mold numbers
93, 95, 101,
121,
189, 200, 205, 210, 210e, 223, 225, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 240, 241, 242, 244, 246, 248, 250, 251,
252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260, 266, 270, 273, 276, 300, 309, 310, 314,
318, 320, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 333, 340, 341, 341K, 341Ka,
342, 345, 347, 350, 351, 351K, 352, 353, 353K, 354, 356, 360a, 362, 363, 369,
370, 371, 372, 375, 376, 377, 378, 382, 384, 390, 390n, 391, 395, 396, 398, 399, 400, 401, 406, 410, 411, 414, 449,
450, 451, 452, 452H, 453, 454, 458, 500, 504, 505, 510, 513, 515, 516, 518, 519, 520, 540, 541, 542, 550, 550a, 551,
551K, 560, 560a, 580, 570, 580, 590, 599, 600, 620, 621, 630, 640a, 640b, 670,
696, 700, 701, 710,
711, 750, 760, 790, 800, 810, 820, 900, 920, 927, 950, 951, 957, 966, 970, 971, 971a, 972, 973, 975,
980, 982, 984, 985, 990, 991, 992, 993, 995, 996, 997,
1321, 1330, 1333, 1353, 1361, 1369, 1370, 1374, 1376, 1500, 1776, 1890, 1892, 1893,
1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1905, 1909, 2000,
2010, 2015, 2542, 2966, 3066, 3091, 3093, 3200, 3300, 3500, 3600, 3700, 4008, 5990,
201013, CAMA.
Note: doll mold 800 and 201013 have a talking device
activated by a lever in the doll head, doll
mold 452 is a wigged Shirley Temple type, doll mold 452H is a
molded hair Shirley Temple type doll.
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Marseille doll mark M.H. 200
is found on a small Indian doll, thus we assume was also made by
Marseille for the unknown client or another doll maker |
Marseille doll mark Germany
M.H. A 300 M 12/0X. is found on a 9" lady doll
that was made for an
unknown client or another doll maker with the initials of M. H. |
Armand
Marseille supplied bisque doll heads to other doll makers German and
USA
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