Hats Off to Bonnet-Heads

Posted Tue , Jun 23th, 2020 at 9:00 am

by Ruby Lane

Dolls with molded hats have been made of many materials through the years and can be a fascinating niche in the world of doll collecting.

The search for dolls exhibiting rarity factors can be an interesting and challenging pursuit for the collector. One special niche which cuts across the various mediums used in doll making of the past two centuries is that of the bonnet-head doll. These dolls are beautiful and often complicated in their design and stand today as tangible records of headwear fashion.

Among the earliest examples today's collector can hope to find are those made of china. Dolls with other characteristics such as pink-tint skin-tones and sloping shoulders arrived in the marketplace of the 1840s. The molded and painted hats on these dolls can range from simple, smooth caps decorated with painting, to elaborately molded bonnet styles.

Bonnet-head styles are a rarity within the genre of china dolls. In addition to her wonderfully detailed headwear this example also has a pink skin-tone. Photo courtesy of Red Dog Dolls.

Two 1840s style chinas wear simple but elegant caps which "tie" under the chin. Doll photos courtesy of Skinner auctions (on left) and Morphy auctions (on right).

Other early examples within this genre include those made by the German paper mache doll makers of the mid-19^th century. The Lowenthal & Comp. of Hamburg began making dolls in 1836 and exhibited their products at the 1844 Trade Exhibition in Berlin. Some of their dolls had features such as glass eyes and glass teeth. A style of paper mache doll with a smooth bonnet coming to a peak on the forehead has been attributed to this maker. Examples have been found wearing the regional costume of the Vierland area located north of Hamburg, Germany.

The 1840s/50s catalogs of the firm of Kestner show a variety of paper mache female and male dolls depicting both adults and children which wear molded headwear.

Paper mache bonnet-head dolls were made from the mid-19^th century on and like china examples are much harder to find than those without molded headwear. The boy at the left is of the type seen in the Kestner catalogs of the 1850s. The glass-eyed doll in the center is attributed to the German firm of Lowenthal & Co and dates to the 1840s, photo courtesy of Skinner auctions. On the left is a 15.5" doll with painted eyes, photo courtesy of Sara Bernstein's Dolls.

Wax-over paper mache dolls of the 1860s – 90s include examples of bonnet-head dolls in a variety of sizes.

Moving through the 19^th century, bisque and so-called parian examples of bonnet-head dolls were made by a variety of makers including Conta & Bohme, Alt, Beck & Gottschalk, Kling, Simon & Halbig, just to name a few. These were made in a broad range of styles and sizes and included dolls with painted eyes and glass eyes.

Fashionable lady dolls of the 1860s on also include bonnet-head examples. The untinted bisque (so-called parian) doll on the left is 14.5" inches tall (photo courtesy of Morphy auctions) while the 6" tall doll on the right would fit nicely into a dollhouse or room-box scene (photo courtesy of Skinner auctions).

From about 1885 to the 1910s Hertwig & Co of Kutzhütte, Thüringia, Germany offered bonnet-head dolls in a series representing International headwear styles. These dolls are often found on their original cloth bodies which have a panel of solid color fabric running the length of the front torso. The internationals included dolls depicting Cuba, Russia, the USA, and Italy among others.

Hertwig & Co of Germany created an extensive line of bonnet-head dolls from the mid-1880s through the 1910s.

Reproductions of bonnet-head dolls have been popular among companies such as Shackman as well as being a favorite with doll-making hobbyists. The doll on the left is an antique Hertwig example while the doll on the right is a reproduction dating to the second half of the 20^th century.

Another series by Hertwig was a line of fanciful dolls wearing molded flowers and butterfly headwear. According the German research team of Jurgen and Marianne Ceislik these dolls referred to as "Margeurites" were made specifically for the American market. US wholesaler/distributers such as Lauer and Butler Brothers included these dolls in their catalog offerings from 1887 into the early years of the 20^th century.

The Hertwig series of fantasy flower and butterfly heads referred to as "Marguerites" are particularly fun to collect. Photos courtesy of McMasters-Harris Appletree auctions.

The American firm of Schoenhut included a doll with molded, painted bonnet from 1912 to 1916. This model # 15/106 was sculpted by their designer of the time, Mr. Leslie and was made in 14", 16" and 19" sizes.

The wooden bonnet-head doll, model 15/106 was made by the Schoenhut company. This model was later reproduced as part of the US Postage Stamp dolls collection. 16" antique example photo courtesy of Alderfer Auctions.

Through the remainder of the 20^th century inexpensive bonnet-head dolls of composition, celluloid, hard plastic, and vinyl could be had from a large number of American, European, and Asian manufacturers and a variety of doll artists of the 1940s onward have enjoyed including dolls with molded headwear in their offerings ensuring that although bonnet-heads are much harder to find than dolls without molded hats they are worth the hunt and add an interesting and exciting dimension to our collections.

Author - Linda Edward

Bibliography

Jurgen and Marianne Cieslik German Doll Encyclopedia. Cumberland: Hobby House Press, 1985

Dorothy S., Elizabeth A., Evelyn J. Coleman The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls Vol. I & II. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1968 & 1986

Carol Corson Schoenhut Dolls. Cumberland: Hobby House Press, 1993

Christiane Grafnitz German Paper-Mache Dolls 1760-1860. Germany: Verlag Puppen & Spielzeug 1994

Mary Gorham Krombholz Identifying German Chinas 1840s – 1930s. Grantsville: Hobby House Press, 2004

Florence Theriault Hertwig & Co. Archives 1890- 1937. Annapolis: Gold Horse Publishing, 2000