While you may not own one of the dolls on this list, the information provided may help shed light on how much to expect for your doll. You can use the information for similar dolls to compare to yours. For instance, you can get a pretty good idea based on where and when it was made, as well as the materials it features. You will also find the market analysis and trends for various doll styles that will be useful in finding out how much your doll is worth.
French Bisque Poupee by Gaultier
Size: 15 inches Marks: 1 FG Date of production: Circa 1880 Characteristics: Bisque, swivel head with bisque shoulder plate and blue glass enamel eyes. Painted features include feathered brows. She wears a brunette mohair wig on a cork pate. Price: Around $1500 at auction. Recent market values put this doll closer to the $2000 to $2,500 range. Comments: Elaborate nine-piece regional outfit of the Morbihan, Brittany region of France. Doll wears a four-bar gold-plated cross. The lace on the coiffe, pantalets, and sous-sleeves is lovely and matches. Doll also has a blue wool apron which is part of the outfit. Market report: French Fashion dolls, especially those in original costumes, continue to trend upward in price.
French Bisque Poupee in Costume of L’Auvergne, France
Size: 14 inches Marks: Doll is unmarked DATE of production: Very early poupee, circa 1865. Characteristics: Doll has a bisque shoulder head and painted facial features. The doll has a hint of a smile. Brunette mohair wig over a cork pate. French kid fashion body with a shapely torso, one-piece arm and legs, and separated fingers. Price: Around $1900 at auction. Comments: Lovely doll is identical to the earliest signed poupee models from Bru. Doll wears an elaborate costume from Puy-de-Dome in L’Auvergne. Outfit includes luxurious fabrics, including silks and velvets. The doll’s shoes are wooden and leather sabots. Doll wears a brass-stamped “Coeur coulant” necklace and carries a woven basket of eggs. Market report: Although painted eye French Fashion dolls tend to sell for less than glass-eye dolls, there are some exceptions. Notably, these are very early dolls such as Huret or others from the early 1860s. An all-original outfit adds to the value of the doll. Another generalization is that French fashion dolls in regional costumes sell for less than those in city or “town” costumes. However, this does not always hold true where luxurious fabrics are used, and outfit construction is of excellent quality.
All-Bisque by Kestner
Size: 6 inches Marks: The doll is marked “1” on the head and torso. Date of production: Circa 1885 Characteristics: Round-faced with swivel head. Torso is very shapely with a waist and defined navel. Arms are modeled in the bent position at elbows, cupped right hand and clasped left hand. Legs are also shapely with defined knees and tiny ankles. Four-strap boots with bows. The doll has glass sleep eyes, feathered brows, painted lashes, accented nostrils, and eye corners. The mouth is closed with an accent line between lips. The wig is original blonde mohair over plaster pate. Price: Around $1,300 at auction. Comments: Exceptional and beautifully modeled and painted doll equal in quality to many larger Kestner dolls. Plaster pates are often found on Kestner all-bisques. Market report: Quality all-bisque antique dolls continue to trend upward in price as collectors realize their fine detailing. Also, the trend towards little dolls of this size continues because collectors often run out of room for the big dolls after a period of collecting.
German All-Bisque Bathing Beauty
Size: 3 inches seatedMarks: NoneDate of production: Circa 1920Characteristics: Doll is a one-piece figure of an adult nude woman. The doll has painted facial features, pink slippers, and a brunette mohair wig. The outfit is all-original and consists of 1930s Turkish harem-style fashion clothing with a green turban and beaded earrings.Price: Doll in perfect condition is around $500 to $700; with two fingers broken on a bent arm (as this doll has), $300 at auction. Some dolls made in a similar style have been found stamped “Bavaria,” and others have accessories such as mirrors and parrots. Dolls holding accessories have higher values.Comments: A beautifully modeled doll, though it’s unusual to find with the original costume.Market report: The glut of doll supply on eBay has caused lesser models of bathing beauty dolls to go down in price. Many examples can be found in the $75 to $200 range. However, more unusual models, especially those with original clothing, fine painting, or unusual modeling, will bring considerably more.
French Bisque Bebe in Costume of Savoie, France
Size: 13 inchesMarks: 13/0 Date of production: Circa 1900Characteristics: A bisque head with blue glass inset eyes. Painted features, including individual lashes. Open mouth with four teeth and a blonde mohair wig over cork pate. The body is French composition and wood fully-jointed.Price: Around $575 at auction.Comments: Beautiful, well-preserved original costume of the region of Savoie, France. Market report: Unmarked French Bebes of average quality have been flat over the past few years. However, original outfits are always desirable.
German Bisque Kestner, Mold 171
Size: 29 inches Marks: L 1/2 Made in Germany; 15 1/2 171 6 (head) Germany (body) Date of production: Circa 1900. Characteristics: Doll has a bisque socket head, blue glass sleep eyes, painted individual upper and lower lashes, and feathered brows. Open mouth with four porcelain teeth. The wig is mohair on a plaster pate. The original body is made of composition and has wooden ball-joints. Price: Around $900 at auction for a doll with all-original wig and body and an antique costume. Comments: Large size doll with lovely bisque. Market report: There is continued collector demand for very large, good quality antique German dolls. Many collectors use these to good effect on display in their doll rooms or other areas of their homes.
French Fashion Doll Attributed to Jumeau
Size: 15 inches Marks: None Date of production: 1875 Characteristics: Swivel head, blue glass paperweight eyes, closed mouth, original mohair wig, and original kid gusset-jointed body. With original chemise, partial original store label, and original shoes. The doll has a fragile antique gown as well. Sturdy body. Price: Around $2,000 at auction; the trend for this doll closer to $3,000. Comments: This doll is a lovely example of a small-sized poupee. Many of these dolls are unmarked, making identification difficult. Wear on limbs of these dolls is common; this doll has an unusually sturdy body (no wires poking through fingers or dirt, etc.). The French fashion dolls had wonderful, complete worlds of outfits and accessories, much like modern fashion dolls. Market report: Although kid-bodied poupees are not the rarest, dolls with very mint, sturdy kid bodies continue to do well in the marketplace.
All-Bisque Kewpie Doll, Designed by Rose O’Neill
Size: 6 1/2 inches (comes in a great variety of sizes) Marks: Sometimes a paper label; this doll is marked “O’Neill” on the bottom of the feet. Date of production: 1912+ Characteristics: Doll is all-bisque. One-piece head/torso legs with arms jointed at shoulders. Painted, side-glancing eyes. Manufactured originally by Borgfeldt, later by Joseph Kallus and by Jesco in the 1980s, plus many other companies. Kewpies are made of many materials. Dolls have small blue “wings.” Price: This doll, approximately $200 to $300 in excellent condition due to size; less for smaller examples. Comments: There are many Kewpie competitors, all-bisques that resemble Kewpies. There are also Kewpie knock-offs made in Japan. Market report: The great thing about Kewpies is that everyone loves them, and nearly every antique doll collector wants at least one in a collection. In spite of being a very common doll, Kewpies are always desirable. Kewpies in action poses or in molded clothing can be worth much more, with rarities in excellent condition bringing several thousand dollars at auction.
German Bisque Dollhouse Dolls: Wedding Party
Size: From 3 3/4 inches to 6 inchesMarks: None in view (clothing is sewn on).Date of production: Circa 1895Characteristics: Dolls are shoulder-heads on cloth bodies with lower arms and legs of unglazed bisque. Groom and children have molded and painted hair. The bride and maid of honor have glass eyes and individually painted eyelashes.Price: Around $625 at auction in 1998. This set today would have several of the dolls sold in the $200+ range individually.Comments: Original costumes are highly valued. Wedding Party includes the bride, groom, maid of honor, flower girl, and ring bearer. Simon and Halbig #1160s are commonly referred to as “Little Women.“Market report: It’s always desirable to find a matched set like this, and bisque dollhouse dolls in original clothing are hot on the market.
Bisque Dollhouse Doll With Molded Hair
Size: 4 inches tallMarks: None.Date of production: 1890s to early 1900s.Characteristics: Doll is bisque with molded hair, usually with a hairband. Head, lower arms, and lower legs are bisque; rest of body cloth. Painted eyes.Price: Around $125 to $165. Comments: These dolls are children for dollhouses; approximately 4 inches compared to the adult dollhouse doll size from this period of about 6 to 7 inches. These miniature dolls are hard to find with original cloth bodies, as the bodies are often very fragile.Market report: These dolls appeal to miniaturists and antique doll collectors alike.
Prize Baby All-Bisque
Size: Doll comes in two dimensions: 5 3/4 inches and 7 inches Marks: 208 on the back of the head; paper label on the chest which says “PRIZE BABY// REG U.S. PAT OFF. //MADE IN GERMANY. Date of production: 1914; manufactured for George Borgfeldt. Characteristics: Chubby all-bisque toddler, glass eyes, painted features, and jointed at shoulders and hips: molded shoes (painted black with amber soles) and molded waffle socks. The doll has an original paper label on the chest. Dolls often have sleep eyes and painted eyelashes. Loop joints; the smaller doll is marked “208 3” inside legs; a larger one is marked “208 4.” Price: Around $200 smaller size; $300 larger size. More for an all-original outfit or original box. Market report: Up (especially those with labels), as collectors enjoy an all-bisque doll with good identifying information, such as the label. Also, these dolls have a chubby appeal and are one of the few early American all-bisques.
Early English Woodens (Maker Unknown)
Size: 14 inches Marks: None Date of production: Circa 1800 Characteristics: Wood dolls with black enamel eyes, original worn finish. PRICE: Around $700 at auction. Comments: Doll’s limbs may not always be original. Dolls were often re-costumed some time ago as outfits are fragile and silk in the back of the female doll is often “melted.” Market report: Generally, dolls in such a battered condition are not desirable, but it is hard to find early wooden dolls in any condition. These dolls in mint condition would be worth many thousands of dollars.
Large China Doll
Size: 28 inchesMarks: None Date of production: Circa 1850 to 1870. This type of China is known as a “flat top.” Flat tops have high foreheads, hair parted in the middle, smooth on top with small curls, and often the cloth bodies have leather extremities.Characteristics: The doll has lovely, well-painted features: cloth body and leather forearms. Hair is arranged in deeply sculpted curls. This is a heavy doll. Hard to believe a child could play with this (or lift it!).Price: Around $600 to $700 in this size.Comments: These types of dolls are commonly called “China heads,” but they are also called “porcelain” dolls. Some of these dolls are marked, but the makers are rarely known. Many are unmarked. Market report: China dolls are hot on the market with earlier and rarer models being the most desirable. Look for unusual hairstyles and hair decorations and fine face painting.
French Bisque Bebe in Man’s Costume of the Northern Coast of Brittany
Size: 19 inchesMarks: “B” (raised) “3” Date of production: Circa 1895Characteristics: Blue glass inset eyes, painted lashes, feathered brows, accented nostrils, open mouth, accented lips, four porcelain teeth, pierced ears, and brunette mohair wig. French composition body jointed at shoulders and hips.Price: Around $850 at auction.Comments: Elaborate, well-preserved costume includes:Black cashmere-wool fitted vest with double-breasted effect, tiny red enamel buttons in gilt.Black cashmere-wool long jacket with small velvet collar and matching buttons.White stiffly starched shirt, blue silk cummerbund, brown plaid woolen trousers, knit stockings, black leather shoes, straw hat with muslin lining, and black velvet edging.A band and streamers with a silver buckle.Market report: French dolls dressed as men are much rarer than dolls dressed as women.
Little Miss Revlon by Ideal
Size: 10 1/2 inches Marks: IDEAL TOY CORP/VT-10 1/2 on the back of the head. Date of production: 1958 to 1960 Characteristics: Doll is vinyl with sleep eyes. All other features painted. The doll is in her original box and a hang tag, in the original outfit. Price: Mint in the box (MIB) in this condition with hang tag, around $200 plus. Comments: This doll has a rare intact “Upswept Bob” hairstyle. The box is marked “Upswept Bob” on the bottom flap. Market report: Average Little Miss Revlon dolls have decreased in value, but there is still an active market for the very mint condition dolls.
Southern Belle by Madame Alexander
Size: 10 inchesDate of production: 1971 to 1973Price: Around $150 (dress washed; hair mussed; missing shoes); $250 to $300 in MIB condition.Comments: #1184 and #1185 are highly sought after Madame Alexander doll.Market report: This doll has declined somewhat in value because it is caught in the general price decline for modern Madame Alexander dolls.
Madame Alexander Tiny Betty
Size: 7 inches Marks: Doll marked “MME ALEXANDER” on the back; Dress tagged “Madame Alexander New York USA” Date of production: 1934 to 1937 Characteristics: Composition; jointed at shoulders, hips, and neck. Dolls often have minor crazing of the composition. Mohair wig. Price: Around $300 with original box and wrist tag; complete original outfit and accessories. Market report: This doll has trended down.
Madame Alexander Cissy in Coral and Leopard Travel Ensemble
Size: 21 inchesDate of production: 1996Characteristics: Limited edition fashion doll; a travel outfit including faux crocodile handbag with gold monogram buckle, suede corset belt, and a gold chain. The doll has a twist waist.Price: Around $350 to $400+ MIB with all accessories; hard to find on online auctions. Comments: 1996 was a very successful first-year re-introduction of the Cissy fashion doll in the 1990s. Clothing is of exceptional quality for this doll. The black spots on the leopard print are known to stain Cissy’s arms.Market report: Many modern Cissy dolls have sold for under their original retail, but this doll is tough to find and has retained value.
Madame Alexander “Maggie Face” Doll
Size: 14 inchesMarks: None on this doll; sometimes “Alex” on the head.Date of production: 1949 to 1956Characteristics: Doll is all hard plastic. Original, tagged outfit. Price: This doll is in mint condition, hair in an original set and all-original costume, so valued around $350 to $450. A similar Maggie, nude, sold for $275 on eBay.Comments: Maggie face dolls came as both walkers and non-walkers (this doll is a non-walker and is probably an earlier example). Market report: Unlike modern Madame Alexander, good vintage Madame Alexander (pre-1970) is starting to trend upward again, price-wise.
Dionne Quintuplets (Set) by Madame Alexander
Size: 8 inches Marks: “ALEXANDER” on the back; “DIONNE/ALEXANDER” on the neck. Clothing also tagged " “Genuine/Dionne Quintuplet Dolls”/All Rights Reserved/Madame Alexander - N.Y.” Date of production: mid-1930s Characteristics: Composition dolls with painted eyes and facial features; painted molded hair. Price: Around $200 to $300 each, if mint; $1,000 to $1,500 for full set mint and all original. In very good condition (missing some of the original outfits; some flaws and crazing), from $100 to $150 each. Comments: Dolls shown have original outfits but are lacking their pins. Market report: The full set of Madame Alexander quints has trended slightly down.
Strung Ginny With Painted Lashes From the “Gadabout” Series
Size: 8 inchesMarks: VOGUE DOLL on backDate of production: 1953Characteristics: Sleep eyes, painted lashes, and strung body. The outfit is complete with black shoes, but the outfit comes with white boots. Clothing tagged “Original Vogue Dolls, Inc.“Price: Around $200 to $300; more—sometimes much more—if the Strung Ginny has a rare outfit or if the doll is very mint.Comments: Commonly, the brows and lashes are faded on this doll. Dolls of this era often have sleep eyes that stick as well. Some dolls have a variation of the hat that is not seen as often. This doll in very mint condition with wrist tag and darker brows sold for $550 at the same auction.Market report: Vintage Ginny dolls are trending even or slightly down, with only Strung Ginnys showing an upward swing in prices. Strung Ginnys have traditionally strung (with elastic) arms, legs, and heads and are not walkers. They always have painted lashes.
Ginny Walker in Tagged Day Dress
Size: 8 inchesMarks: “Ginny/Vogue Dolls Inc/Pat. No. 2687954/Made in the USA” on the back. “Vogue Dolls, Inc.” in blue on the white label of the dress.Date of production: Circa 1957Characteristics: Sleep eyes, molded lashes; walker body (not bent knee). The outfit is tagged, but the number of the outfit is unknown. Outfit includes navy panties, ginny marked shoes, and ginny white socks. Price: Around $150 to $250.Comments: Molded lash walkers generally sell for less than painted lash walkers. Ginny’s are “hot” dolls with collectors.Market report: Vintage Ginnys are trending even or slightly down, with only Strung Ginnys showing an upward swing in prices.
Black Ginny Painted Lash Walker in Kinder Crowd #121
Size: 8 inchesMarks: GINNY/VOGUE DOLLS INC/PAT PEND./MADE IN the USA on the back. Dress label: VOGUE DOLLS, INC./MEDFORD MASS, U.S.A./*REG U.S. PAT. OFF.Date of production: 1954Characteristics: Sleep eyes and painted lashes. Some dolls that are oddly strung may be transitional. The legs are walker legs, but the head and arms are strung. Outfit includes panties that match the dress. Price: Around $1,200 and up at online auctions. Comments: Black Ginnys are very rare and are highly desired by collectors, which is why the doll value is so high. The coloration is completely through the plastic and is not painted on. Very few Black Ginnys were manufactured.Market report: Still rare and desirable, although usually now bringing less than the $2,000 that was common at the height of the Ginny market.
Jill Fashion Doll by Vogue
Size: 10 1/2 inches Marks: JILL/VOGUE DOLLS INC./MADE IN USA/©1957. Also, “Vogue Dolls, Inc.” in blue on the white label of the dress. Date of production: 1957 to 1960 Characteristics: All hard-plastic, bent-knee walker. Sleep eyes. The doll comes in several hair colors. Price: Approximately $150 in an all-original and excellent condition such as this doll. Less for more common outfits and lesser condition; more for desirable evening outfits and very mint dolls. Comments: Jill is Ginny’s “big sister.” She represents a teenager. It is unknown if a hat is original to the outfit. Earrings are heart-shaped and original Jill earrings; doll wears stockings with garters and panty-girdle, plus a bra as well as white sandals. The market is a bit “soft” for Jills, especially as compared to her little sister Ginny. Market report: There is a real lull in the Jill market. Only rare outfits and pristine mint dolls will bring over $200. Basic dolls in leotard//undies can bring under $90, even when in excellent condition.
Brunette Bubble Cut Barbie by Mattel
Size: 11 1/2 inches Marks: First Bubble Cut, 1961: “Barbie/ Pat’s Prend/c MCMLVII/by/Mattel/Inc.” Rest of Bubble Cuts: “Midge T.M. / c 1962/Barbie/c 1958/by/Mattel, Inc.” (this is called a “Midge/Barbie” body). Date of production: 1961 to 1967 Characteristics: Vinyl. First Barbie not to have hair in a ponytail; the hairstyle was considered quite an update of the doll. The doll pictured has a somewhat combed out bubble; a fully mint doll’s bubble will be a little tighter. Doll with her original box, swimsuit, booklet, and shoes. Price: Dolls that need fixing up can net up to $90. Mint doll: $100 to $150. Doll mint in the box: $200 to $300+. Comments: Although this doll appears to have a “side part,” it is only hair styled that way. True “side part” Bubble dolls are quite rare. Other rare and sought-after variations are Brown Hair Bubbles (light brown color) and White Ginger Bubbles (pale blonde hair and pale, almost white lips). Price of outfit: Around $50 to $75 mint and complete. Comments: Titian Bubble Cut dolls are desirable, but not as rare as dolls with brown hair—called “brownettes”—which are quite rare. Market report: There has been a downward trend in the price of average Bubble Cut Barbies, although rarer hair colors (titian, brownettes, white ginger) still do well. Also, truly mint in the box can exceed $300.
Barbie as Dorothy From the Wizard of Oz
Size: 11 1/2 inches Date of production: 2000 Characteristics: Doll wears thick braids and carries Toto, her dog. Also, it comes with a plastic basket. Doll wears red ruby slippers that light up when you press doll down, and the doll says, “There is No Place Like Home” and “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Price: Around $10 to 30. The doll is readily available and is part of a set of five, including Glinda, The Scarecrow, The Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man. The set is a good value for the money. There are also three Kelly and Tommy “Munchkins” available. Comments: This Barbie is from the play or “pink box” line of dolls. There have been two other “Dorothy” Barbie dolls—one from the Hollywood Legends collection which is much rarer than this doll and a porcelain Dorothy. The outfit on the Hollywood Legends Dorothy is much less shiny, and there is a frilly petticoat visible under the gingham dress. The basket in the earlier Dorothy is straw, and this one is plastic. This doll is a cross-over collectible and also collected by Wizard of Oz collectors. Market report: This doll has not increased significantly in value since its release.
