The reliability of Kestner quality continues to be a comfort to antique doll collectors across the globe, or wherever one of the multitudes of examples has found its most recent home.  This superb, 19" closed mouth girl, only incised with the number “13”, is no exception, with her warm brown glass eyes, multi-stroke brows and perfectly painted lashes, closed mouth with richly stained lips, pale, even bisque and soft shading. 

 One face features a red molded bisque hat with the Turkish insignia decoration on the front, and molded, short black hair peaking out from the sides.  The reverse face has the gray molded bisque cap that represents Austria, and molded, short blond hair on the sides.  From both sides you can see the molded and shaded ears shared by the two faces.  The body is a fully jointed, German composition body that is stamped with the red ink, Holzmasse mark, on the upper right rear shoulder. 

In 1908, doll artist Marion Klautz displayed her exquisite creations at the Leipzig Fair in Germany.  It was a time of art reform and these dolls answered the calling for a lifelike expression of creativity in a doll business that dealt generally in very stylized, idealistic faces.  This is called the Munich Art Doll, is 19" tall, and has a head of thick, pressed composition with painted intaglio eyes, closed mouth with full lips, textured, gently colored  complexion and peaceful human presence.  The auburn mohair wig is styled in two side buns with center parting, and the head is on the traditional, fully jointed composition body that you would have found on most German bisque head dolls of the same time.   

This delightful and rarer Louis Amberg shoulder head 21" girl, with head made by Armand Marseilles, is called “Baby Peggy” and has the mold number 982.  Although not an expensive doll, she carries plenty of character and pleasant personality, that she stands out from the multitude of dolly faces that were made during her period of production.  She has brown glass sleep eyes, a healthy face and cheeks, and a peach colored open/closed mouth with nice full lips, top and bottom. 

Being one of the most beloved Heubach characters, the Coquette mold 7850 can cheer up any collection with her side-glancing, cheerful face and smile.  Her head is made of molded bisque and features either a pink or blue ribbon painted around the head, then finishing on the side of the head with a big molded bow.  This girl has the blue bow that adorns her blond, molded curls and she has a wide smile with molded teeth peeking out from between her lips.  Her body is fully jointed wood and composition  with straight wrists and she wears an antique, white eyelet dress with turquoise ribbon sash, matching her hair bow, and the color is continued with her vintage, leatherette turquoise shoes.  12" Tall.

The 182 is on a fully jointed Kestner composition body and it wears it's original factory chemise, and all of the heads have their original mohair wigs and are contained in their separate compartments of the original display box.  The outside of the box is covered with textured  red paper and has the Kestner factory label on one end.  The box was wear and part of the lid is missing on one side.                                     From the Sherryl Shirran Collection.