Types of Collectible Dolls

Cloth Dolls

• These are collectible dolls made completely out of cloth with soft features. Cloth dolls typically exhibit flat faces with features painted by hand, handmade clothing, and wigs made of yarn. Examples of cloth dolls include worry dolls and the classic Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.

Bisque and Porcelain Dolls

• Bisque dolls are unglazed, tinted porcelain dolls. Dolls made from porcelain and bisque are difficult to tell apart because they often take similar styles and forms. These are elegant dolls that typically wear elaborate, handmade dresses and costumes. Bisque and porcelain dolls were sometimes completely made from porcelain or bisque, while others feature porcelain or bisque heads on soft cloth bodies.

Hard Plastic Dolls

• Hard plastic dolls are primarily from the 1940s and 1950s and are made from hard plastic that is painted in flesh tones. These dolls tend to have features that are sharper and more defined in comparison to dolls from earlier eras. These dolls are generally constructed from six pieces, the head, torso, two arms and two legs, that fit together so that some movement is possible, but the dolls normally stand upright.

Vinyl Dolls

• These are modern dolls made either completely from vinyl or from a combination of hard plastic and vinyl. Examples of vinyl dolls include baby dolls, American Girl dolls, Barbie dolls, Bratz dolls, and Troll dolls. These dolls are softer than porcelain or hard plastic dolls, but still offer sturdy construction that is durable.

Wood Dolls

• Ethnic dolls are the most common type of wooden dolls, such as matryoshka dolls, or Russian nesting dolls, kachina dolls, and wooden puppets such as Pinocchio. Marionette puppets are an example of wooden dolls that have joints allowing all the limbs to move on strings. Many wooden dolls have come from primitive cultures as highly-carved folk art pieces made from fine woods such as linden or basswood.