The Antique Doll Makers

Heinrich Handwerck

Heinrich Handwerck dolls were produced near Waltershausen, Germany beginning in 1876. They were then bought Kämmer & Reinhardt in 1902, who continued to produce the Handwerck molds until 1932.

The dolls were designed by Handwerck but produced by Simon & Halbig, and were marked by very high quality workmanship which continued under the K & R ownership.

Heinrich Handwerck produced both bisque and composition dolls, but are best known for their porcelain head child dolls and babies usually marked with Hch 11/9 (mold number).

Armand Marseille

Armand Marseille of Sonneberg and Koppelsdorf, Germany was one of the world's largest and best known porcelain doll head manufacturers.

Armand was born in 1856 in St. Petersburg, Russia and immigrated to Germany with his family sometime in 1860.

In 1884 he bought the toy factory of Mathias Lambert in Sonneberg and in 1885 acquired the porcelain factory of Lidbermann & Wegscher in Koppelsdorf . . and his empire in the doll world began.

From 1900-1930 it's reported they produced 1,000 heads a day. They made bisque child, baby, lady & character dolls with kid bodies.

Most of their dolls had glass eyes but some had painted eyes. They made a combination of bisque & composition dolls and dolls with bisque heads with cloth bodies.

They concentrated mainly on the doll heads, buying the doll bodies from other manufacturers and the dolls are usually marked with Made in Germany/AM/Armand Marseille/mold number, antique dolls loved by any collector.

JD Kestner

Johann Daniel Kestner Jr. (JDK) of Waltershausen, Germany began making paper mâché and wood dolls and toys as early as 1820. By 1845 he had a successful doll business going making mainly paper-mache heads on woodenpeg-jointed bodies.Around 1850 he added porcelain heads to his line.

Kestner died in t 1858 and his widow ran the business until his grandson took over and he bought a porcelain factory to make porcelain doll heads.

Kestner was known for all the people he hired and was called "King Kestner". The Kestner company made dolls until 1938...dolls well loved by the collector of today.

Ermst Heubach

Ernst Heubach had a porcelain dollmaking facatory in Koppelsdorf,Germany in which were made bisque doll heads on kid or compsition bodies. Ernst married the daughter of Armand Marseille and became more ensconced in the doll making business. The two companies, Heubach and Marseille, merged in 1919, forming the United Porcelain Factory of Koppelsdorf.