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Glossary of Doll Terminology
Terminology specific to doll type:
Antique:
Although opinions may vary, most experts feel that all dolls made prior to the 1930s are considered to be antique. The exception to this ruleuse to be the "composition dolls," but this is slowly changing and many collectors now accept pre-1930 compositions as antique as well.
Collectible:
While the word collectible can refer to many different things, in the Doll world a collectible is a doll that was made over 25 years ago butless than 75 years ago. Current dolls, made within the last 25 years, are considered to be "modern" and, as we discussed in antiques, anything pre-1930is deemed to be an antique. This is not a hard, fast rule, as we all think of our dolls as "collectible," but primarily the above rule applications are used.
Contemporary:
Any dolls that are currently in production are considered to be contemporary.
Modern:
As mentioned in the above Collectible definition, dolls made within the last 25 years are considered to be modern.
Edition Terminology:
Artist Doll:
Artist Doll's are very appealing as this term indicates the dollmay be a one-of-a-kind creation or is limited to a very small edition.
Artist's Edition:
Once a creation is born, if the artist chooses to duplicate that creation themselves say, for example, ten to twenty times, it then becomes an Artist's Edition.
Artist's Limited Edition:
Whenever an artist has assistance in the construction phase of their dolls -- as in molding, painting, or costuming -- but still maintains control over the creative design as well as doing the bulk of the work, this then falls into the Artist's Limited Edition category.
Artists Signature Edition:
When an artist takes their original design and uses a mold of that concept to make more of the very same doll, all created by the artist themselves, this becomes an Artist's Signature Edition. These Editions are usually limited to small numbers and, more often than not, are completely started and finished by the artist alone. These dolls normally carry a mark indicating their name, number in the series, as well as a date, and are accompanied by the artist's signature as well.
Limited Edition:
Often you will see a doll being touted as a Limited Edition. What this means is that the original doll design has been used to create a mold and identical dolls are being created. They are often set in a predetermined number and once that number of creation has been reached the molds are generally broken in order to guarantee that the limited edition has been met and will not be created again.
Limited Production:
Dolls that are produced only during a specific period or amount of time, or when the total quantity is limited to a specific quantity, are considered to be Limited Productions.
Manufactured Limited Edition:
These types of dolls are generally advertised with a predetermined number like the dolls mentioned above but, once that particular style has run it's course, although the costumes themselves will never be repeated, the actual doll form itself is often used in many other editions.
Mass Produced:
This is pretty self explanatory. Dolls that are generated in very high quantity, with no apparent limitation, are considered to be mass produced. These are the dolls that you often find selling cheaply on the toy markets.
One-of-a-kind:
Just like it says, a creation that has been made once, is the only original and will never be crafted or produced again in any other means is a one-of-a-kind creation.
Open Edition:
Unlike Limited Editions, there has been no number in a series that will constitute the end of an Open Edition series. The production limit can continue on for an undetermined amount of time, thus giving it an open ended run.
Reproduction:
The exact opposite of a one-of-a-kind, a reproduction is when a mold is made from an existing doll thus allowing that doll to be recreated again.
What dolls are made of:
Armature:
An armature is the skeleton made from metals or wood that supports the material from which the dolls body is made.
Bisque:
Bisque, as was often used in the popular dollhouse dolls of the early 1900s, is a form of colored porcelain that is unglazed and tinted before it is fired.
Celluloid:
Back in the earlier years of doll making, many dolls were made from celluloid. Celluloid proved to be a very lightweight material, although the surface was hard and firm to the touch. Celluloid did have one major drawback, however, as it was also highly flammable.
Flange Neck:
A flange neck, or the "cup and saucer" joint as it is occasionally called, is when the bottom of the dolls head piece and the top of the doll's shoulder piece fit together on a flat surface. This is most commonly found on cloth bodied dolls with a rim around the neck.
Flirty eyes:
If your doll has eyes that can move from side to side, it is said to have flirty eyes.
Googly eyes:
Sounds fun, huh? A doll with googly eyes has eyes that look to the side and are bigger in proportion than the rest of the facial features.
Injection Molded Vinyl:
Many of the softer, plastic dolls are produced by forcing the vinyl of their creation into a mold via some type of mechanical means. This is Injection Molded Vinyl.
Intaglio eyes:
Intaglio is a design that's cut into stone or other material, or etched or engraved in a metal plate, producing a concave effect that is the reverse of your standard cameo. When this process is applied in doll's eyes, they are painted and have concave pupils and irises.
Kid:
Kid leather was often used in the construction of antique dolls. Made from the skin of a goat, this kid leather was used in creating the older dolls bodies.
Needlesculpture:
Most often while using a nylon stocking base, this form of creation is named after the use of a needle and thread in the forming of the modeling fabric.
Paperweight:
A paperweight is a type of glass eye, which garnered it's name from it's similarity to the paperweight, that is used in doll making. It has a very realistic appearance and they way it curves gives it great depth and a natural look.
Mohair:
Mohair is a fabric or, in a doll artist's case, a yarn which is made wholly or in part of the long silky hair of the Angora goat. This hair is sold in coiled bundles that resemble large curls. This a popular accouterment for creations as this mohair can be styled and curled for presentation purposes.
Papier-mache:
Papier-mache is a French word that, literally, means "chewed paper." It's a light strong molding material of wastepaper pulped with glue and other additives that is mixed together to form a modeling compound.
Resin:
Whenever two separate doll making mediums are combined together and, upon a chemical reaction to one another, expand to fill a mold they are deemed to be a resin.
Shoulder Head:
A doll is considered to have a "shoulder head" when the bosom area, shoulder, neck and head are all connected as one piece.
Shoulder Plate:
Separated from the head most often by a joint in the neck, a shoulder plate is the actual shoulder portion of a shoulder head.
Sleep eyes:
If you lay your doll down and it's eyes close shut, as if it is napping, it is said to have sleep eyes.
Stationary eyes:
These eyes are the direct opposite of sleep eyes. They are set open, within the head, and will not close in a sleeping position.
Stoneware:
Stoneware is a strong opaque ceramic ware that is high-fired, well vitrified, and nonporous.
Terra-cotta:
Terra-cotta is a glazed or unglazed fired clay used especially for statuettes and vases and architectural purposes, such as roofing, facing, and relief ornamentation. It's very well suited to ceramic sculpture.
Vinyl:
Vinyl is a polymer of a vinyl compound or a product (as a resin or a textile fiber) made from such a polymer that is commonly used in mass productions of dolls.
Wax:
One of the staple mediums of sculpting and doll making, wax can be used in any variety of ways.
Wax-over:
Wax-over is the art of applying a wax coating to the core of a dolls head. This can be accomplished by "dipping" the head into wax, creating a coated seal.
Styles of dolls:
Betty Boop Type:
Betty Boop style of dolls are normally confined to small dolls compromised entirely of bisque. The Betty Boop reference is applied to it because the hairstyle, usually in blonde or gold, closely resembles the Betty Boop character.
Character Dolls:
Character dolls are shaped to be lifelike and resemble adults, children or infants.
China:
China dolls are the most commonly recognized doll out side of the collectible world. Most popular with children back in the mid 1800s, china dolls had a glazed, porcelain surface which, depending on it's thickness, was often translucent to a certain degree.
Cloth Doll:
Any doll that is made up primarily of materials and textiles is considered to be a cloth doll.
Composition:
Composition dolls, such as the ever beloved Shirley Temple dolls, are made up of a mixture of several compounds that create the modeling base. With a base that is most often made of sawdust, it is then often mixed with paper, glue plaster and plaster of Paris. This can all vary according to whomever is making the material.
Dollhouse Dolls:
These are any type of doll that may be used in a doll's house. Many collectors of miniatures and roomboxes feel that without the addition of a realistic doll with in their home, the house is just not complete!
Fashion Doll:
Barbie, Brenda Starr, and the newer Candi Girls are all examples of Fashion Dolls. These are dolls that come dressed in fashionable costumes, hence the name, or dolls that are meant to be dressed in a more mature fashion than the childlike dolls we commonly see in pinafores and bonnets.
Felt Dolls:
Dolls created using cloth, such as wool or furs, and then combined with synthetic or natural fibers through heat, moisture, chemicals and pressure are considered to be Felt Dolls. If you've never seen how beautiful a felt doll can actually be, check out some of Sue McFadden's work, as this is a fabulous medium which can create awesome results.
Frozen Charlotte:
A frozen charlotte doll is a style of doll with an unjointed body, most often made from china, which has arms that present molded away from the body.
Hard Plastic:
Hard plastic appeared some time after composition and was primarily brought about due to advanced technologies discovered in World War II. This newly defined material gave a sharper edge to the dolls, making features more pronounced.
Immobile:
The only difference between an immobile doll and a frozen charlotte is that the arms, instead of being thrust out from the body, are instead fast against it's sides.
Jointed:
Jointed dolls, more often than not, move about just like you and I. Their arms and other appendages bend at what would be considered natural joints, giving them a movable and posable quality.
Porcelain:
A hard, fine-grained, sonorous, nonporous, and usually translucent and white ceramic ware that consists essentially of kaolin, quartz, and feldspar and is fired at high temperatures. Clay, types of molding compounds, and how we use them:
Cernit:
Manufactured by T+F GmbH of Dreieich, Germany, Cernit is a popular polymer resin compound among artists. Cernit hardens at very low temperatures, retains it's true color and, if properly stored, has a shelf life of two years or more.
Clay:
Clay is a wonderful sculpting material that is made up of many types and textures. Once molded, it's then fired in a kiln for a predetermined amount of time depending on the actual clay itself, as some types require more time in the oven than others.
Fimo:
Fimo is another product similar to Cernit that can be color mixed and baked at low temperatures.
Kiln:
A kiln is an "oven" type of furnace that's used in order to fire pottery and enamels and for drying various other substances, as well. A kiln can be fired intermittently or continuously. These can be gas or electrically powered, come in a variety of sizes and can be used both indoors and out.
Olyform Clay:
Like some of the other aforementioned synthetic clay substances, this is another popular choice with many doll artists as it can also be hardened at home in your own oven.
Sculpey:
Yet another modeling compound, Sculpey falls under the same general guidelines as Olyform and Cernit.
Other Generic Doll terms:
All original:
This term indicates that everything worn on the doll is original and came with that doll upon creation.
Basket case:
No, your doll's not crazy. This term is used, just like the term "fixer upper" to indicate that the doll needs extensive reworking done.
Crazing:
A term that is widely used to define tiny, hair like cracks in the glaze of china, it can also be applied to composition dolls which present tiny cracks in their finish or their painted layers.
Designer:
This is a rather apparent one. The designer is the individual who handles and coordinates all aspects in creation of a doll.
Doll:
There are many, many varieties of dolls out there. Primarily, all toys that are created in a "human form," whether they be paper, mechanical, cloth or celluloid, are classified as dolls.
Doll Artist:
Who is a doll artist? Well, thank goodness for them, whoever they are! Without the artist, who designs and creates many marvelous original dolls, where would the doll collecting community be?
Fixer Upper:
Just like a house that needs some restoration, a doll that is deemed a fixer upper needs extensive repairs.
Hairlines:
A hairline is a very thin, fine crack, most usually found in glaze or porcelain, that may or may not go all the way through the finish.
Mark:
Marks, which indicate the model, mold number or both, can be found anywhere on a doll, depending on the manufacturer.
Medium:
No, this is not just a size. When an artist chooses to work with a "medium" it indicates what material they prefer best. A painter's "medium" might be considered paint and a canvas, whereas a doll artist's medium can be any of the creative tools mentioned within this glossary.
Miniature:
A miniature is anything smaller than life size, most often scaled on a 1:12 ratio. This would mean that one inch would equal one foot, making it 1/12 life-size.
MIB:
A doll that is mint and still within, or repacked with it's original box, is said to be MIB. Mint in box. Always be careful to question whether your doll is in it's own original box. On occasion, dolls can be presented as MIB but travel in a box from the same designer, yet the box belonged to a different doll entirely.
Mint:
A doll that is in pristine, original condition is considered to be mint. If the doll is wearing new clothes, missing accessories or has been restored in anyway, it can no longer be termed mint.
Needs TLC:
See Fixer Upper
NRFB:
It doesn't get any more appealing than this. A NRFB doll is a doll that has never been removed from it's original box.
Original clothing:
Many people love to collect dolls and then create or buy new outfits to dress them in, which is a wonderfully enjoyable recreation. A doll that presents in it's original outfit, means just that. The clothes it wears are the clothes that were created with, and sold on, that particular doll.
Provenance:
A provenance is the written history of the dolls previous owners. This may not seem important to some, but it's a well known fact in the collecting world that dolls which come with unique and verifiable stories are generally worth a lot more than a doll with no apparent history at all.
Restored:
This is a very important word. To restore a doll does not mean that you can't wash the doll or restring a composition body. Restoring is when you perform repairs, such as painting and adding on previously missing parts.
Tagged:
If your doll has the original manufacture tags within it's clothing, it is known to be tagged.
Tweaking:
When you "tweak" something you attempt to make small adjustments to it, thus altering it's physical state. In the doll world, "tweaking" occurs when someone attempts to subtly reform a reproduction doll in order to pass that creation off as their own. This, of course, is an infringement on the original artist's rights and is intolerable in the collectible world.
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