Bisque and Paper Dolls: Past and Present

Bisque dolls in the late 1860s were made of porcelain and were glazed and were often called ‘china dolls’. They had a realistic skin tone with leather and later on composite bodies. Today’s bisque dolls are now rather fragile and made for the collector market.

From its name, ‘bisque’ means unglazed porcelain produced from a paste of clays and water and molded and then fired at temperatures above 2300 F. After it is fired, the head is heated several times more after it has been painted on, creating the realistic skin tone.

These porcelain dolls were created by several French doll firms and eventually became popular through the early 1900s. It was in the 1900s that these dolls were made of composition which became the most popular material. It also became popular in the 1980s when collector dolls were all the rage.

Today’s bisque dolls have American girl clothes, but what really makes them bisque is that their head should be made of porcelain. Some other dolls are not considered bisque, because the material would make them heavier and more fragile. So there were small bisque dolls that were made and were quite popular in the late 1800s and are still today. They are now made in all sizes from one and half inch to five-feet tall.

Like bisque dolls, paper dolls remain popular. They have been reinvented time after time. In the early 19th century, paper dolls were hand-painted and came in boxed sets. Now they come in books where they are designed to have American girl clothes to follow the latest trends. These paper dolls in books are cut out by the owner and matched with their clothing.

Looking back in the history of paper dolls with American girl doll clothes, they were introduced in Paris during the 18th century. They helped create an airy atmosphere in the royal French society. Aside from the French who used them for entertainment, British printers wove stories using these dolls. European paper dolls depicted actors and were used in toy stages. Children would use these dolls as puppets to reenact scenes from classics. These dolls were designed to wear multiple layers of clothes. Pieces of cloth or fabric were used to create paper dolls adorned with elaborate clothes that rivaled the fashion of real women and men.