Interested in the history of doll makers?

Ancient Doll Makers
Doll makers date from so far back their IS NO history -- we are talking prehistoric times! . An actual fragment of an alabaster was recovered from the Babylonian period. It's current value? NOT for sale at any price.

Dolls have been found in Egyptian graves dating back to 2000 BC. Tombs of wealthy families have contained pottery dolls.

Dolls have also been found Roman and Greek graves. Girls from these area dedicated their dolls to goddesses after they became too grown-up to play with such things. Some of these dolls were made by doll makers dating back to 600 B.C. 

Eventually, Europe became a major center for doll makers -- These dolls were generally made of wood and called "Stump" dolls. Today there are less than 30 stump dolls dating from 16th and 17th century England. 

Also, the Grodnertal area of early Germany produced many  wooden dolls, a type of doll that has very simple peg joints and resembles a clothespin. 

In the 1800s an alternative to wood was developed in England. It is composition and it was a concoction of mixtures of pulped wood or paper that were used to make doll heads and bodies. 

After the beginning of the 19th century, porcelain became popular when doll makers in Germany, France, and Denmark began making china heads for dolls -- this was around the mid 1840s.

In the 1880s the French makers created "bebe" and it is still one of the most  sought after dolls even today. It was unique from its predecessors because it depicted a younger girl. German 
bisque dolls became quite popular because they were not as expensive. Some of the famous German doll makers were Kammer & Reinhardt.

Doll-making became an industry in the U.S. after the Civil War around the 1860s. 

The first well-known American doll maker was Ludwig Greiner working out of Philadelphia. He made made paper mache dolls from the mid 1840s to around 1874. Ludwig's dolls still command a high price (if you can find one). Prices range from around $500 up to $2,000+ for exceptional German "milliners" models.

Some famous French doll makers were Jumeau, Bru, Gaultier, Rohmer, Simone and Huret.

Bebes (the German "dolly-faced" dolls) makers were Armand Marseille, Simon and Halbig, K*R, and Kestner.

And there is of course the famous maker of more modern dolls such as Barbie - Mattel. Not exciting, but definitely famous.