Cloth Dolls With Molded Faces and Lithograph Features
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Bruckner Cloth
Dolls were created by Albert Bruckner of Jersey City, New Jersey
and New York City circa 1901. They were manufactured as late as 1930
and possibly even for a short time after that. Bruckner cloth dolls
have a pressed face which gives them some depth and dimension instead
of the usual flat face found on most early cloth dolls.
His knowledge of
lithography and printing is captured in each little face which
proudly bears the mark "Pat'd .. July 9th, 1901" on the
front of neck or shoulder area of the dolls.
This is usually
found hidden under clothing so many of these dolls have come to
auction or sale unidentified. The Encyclopedia of Dolls by Dorothy
and Elizabeth Coleman states "His {Bruckner} earlier days had
been spent with the Gray Lithographing Co."
The bodies are firmly stuffed with attached arms and legs which are quite flexible. The entire structure of the doll is that which would have been created for a child to love.
The size, usually
around 14", is not cumbersome as a bisque doll of the same era
would have been. A bisque would have been handled only with extreme
care to avoid breakage.
A Bruckner child would have accompanied the young mother everywhere........... been played with, slept with, and loved until they had shown the wear present on the surviving dolls now found in our collections and museums.
The dolls of Albert Bruckner were distributed by Horsman. A topsy-turvy doll was advertised in 1905 and as late as 1923.
The black face on the topsy-turvy is a charmer with two rows of teeth showing and red bows permanently printed in her hair.
eBay has a rather
large set of listings of vintage Bruckner Cloth dolls for sale, if
you are interested in a purchase, or to find values if looking for
costs, it is necessary to register with eBay.
Sometimes dolls are found with partially original clothing.......as it is with "Red Riding Hood."
Circa 1925, a doll was patented as "Dollypop." This all-cloth doll has the common flat face with handpainted features. Another doll registered in 1926 was "Tubby-Tot."
The topsy-turvy was
then called "Tu-N-One." Sorry, no photos available of these
dolls. As late as 1930 these same dolls were advertised as well as
dolls with composition parts.
Bruckner dolls were
sold at many well-known department stores such as F.A.O. Schwartz and
Macy's. Indeed, the earlier dolls by Albert Bruckner hold the most
appeal no matter what condition in which they are found.
Many are missing an arm........some both limbs.
Can't you just see
the child who dragged her own Bruckner "child" by its hand
until it no longer had one? If you are attempting to adopt a Bruckner
orphan, in the cloth doll section on eBay is where they are
frequently found listed.
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Bruckner Cloth Doll???
I have this doll that was left to me by my mom after she passed and would like to know more about it...may consider selling it too. Any info would be …
Need to know maker of this doll!
We have a blond doll made completely out of cloth except for the face. I believe she is stuffed with sawdust making her appear almost solid.
Her hair …