And Then There Were Five: Counting on Wooden Schoenhut Dolls

[Jennifer Stewart]

The wooden dolls of the Albert Schoenhut Toy Company of Philadelphia, PA are some of the most endearing and sturdy play dolls in the history of American toy making. They are such fun to dress, pose, and collect today. My collection now numbers five, with one of my two newest being a little seven inch girl who is not technically a part of the Schoenhut doll line; rather she is a circus rider from their Humpty Dumpty Circus lineup of toys that sold from 1903 until 1935.

The circus rider in her original outfit

Albert Schoenhut founded his toy company in Philadelphia in 1872 to make toy pianos that he designed based on the glockenspiel design. His company expanded to include other musical instruments, and then the “novelties” and toys. The circus was quite a success, and in 1911, Schoenhut added wooden dolls to their products. These dolls were unlike any others on the market with their durability, and they were fully poseable with metal spring joints.

Schoenhut Dolls: A Collector’s Encyclopedia by Carol Corson is the definitive resource for information on Schoenhut history, and the many lovely dolls of the Schoenhut company through the years.

Here is the nude circus rider after I removed her moth-eaten wool felt costume. Her elastic stringing is a little loose. I am leaving her as-is because the elastic is stapled inside of her body, and cannot be accessed.

I wanted to add a lady circus rider to my collecton to be a play doll for my Schoenhut children. Sometimes these figures are in poor contition without clothing and missing limbs or feet. This one is in relatively good condition with her original outfit.

Here is her original clothing removed. The green wool felt is badly moth-eaten, and the pink skirt is faded and dull.

I was glad of the outfit on her, even though I restored her with new clothing, because I had the original clothing to copy. She got a new blue wool felt “leotard” with pink ricrac trim. I returned her original crinoline over her new leotard.

Her new skirt is made of period correct antique pink calico with green ricrac trim similar to her original skirt. I wanted her to look like a younger girl play doll rather than as the performer which was her former role.

Schoey girls in two sizes play outside with their toys. On the left is my newest girl, a 14/308 with human hair. (The first number denotes the size in inches.) She wears a dress that I have had for many years without the right dolly to wear it, and it fits her just right! The girl on the right is a 16/301. She also has a human hair wig, her original clothing, and replacement boots. Do you wonder that she loves playing with her sailboat?

This lovely early girl is a 16/102 from as early as 1912. She has molded hair in braids pulled back with a faded painted pink ribbon. With no restoration to her face and hair, she shows the typical paint loss that is common on these dolls that have been well loved and played with by their child owners in the early 20th century. Her dress is a period correct replacement, and her shoes are reproduction Schoenhut shoes.

My Miss Dolly with painted and varnished eyes (rather than the later decal eyes) and incised label on the back, seems to date to 1915, though Miss Dolly was made into 1924. My doll appears to have had a haircut to the original wig some time in her life, and is now dressed as a boy. His favorite toys are this metal milk delivery horse and wagon, and the early 20th century metal truck, seen in the first photo above. The two holes in his feet are visible in this photo. These dolls had a metal stand with a prong that the dolls could fit on to stand and hold their active poses.

While collectors adore the early Schoenhut dolls with character features of the early years of production, especially those with molded hair, designed by Graziano, little girls of the time seem to have preferred the dolly face dolls with pretty, yet non-distinct, features that were manufactured in Germany. During the time of WWI, the dolls from Germany were no longer available. So Schoenhut filled the gap by creating “Miss Dolly,” available at the beginning of 1915.

Dorothy, granddaughter of Albert Schoenhut, is shown with her brother, Norman, who would grow to have an exuberant personality, and break three of her bisque dolls. This was the incentive for the Schoenhut company to develop its unbreakable wooden dolls. Dorothy received the prototype to try out for her own. Apparently, Norman didn’t break that one! (Photo from Carol Corson book)

The Schoenhut company is revered for its high quality children’s pianos and musical instruments, whimsical toys, including the extensive Humpty Dumpty circus, and for its durable and poseable wooden dolls in a wide variety of characters and a number of sizes. These toys and dolls have delighted children and their parents through the years, as they continue to charm and captivate collectors now. I am fortunate to have these dolls and the little circus rider, in my collection.

An unidentified child holds a Schoenhut toddler doll, circa late nineteen teens. (Photo from Carol Corson book.)