Featured Galleries: Composition Dolls

The playful dolls in this list are all made of composition, a compound mixture of wood pulp, papier mache, and glue. Composition was developed for doll making in the late 19th century and was often used for the bodies, arms, and legs of bisque headed dolls. By the early 20th century many companies were specializing in dolls made entirely of composition, particularly in North America where facilities for the production of fine porcelain were rarer than in Europe. Manufacturers compensated for the cheaper material by offering a wide range of appealing designs. Companies such as Fleischer & Baum, who traded under the name EFFanBEE produced a vast number of highly creative and attractive doll models from the 1910s to 1940s, several of which are displayed here. Composition dolls gave American artists a chance to be creative and break the mould of earlier doll styles founded in Europe. Still, many composition dolls were equipped with the familiar dolly faces, and sleep eyes. of their porcelain predecessors. It was not until the introduction of plastic, which had the added advantage of being waterproof, that composition stopped being used in doll making.