Above: Two doll friends gossip about what’s happening in the doll world.

Every doll has a story to tell, and both these dolls would like to tell theirs. The doll on the left was found on a Theriault’s Auction. Because she is an unmarked early German bisque head doll, she wasn’t given much value. Somehow she appealed to me, and I bid and won. When she arrived, I discovered that her dress, although very lovely on the outside and appropriate design to her era, was made with a serger. Oh, my! Ever since, she’s been tapping her toe to get a more appropriate dress, especially as she sees other dolls getting dresses made for them. Soon, I promise.

The doll on the right came to me from my doll doctor, (Dr) Colleen Richardson, of The Doll Mercantile in Petaluma CA. While visiting her shop, I found the white dress hanging on a hanger. As I am dotty over white doll dresses, and this one was exceptional, I inquired. Apparently, the doll had her head crushed and all that was available was the dress and a body.

Doing some research, I found this to be a Cuno & Otto Dressel doll and that they frequently used doll heads from other manufacturers, including Kestner. Colleen had given me a size that would match the doll and I perused auction sites until I found this head, a Kestner 168, which looked like it had never been on a doll. It’s a perfect fit.

Ever since I put them in the same rocking chair, they’ve been best friends and never run out of gossip.