Greiner & Friends:
The American Papier Mache Doll Industry
By Debra Gulea
Papier Mache is a term that means mashed paper. Though French in sound, the term actually originated in England during the 17th century and refers to a process that was developed by the Chinese even earlier. The first papier mache dolls were produced during the early 18th century in Europe and China. Like all papier mache articles, these dolls were made from a pulp of paper and filler materials (including wool & grass) pressed into a mold, though a few dolls were made by a laminating process during which strips of papier mache were layered over a mold.
The Sonneberg region of Germany, with its access to local paper mills, quickly became involved in the papier mache doll industry. Many doll companies traditionally known as porcelain doll factories, including Kestner, were turning out papier mache dolls for up to fifty years before switching to bisque. The most common type of German papier mache doll is the Milliners Model, which must be a misnomer, as it is hard to believe how these skinny dolls with impossibly elaborate molded hairdos could ever have modeled hats. Other German papier mache dolls have cuddly cloth bodies, or stiff pink leather bodies; the latter are usually referred to as French type, but were actually German products. Most European papier mache dolls have painted eyes, though a few have glass.
It was German immigrants who introduced the art of papier mache doll making to America during the mid 19th century. It is believed that many doll makers came to America from Germany will the sole intention of producing papier mache dolls here; some are thought to have been connected with and sent over by German doll making firms.
Why make dolls in America? Aside from America being the place of choice to immigrate to during the 19th century, it appears that America was a hot bed for doll makers. The huge amount of doll related patents that were granted in this country attests to this fact. America was seen as the land of opportunity. Many doll makers might have wanted to capitalize on the wealth.
But why make papier mache dolls in America? By this time, bisque dolls were starting to come into vogue in Europe, and papier mache dolls by comparison must have seemed relatively old fashioned. It is curious that this was the material of choice for so many German immigrants who chose to set up doll making factories in America. Perhaps it was because the bisque dolls would have been harder to produce to here. The translucent bisque used in German dolls was made from high quality clay that could only be found in the Black Forest region of Germany. Plus, most German bisque dolls have glass eyes. Importing eyes from Germany would be costly and impractical, and maybe there were no glass doll eye makers in America at the time. Though this is merely speculation, papier mache doll making seems to have been a more portable industry, requiring only access to a paper mill, which would be easily found in any American city. And it was an art that many German immigrants were well practiced in, having decades of experience. Besides, if papier mache dolls were indeed viewed as out of date in Europe, they would still have been new to America, so introducing papier mache dolls to America may have been a way of reviving an old and declining German method of doll making.
Ludwig Greiner was the most famous papier mache doll maker to set up production in America. He was a young man when he emigrated from Germany in the 1830's, bringing his wife and young children, plus an entourage of friends and extended family. His name was associated with doll making, and doll eye production, in Germany for almost a hundred years, and it is certain that he apprenticed as a doll maker while still in Germany. It is believed that he came to America with the sole intention of opening a papier mache doll factory here, though this is unsubstantiated. His party did carry an enormous amount of luggage with them from Europe (doll making supplies, perhaps?) and settled in an upper class area of Philadelphia, which would indicate that he came here with the means to open his own factory.
Regardless of Lugwig Greiner's intentions when coming here in the 1830's, by 1840 his papier mache doll factory was well established in Philadelphia. What were these early Greiner dolls like? They were very similar in style to German papier mache dolls of the era, with molded hair, cloth bodies, and also sometimes with glass eyes. One author suggests that Greiner brought in his luggage many glass doll eyes, produced by his family in Germany; furthermore, this would explain why only the earliest Greiner dolls have glass eyes, because at some point Ludwig Greiner's supply ran out. It is an interesting thought, but one without any proof.
The term Pre-Greiner is one used a lot by collectors, and frankly, it has always baffled me. Does the term refer to American papier mache dolls made before (and by someone other than) Ludwig Greiner, or are they genuine Greiner dolls that were made prior to Ludwig Greinerís 1858 patent? The general consensus is that a Pre-Greiner is a glass eyed papier mache doll with a Greiner style head, but without the 1858 patent label. This is confusing for several reasons. First, labeled glass eyed Greiners have been found, which would indicate an 1858 or later date of production (if indeed these labels are original to these dolls and not added later by someone else). Also, just because a Greiner does not have an 1858 label on it today does not mean that it was made prior to the 1858 label; it could have easily lost the label during the last 150 years. Plus, Greiner dolls were styled after German papier mache dolls, and many other American doll makers were styling their papier mache dolls after German dolls and/or Greiners. This is not to suggest that Ludwig Greiner did not make glass eyed papier mache dolls, because he most certainly did, and probably before his 1858 patent. But it is important to note that a so-called Pre-Greiner doll could have in fact been made by anyone, here or abroad, by Greiner or someone else. It is a term that I wish would go away, to be replaced by the less misleading "American or German glass eyed papier mache doll". But Greiner is such a huge name in American doll making, it seems that everyone wants their doll to be one of his products.
The fact that Ludwig Greiner was granted the first American doll making patent in 1858 has secured his place in history. The patent wasnít really an innovation, but rather an improvement. Greiner patented a method of reinforcing papier mache doll heads with linen, muslin, or silk at the seams (where the two molds of the head were joined). It has often been suggested that you can identify an unlabeled (pre- or otherwise) Greiner by looking for these patented reinforcements inside the head, but this is unreliable. After Greiner's patent expired, many other American papier mache dolls were constructed the same way.
Starting in 1858, Greiner dolls featured a label which typically read "Greiner's Improved Patent Heads, Pat. March 30th, '58" The patent was extended in 1872, and these later labels usually say "Greiner's Patent Doll Heads Pat. Mar. 30'58.Ext. '72". All in all, there were about 6 label variations from 1858 until the patent expired in 1879. Labels are not always a perfect way to date Greiner dolls, as sometimes the 1872 labels have the 'Ext.'72' part conveniently missing, which wrongly suggests to some that the dolls were produced earlier than 1872.
A more precise, but still not easy way, of identifying Greiner dolls is through a careful study of the dolls themselves. This is an area where I need improvement. Though I am fairly familiar with painting techniques of the Greiner factory (oil based paints, a varnish which tends to yellow, eyes from deep teal to black-brown), the great variety of hairstyles is difficult for me to remember. And I have certainly never seen every size that Greiner is supposed to have produced, from the rare 13 inches up to 36. Some Greiner doll heads were sold on Lachmann bodies as complete dolls (Jacob Lachmann was a personal friend), but the majority were sold as heads (with bodies made at home), so body type is not very helpful in Greiner identification, either.
At least ten other American firms were producing papier mache dolls during the same period as Ludwig Greiner. No doubt they were competing against Greiner, so this article should more aptly be titled "Greiner & Foes", as these other doll makers were probably not true friends. Some of these non-Greiner American papier mache dolls were very similar in appearance to Greiners (which probably didnít thrill Ludwig), others were not, but most (including Greiner) based their doll head designs on those produced by German doll factories. So, from what we know, there was little true originality in the American papier mache doll making industry. Of course, some of the dolls (made by firms other than Greienr) may have been uniquely American in appearance & construction. There is scant information about Greinerís competitors in the American papier mache doll making industry, and finding a marked American non-Greiner doll is nearly impossible. Therefore, we just donít know what many of these non-Greiner American papier mache dolls looked like. But let's examine, at least in name and date only (if not in the appearance of their dolls), who these "friends" of Greiner were, in chronological order.
First there was Philip Lerch, who was producing papier mache dolls in Greinerís backyard, Philadelphia, from 1866-1875 (and probably as early as 1858). His dolls were believed to have had exposed ears (a common Greiner hairstyle), blue painted eyes, and leather arms. Later, Lerch was joined by Conrad Lang (1867) and then by Klag (1871). One label Lerch used reads "Lerch & Co." (referring to his partnership with Lang/1867) and another "Lerch & Klag/Manufactures/Philadelphia, PA" (from 1871-on).
William A. Harwood was making papier mache doll heads in Brooklyn, NY from 1862-1877 (and possibly as late as 1890). His label reads "Manufactured by Wm. A Harwod" and sometimes also states "distributed by R. Ridley". The modeling of the heads is said to be different in style than Greiners, but I cannot tell you how it is different, because I have never seen one.
Edward S. Judge, of Baltimore, MD and later of Philadelphia, PA, was granted a patent for coating doll head molds in 1868 and for making papier mache doll heads in 1875. He was probably in business in 1867. The dolls are said to have adult faces, with hair bands. Some are labeled "Judge's Patent Indestructible Doll Head" along with "March 24th, 1868", whereas some are marked "Judge & Early" and "July 27, 1875" (the only year that the elusive Early was know to have a partnership with Judge). It is worth a brief mention that other papier mache dolls have the phrase "Indestructible"
in their labels, so if this is the only part of the label left intact, don't assume that it is necessarily a product of Judge or Judge & Early.
Philip Goldsmith of Covington, KY is famous for his cloth doll bodies, but he is known to have experimented with making German-style papier mache doll heads during the 1870's. No known examples of his dolls exist.
Carl Wiegand papier mache dolls occasionally turn up, and are stamped "Wiegand's Patent//May 23, 1876". He made dolls in New York City from 1876 until 1883. Another New York City papier mache doll maker was Lazarus Reichmann, who is believed to have produced heads during 1877. However, it is thought that all of Reichmannís heads were wax over papier mache, which would classify them today as wax dolls, not true papier maches.
I have sometimes seen papier mache heads with the label "American Muslin-Lined Head No. _ Warrented Fast Oil Colors". These can be found on various body types, including Goldsmith bodies. It is not known who made these dolls, but the construction style is so similar to Greinerís, that it is commonly presumed that these were produced after Greinerís patent expired in 1879. Could Goldsmith have made these heads, since they sometimes turn up on his bodies, and since he was known to have experimented with papier mache doll heads during the same period? Probably not, because if he did, then all of the heads would turn up on his bodies, rather than just a few. One author has a hunch that ìAmerican Muslin-Linedî papier mache doll heads were produced by Frank Knell, an apprentice to Greiner who is believed to have bought Greinerís equipment after the Greiner factory closed in 1883. Knell is listed as a doll maker in 1881 directories. If this is correct, it would explain the similarity in construction to Greiners.
There is some controversy regarding dolls marked "Superior". One author suspects that they are American, though she acknowledges that she has no evidence; another asserts that they are all German, made by the Muller firm. One interesting aside: Muller was one of Greinerís traveling companions when he immigrated in 1830. Could this Muller have been a relative of the Muller doll dynasty in Germany, in the same way that Ludwig Greiner was a descendent of the Greiner doll dynasty? Could he, like Ludwig Greiner, have come to America with the sole intention of starting up a papier mache doll factory here? It is plausible that papier mache dolls marked "Superior" could have been made by the same Muller firm, with two locations, one here and one abroad.
So what became of Greiner, and his friends? After Ludwig died, his sons continued the firm for a time, but let the 1872 patent extension expire, and by 1883 had closed shop. Most of the other firms closed shortly after the deaths of their founders. The economy wasn't booming, and perhaps also the descendants (usually sons) lost interest in their father's old-fashioned dolls. Whatever the case, by the turn of the century most (if not all) of the American papier mache doll factories were closed. Of course, within a decade or two papier mache would be reborn in America as composition, a slightly different but fundamentally similar product made of paper and wood pulp pressed into a mold, and composition dolls would be supremely popular at least through the 1930's. But that is a subject best left for another day, and another article!
Return to top of page
Return to Main Articles Page | Home |
