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This posts attempts to list in charts by category antique American doll patents that date pre-1920. Using the USPTO site an advanced search was done for every instance the term “doll” was found in a US patent in reference to a toy doll or the process of manufacturing a toy doll. The earliest patents appear in these charts below.
NOTE: This page is in progress. I will update it as I go along. Updated Aug. 31, 2024. Currently holding information mainly for pre-1900 US patents for dolls and related items.
Papier Mache or Composition Dolls
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of dolls made of papier mache or composition. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for molding the papier-mache or composition.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1858 | Ludwig Greiner of Philadelphia | US 0019770 A | consisted in applying linen, silk, or muslin to the doll heads, which contributed to their ability to withstand breaking |
| 1865 | Lucretia E. Sallee of Decatur, Illinois | US 0046270 A | making dolls heads and other toys of an outer covering of leather, or its equivalent, and an inner body of cement which sets and hardens so as to support the said covering in shape |
| 1865 | Richard Borcherdt and Henry Bergman of Tompkinsville, NY | US 0051009 A | an improved composition for imitation caoutchouc intended for making bodies of little dolls or human figures or toys. The composition was made of glue, sugar or honey, Perry’s white, with the use of glycerine for the process of combining |
| 1866 | Frank Elyah Darrow of Bristol Connecticut | US 0052142 A | use of pressed rawhide to make a more durable doll head – Frank Darrow owned a leather goods business – see the image of the samples at the Hagley museum. |
| 1866 | Frank Elyah Darrow of Bristol Connecticut | US 0054301 A | improving the process for manufacturing dolls with a process for saturating rawhide for forming it into a desired form or shape |
| 1866 | Dominico Checkeni with George N. Thompson of New Haven Connecticut | US 0052782 A | composition under wax (used composition in the papier mache) |
| 1872 | Gabriel Benda of Coburg, Germany | US 0129086 A | doll head with no face but with movable changeable parts so that the child can change the face of the doll (may fit in other categories) |
| 1874 | William E. Brock or New York | US 0149831 A | improvement of hollow doll-heads or figures formed in molds by first lining the matrix or intaglio mold with leather, foil, or other like material, and subsequently stiffening it with a lining of woven or felted fabric saturated with glue, or its equivalent, and finished on the exterior with a mixture of glue, whiting, and varnish with or without shellac with zinc-white etc |
| 1875 | Edward S. Judge | US 0166111 A | improvement in the manufacture of dollheads and other articles of papier-maché treating Manila paper with paste, in combination with mechanical action, in order to reduce it to such a plastic condition that it can be molded with correctness and sharpness of outline into doll-heads and othe like structures |
| 1876 | Carl Wiegand of New York | US 0177777 A | new improved doll-head made light and cheep, yet strong and durable by molding sections made of interior layers of paper or pasteboard and outer layers of muslin, that are jointed by a paste. The doll head is formed of two sections and cemented together. |
| 1877 | Lazarus Reichmann | US 0187173 A | a doll head composed of an outer layer of a mixture of bees-wax, paraffine, and Venetian turpentine, and an inner layer of sawdust, glue, and flourpaste. (first use of sawdust instead of papier mache in composition for dolls in US) |
| 1881 | Henry H. Mason and Luke W. Taylor of Springfield, Vermont | US 0242210 A | This invention was in the nature of an improvement in the construction of dolls; and the invention consisted in a composition head for a doll provided with a device of wood or other suitable material, which formed the neck of the doll and fixes the head to the body and permits the head to revolve. |
| 1887 | Joseph Schon or Reichenbach, Germany | US D017042 S | heads manufactured of infrangible, the first to be advertised in the US as “unbreakable” (no image) |
Wax Dolls
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of dolls made of wax. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for molding the wax.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1866 | Dominico Checkeni with George N. Thompson of New Haven Connecticut | US 0052782 A | four faced wax doll suspended in the wig frame |
| 1881 | Fritz Bartenstein of Huttensteinach, Germany | double faced wax doll | |
| 1885 | Philip Goldsmith of Covington, KY | wax doll (also of composition – most imported) |
Cloth Dolls (whole or in part)
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of stuffed dolls made of cloth or fabrics. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for working with the cloth or fabric.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1865 | Charles F. Blakslee | US 0045691 A | improvement in the construction of leather stuffed doll arms that took away the need to stuff the fingers due to the use of very thick leather cemented at the seams and avoiding the labor or stitching |
| 1868 | George H. Hawkins | US 0081999 A | Cloth saturated with size and pressed into a mold – a toy figure when composed of a textile fabric which is previously stiffened with a glutinous material, then pressed in parts between heated dies, and afterward having the edges or seams of such parts joined by means of heated dies |
| 1869 | George H. Hawkins | US 0085589 A | improvement in the manufacture of doll heads made of textile material formed from two parts or halves |
| 1869 | Martin Kintzbach of Philadelphia, PA | US 0095489 A | improved manner of fastening porcelain hands of dolls into the leather stuffed arm |
| 1871 | Jacob Lacmann of Philadelphia, PA | US 0113532 A | production of inelastic flexibility in the thumb and fingers of a child’s doll (image is of a cloth doll arm and hand) so that the lead wire inside the fingers can be adjusted by the child into different grasping positions |
| 1873 | Izannah F. Walker of Providence RI | US 0144373 A | improvement in the manufacture dolls involving the design of a press and dies and consisting mainly in the secondary or double stuffing next the external or painted layer, whereby, with sufficiently soft surface, the tendency of the paint to crack or scale off is obviated |
| 1874 | Jacob Lacmann of Philadelphia, PA | US 0148835 A | improvement in the manufacturing of doll hands and feet made of leather, muslin, or other pliable fabric |
| 1878 | Mary M. Steuber of Philadelphia, PA | US 0205314 A | The invention relates to a class of dollbodies completed for the trade, with stockings and boots. The leg of the doll is made of a stocking and boot so formed as to make the whole in one thickness of material only, and complete in one sewing. |
| 1880 | Charles T. Dotter | doll body | |
| 1883 | Lucinda B. J. Wishard of Indianapolis, IN | US 0280986 A | Doll with wire skeleton for flexible movement and posing |
| 1883 | Sarah C. Robinson | US 0283513 A | improving articulation of joints in dolls constructed of stuffed cloth, leather or flexible material by connecting joints of the limbs by fibrous thread or cord without the aid of clips or metallic devices and securing the cord with buttons |
| 1883 | Martha L. Wellington | US 0285448 A | constructing a cloth doll or toy animal by first constructing a wire frame |
| 1885 | Philipp Goldsmith of Covington, KY | US 0332248 A | cloth doll body with corset design |
| 1886 | Edward S. Peck | US D017042 S | Santa Claus Doll |
| 1887 | Rebecca E. Johnson of Brooklyn, NY | US 0366730 A | cloth doll with head made of waxed cloth |
| 1887 | Wolf Flechter | US 0371751 A | method of stuffing dolls |
| 1893 | Ida A. Gutzell | ||
| 1895 | Bernard Wilmsen | Note written by Clara Fawcettin 1947: “The Columbia doll and the Chase Stockinet were not patented. Many rag dolls were manufacturered for advertising purposes during the 1890s and the earlier part of the 20th century.” | |
| 1912 | Edward I. Horseman, Jr. | ||
| 1917 | James P. Dunne | Teddy Roosevelt caricature | |
| 1921 | Enrico Scavini | US-13889905-A | methods for manufacturing puppets, dolls and like articles / felt cloth dolls |
Celluloid Dolls
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of dolls made of celluloid. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for manufacturing the celluloid. Do not confuse “celluloid” with collodion or other similar substances.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1880 | William B. Carpenter | US 0235933 A | for coloring the eyebrows of celluloid dolls |
| 1881 | Marshall C. Lefferts of the Celluloid Manufacturing Company (in partnership with William B. Carpenter) | US 0237559 A | for the improvement in making celluloid dolls either in whole or in part. |
Walking, Crawling, or Moving Dolls or Devices
The following chart includes US doll patents related to dolls that walk, crawl, or move in similar fashion. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for creating the movement.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1862 | Enoch R. Morrison or New York, NY | US 0035886 A | improvement in the automatic apparatus for walking dolls |
| 1866 | R. Weir | ||
| 1869 | Andrew W. Nicholson of Brooklyn, NY | US 0088197 A | walking doll |
| 1870 | Charles I. Coombs of Washington DC | US 0099644 A | doll that spins (image is such as a ballerina on her toes) |
| 1871 | Robert J. Clay of New York, NY | US 0112550 A | creeping doll (crawling) |
| 1871 | George Pemberton Clarke | US 0118435 A | natural creeping (crawling) baby doll (see photo from the Smithsonian above) |
| 1873 | Henry C. Work of Brooklyn, NY | US 0140605 A | improvement in walking doll with a simple mechanism of a multipedal wheel for bringing successively into use several pairs of feet which revolve on a common axis seen beneath a partly lifted doll skirt |
| 1874 | William H. Hart, Jr. of Philadelphia | US 0157394 A | improvement in the manufacture of dolls so that they can better be fitted for doll dresses with parts that can be taken apart and put back together easily (then also that the doll oscillate and been seen as walking) |
| 1875 | Arthur E. Hotchkiss | ||
| 1876 | Elam B. Long and Christopher Eisenhardt of Philadelphia, PA | US 0174265 A | improvement in trundle-toys by combining a driving wheel, handle, and disk for carrying any object such as dolls |
| 1877 | Charles C. King | US 0195136 A | a machine to which a doll may be attached, and by means of which said doll is held in an upright position and made to walk automatically (walking device attaches to a doll) (trundle toy) |
| 1878 | Samuel W. Adams of Boston, MA | US 0210480 A | a perambulating toy of a child jumpring rope and mounted upon a perambulator, which is to be drawn about the floor or ground |
| 1881 | Charles Pfanne German living in Washington, DC seeking American citizenship | US 0237897 A | a doll that made bows, makes a side turning of the head, and fans itself operated by carrying-wheels |
| 1881 | Fritz Bartenstein of Huttensteinach, Germany | US 0243752 A | movable doll head – with a smiling face on one side and a weeping face on the other. (This patent specified a newly designed mechanism for movement not to be confused with the patent of similar doll head by D. Checkeni of 1866) |
| 1883 | Dietrich Heineke of Brooklyn, NY | US 0275209 A | a rotating figure or figures that rotate on an axis and spindle operated by a crank |
| 1883 | Stuart Eldridge of Yokohama, Japan with Ethel C. Hine and Richard W. Beyrich of Brooklyn, NY | US 0278420 A | a nursing or sucking doll |
| 1884 | Carl Axel Kihlgren of Boston, MA | US 0292919 A | a complex ball jointed doll that makes ease of movement to almost be described as an automaton. Joints located in the hip of the doll with an image of a leather covered doll. |
| 1886 | Francis W. Peloubet of Neward, New Jersey | US 0335302 A | a walking doll / automaton |
| 1896 | Henrietta R. Hinckley | ||
| 1918 | Frank Criest | US-1269056-A_I | a walking doll |
| 1920 | K. Ono | US-1377623-A_I | a walking doll |
Automaton Type Dolls
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of dolls that have automatic movements. Many of these use clock-work devices. The patents may represent an actual doll or its parts, or the tools for creating the automation.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1863 | J. S. Brown of Washington DC | US 0040891 A | toy automaton – new improved toy automaton or doll androides |
| 1869 | H. C. Alexander | US 0098007 A | toy-velocipede using clock work piece in the base – image demonstrates a riding figure on a bicycle |
| 1872 | George W. Brown of Forestville, NJ | US 0128357 A | combination of carrying-wheels of different diameters with a shaft/axle so that when propelled it moves in circles |
| 1873 | Joseph Hoffmann of New Haven, CT | US 0140503 A | automatic rope-skippers – an improvement in dancing toys using a crank and moved by clock work and a doll that functions as a weighted pendent |
| 1874 | J. B. Cuzner of Bridgeport, CT | US 0155225 A | automatic-toys using clock work, springs and shafts to produce a rocking motion |
| 1875 | Robert J. Clay | US 0158781 A | automatic figure operating a sewing-machine using wound up clock-work |
| 1878 | Hilarius Pattberg of Jersey City Heights, New Jersey | US 0199858 A | mechanical toy which represents a lady rocking and fanning a baby in a cradle using clock-work |
| 1882 | George H. Howard of Washington, DC | US 0268020 A | a doll that grows in size at the torso, arms and legs using clockwork inside the body |
Speaking, Crying, or Singing Dolls (Sounds)
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacture of dolls that speak, cry or sing. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for creating the sound.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1877 | William A. Harwood of Brooklyn, NY | US 0189935 A | talking crying doll using a sound producing attachment that can be blown with the mouth |
| 1878 | Walter La Montagne | US 0209274 A | speaking device that attaches inside a doll that can say Mama or Papa |
| 1882 | William A. Webber of Medford, MA | US 0257112 A | a mechanical doll or toy that one could manipulate to produce different tones or sounds such as singing a lullaby, crying, etc. |
| 1882 | John L. Given of Cambridge, MA | US 0258743 A | a mechanical doll or toy that produces music being controlled from the outside of the doll |
| 1884 | Duane Rice | US 0302523 A | music producing mechanical doll |
| 1886 | William J. Lynd or Yreka, CA | US 0351785 A | speaking and singing doll |
| 1888 | W. W. Jacques (Edison Phonograph Toy Mfg. Co.) | US 0383299 A | doll and phonograph combined |
| 1889 | W. W. Jacques (Edison Phonograph Toy Mfg. Co.) | US 0400851 A | improved doll and phonograph combined |
| 1893 | John P. King | automatic crying doll |
Bisque Dolls
The following chart includes trademark registrations related to the manufacture of dolls in Europe that have heads made of bisque.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1888 | Emile Jumeau of Paris France | Trademark registration | BEBE JUMEAU – viewable at the Library of Congress |
| 1890 | Heinrich Graeser of Gotha, Germany | US 0440706 A | doll head with movable eyes |
| 1916 | Hikozo Araki of Brooklyn, New York, a subject of Japan | US D048625 S | All bisque asian doll later known as the Queue San Baby with jointed arms and sometimes jointed legs – Hikozo Araki was ASSIGNOR for the Morimura Brothers |
Metal Dolls
The following chart includes US doll patents related to dolls that have heads or parts made of metal. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the process for manufacturing the metal parts.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1877 | Kimball C. Atwood | US 0186919 A | process of making a metal jointed doll using “electro-metallurgy” |
| Minerva |
Wooden Dolls or Joints for Dolls
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of dolls made of wood or the manufacturing of dolls with jointed articulation. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for manufacturing the jointed system inside the doll.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1872 | Charles Louis Parent of Havre, France | US 0130068 A | improvement in ball and socket joints for puppets or dolls using elastic tendons |
| 1873 | Joel A. H. Ellis of Springfield, VT (Cooperative Manufacturing Company) | US 0139130 A | improvement in doll-joints by securing the requisite friction to hold the body part in place when pivoted |
| 1874 | William L. Hubbell of New York | US 0159325 A | improvement in toy dancing figures moved by clock work with legs jointed at hips and ankles to move in correct manner with a body made of wood, but head and arms of composition attached to the body with wire pins |
| 1879 | Frank D. Martin | US 0214830 A | a doll made of wood or any suitable material using sections of socket-and-ball joints in the elbows, knees, or any other joints necessary |
| 1882 | Charles C. Johnson | US 0267212 A | doll head constructed with a wooden core foundation where the outer is covered with any desirable surface formed in a mold |
| 1884 | Stephen Schilling of Germany | US 0295435 A | jointed doll arms made of porcelain, wood, or papier-mache (composition) for dolls with cloth or leather bodies |
| 1890 | Matthew Alderson of Bozeman, Montana | US 440986 A | jointed doll arms and hands that can pick up items using a button at the wrist |
Miscellaneous
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1885 | William Anderson | US 0328272 A | doll figure with flexible legs that can be turned and twisted any direction made of coiled wire |
| 1886 | Edward S. Peck of Brooklyn, New York | US D017042 S | Santa Claus doll holding a US flag and toys – no illustration, only a photographic impression provided |
| 1890 | John Contrell of Newark, New Jersey | US 0426113 A | mechanical toy / doll |
| 1890 | Rudolf Steiner of Sonneberg, Germany | US 0427927 A | doll imitating bottle feeding |
Rubber Dolls
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of dolls that have heads or parts made of rubber. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for manufacturing the rubber doll parts.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1851 | Goodyear | patent refers to the material rather than the doll on which the patent is recorded | |
| 1854-1868 | Goodyear | some marked I. R. C. Co. | |
| 1874 | Ansil W. Monroe | US 0159437 A | improvement in doll made of hard rubber (with an Angora pelt wig) that rests in a socket attached to the trunk of the doll by elastic band able to turn forward and backward, as well as sidewise |
| 1875 | Wesley Miller of New York | US 0164582 A | using a soft wire skeleton or frame within a hollow flexible rubber doll so that the doll could be placed in different positions or poses and stay in position |
European Felt Dolls
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of dolls made of felt in Europe. The patents may represent an actual doll, part of a doll, or the tools and processes for manufacturing the felt.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1908 | Margaret Steiff of Brenz, Germany | ||
| 1919 | Enrico Scavini (Lenci) | US 1389905 | process for pressing of the felt doll heads |
Paper Dolls
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of paper dolls. The patents may represent an actual paper doll, part of a paper doll, or the tools and processes for manufacturing the paper doll parts.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1872 | John T. Brown of Albion, NY | US 0126622 A | the combination of a boot or shoe (which is made of metal or other heavy material) with an ordinary paper doll, in such a manner that by means of the boot the doll may be made to stand in an upright position. |
| 1875 | W. H. Hart, Jr. | US 0163866 A | a paper doll made in sections, decked with different dresses; consisting in a tongue (flap) secured to the head and a body portion and continued into legs, which are inserted into the top of the dress or at the rear in order to properly locate the parts and add stability. The tongue acting as an axis could make the doll imitate walking or swinging |
| 1880 | Marion L. H. Smith of Wiscasset, Maine | US 0229016 A | new improved way of illustrating books so that illustrations are printed separately so that they can illustrated figures can removed and set upright for amusement |
| 1884 | Henry A. Goffe | US 0294868 A | toy cardboard doll |
Doll Houses & Doll Furniture
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of doll houses. The patents may represent an dollhouse, part of a dollhouse, or the tools and processes for manufacturing the dollhouses.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1868 | Emily S. Russell of Plymouth, MA | US 0079782 A | improved Toy-House for the use of little girls in playing house with dolls. A representation of a house made of pasteboard or equivalent thin material with swinging doors, blinds that open, hallways, drawing room, chambers etc. Making the house with two thin sheets secured together being adapted to movements of a doll |
| 1881 | August Dorn of Newark, NJ and Charles M Crandall of Montrose, PA | US 0243873 A | adjustable foldable dollhouse and attached furniture |
| 1882 | Wesley W. Barnes of New York | US 0256191 A | dollhouses, stables, and barnes that could be taken apart by pieces and packed into a box which served as the basement of the house |
| 1888 | Cecelia B. Darley | US 0390008 A | Toy bedstead |
| 1890 | John Frank Shaw and Emerson L. Miller of Westfield, New York | US 0435656 A | folding doll chair |
Doll Clothes or Patterns
The following chart includes antique American doll patents related to the manufacturing of dolls’ clothes. The patents may represent an actual piece of doll clothing, a pattern or series of patterns, or the process of manufacturing the doll clothing.
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1874 | Charlotte L. Slade of New York | US 0156382 A | set of miniature garment patterns for dolls’ clothes adapted for use by children and to produce in the aggregate a trousseau or wardrobe, or two or more articles of the prevailing or any preferred style with a card of directions included |
| 1877 | Charlotte L. Slade of New York | US 0193674 A | a doll’s hat |
Doll Supporter or Doll Stands
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1876 | Emma McCutchins | US 0180613 A | doll supporter / stand |
| 1879 | Josephone S. Goye of Boston, MA | US 0220606 A US RE09003 E | doll supporter / stand with wheels |
| 1886 | Arthur Staples of Lowell, MA | US 0352161 A | doll supporter / stand |
| 1889 | Albert White of Lowell, MA | US 0401398 A | spring hanger for dolls |
| 1890 | Ferdinand Schilling of Sonneberg, Germany | US 0425709 A | doll stand |
Doll Carriages
| Year | Inventor | Patent | Details |
| 1883 | William S. Reed of Leonminster, MA | US 0288662 A | doll carriage |
| 1884 | George R. Clark | US 0308467 A | baby doll carriage |
| 1885 | Charles A. Bailey | US 0315380 A | a swinging doll carriage |