Antique Doll Journey

Menu

Antique American Doll Patents

About this Post

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.

YearInventorPatentDetails
1858Ludwig Greiner of PhiladelphiaUS 0019770 Aconsisted in applying linen, silk, or muslin to the doll heads, which contributed to their ability to withstand breaking
1865Lucretia E. Sallee of Decatur, IllinoisUS 0046270 Amaking 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
1865Richard Borcherdt and Henry Bergman of Tompkinsville, NYUS 0051009 Aan 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
1866Frank Elyah Darrow of Bristol ConnecticutUS 0052142 Ause 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.
1866Frank Elyah Darrow of Bristol ConnecticutUS 0054301 Aimproving the process for manufacturing dolls with a process for saturating rawhide for forming it into a desired form or shape
1866Dominico Checkeni with George N. Thompson of New Haven ConnecticutUS 0052782 Acomposition under wax (used composition in the papier mache)
1872Gabriel Benda of Coburg, GermanyUS 0129086 Adoll 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)
1874William E. Brock or New YorkUS 0149831 Aimprovement 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
1875Edward S. JudgeUS 0166111 Aimprovement 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
1876Carl Wiegand of New YorkUS 0177777 Anew 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.
1877Lazarus ReichmannUS 0187173 Aa 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)
1881Henry H. Mason and Luke W. Taylor of Springfield, VermontUS 0242210 AThis 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.
1887Joseph Schon or Reichenbach, GermanyUS D017042 Sheads 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.

YearInventor Patent Details
1866Dominico Checkeni with George N. Thompson of New Haven ConnecticutUS 0052782 Afour faced wax doll suspended in the wig frame
1881Fritz Bartenstein of Huttensteinach, Germanydouble faced wax doll
1885Philip Goldsmith of Covington, KYwax 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.

YearInventor PatentDetails
1865Charles F. BlaksleeUS 0045691 Aimprovement 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
1868George H. HawkinsUS 0081999 ACloth 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
1869George H. HawkinsUS 0085589 Aimprovement in the manufacture of doll heads made of textile material formed from two parts or halves
1869Martin Kintzbach of Philadelphia, PAUS 0095489 Aimproved manner of fastening porcelain hands of dolls into the leather stuffed arm
1871Jacob Lacmann of Philadelphia, PAUS 0113532 Aproduction 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
1873Izannah F. Walker of Providence RIUS 0144373 Aimprovement 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
1874Jacob Lacmann of Philadelphia, PAUS 0148835 Aimprovement in the manufacturing of doll hands and feet made of leather, muslin, or other pliable fabric
1878Mary M. Steuber of Philadelphia, PAUS 0205314 AThe 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.
1880Charles T. Dotterdoll body
1883Lucinda B. J. Wishard of Indianapolis, INUS 0280986 ADoll with wire skeleton for flexible movement and posing
1883Sarah C. RobinsonUS 0283513 Aimproving 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
1883Martha L. WellingtonUS 0285448 Aconstructing a cloth doll or toy animal by first constructing a wire frame
1885Philipp Goldsmith of Covington, KYUS 0332248 Acloth doll body with corset design
1886Edward S. PeckUS D017042 SSanta Claus Doll
1887Rebecca E. Johnson of Brooklyn, NYUS 0366730 Acloth doll with head made of waxed cloth
1887Wolf FlechterUS 0371751 Amethod of stuffing dolls
1893Ida A. Gutzell
1895Bernard WilmsenNote 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.”
1912Edward I. Horseman, Jr.
1917James P. DunneTeddy Roosevelt caricature
1921Enrico ScaviniUS-13889905-Amethods 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.

YearInventorPatent Details
1880William B. CarpenterUS 0235933 Afor coloring the eyebrows of celluloid dolls
1881Marshall C. Lefferts of the Celluloid Manufacturing Company (in partnership with William B. Carpenter)US 0237559 Afor 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.

YearInventorPatent Details
1862Enoch R. Morrison or New York, NYUS 0035886 Aimprovement in the automatic apparatus for walking dolls
1866R. Weir
1869Andrew W. Nicholson of Brooklyn, NYUS 0088197 Awalking doll
1870Charles I. Coombs of Washington DCUS 0099644 Adoll that spins (image is such as a ballerina on her toes)
1871Robert J. Clay of New York, NYUS 0112550 Acreeping doll (crawling)
1871George Pemberton ClarkeUS 0118435 Anatural creeping (crawling) baby doll (see photo from the Smithsonian above)
1873Henry C. Work of Brooklyn, NYUS 0140605 Aimprovement 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
1874William H. Hart, Jr. of PhiladelphiaUS 0157394 Aimprovement 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)
1875Arthur E. Hotchkiss
1876Elam B. Long and Christopher Eisenhardt of Philadelphia, PAUS 0174265 Aimprovement in trundle-toys by combining a driving wheel, handle, and disk for carrying any object such as dolls
1877Charles C. KingUS 0195136 Aa 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)
1878Samuel W. Adams of Boston, MAUS 0210480 Aa perambulating toy of a child jumpring rope and mounted upon a perambulator, which is to be drawn about the floor or ground
1881Charles Pfanne
German living in Washington, DC seeking American citizenship
US 0237897 Aa doll that made bows, makes a side turning of the head, and fans itself operated by carrying-wheels
1881Fritz Bartenstein of Huttensteinach, GermanyUS 0243752 Amovable 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)
1883Dietrich Heineke of Brooklyn, NYUS 0275209 Aa rotating figure or figures that rotate on an axis and spindle operated by a crank
1883Stuart Eldridge of Yokohama, Japan with Ethel C. Hine and Richard W. Beyrich of Brooklyn, NYUS 0278420 Aa nursing or sucking doll
1884Carl Axel Kihlgren of Boston, MAUS 0292919 Aa 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.
1886Francis W. Peloubet of Neward, New Jersey US 0335302 Aa walking doll / automaton
1896Henrietta R. Hinckley
1918Frank CriestUS-1269056-A_Ia walking doll
1920K. OnoUS-1377623-A_Ia 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.

YearInventorPatent Details
1863J. S. Brown of Washington DCUS 0040891 Atoy automaton – new improved toy automaton or doll androides
1869H. C. AlexanderUS 0098007 Atoy-velocipede using clock work piece in the base – image demonstrates a riding figure on a bicycle
1872George W. Brown of Forestville, NJUS 0128357 Acombination of carrying-wheels of different diameters with a shaft/axle so that when propelled it moves in circles
1873Joseph Hoffmann of New Haven, CTUS 0140503 Aautomatic rope-skippers – an improvement in dancing toys using a crank and moved by clock work and a doll that functions as a weighted pendent
1874J. B. Cuzner of Bridgeport, CTUS 0155225 Aautomatic-toys using clock work, springs and shafts to produce a rocking motion
1875Robert J. ClayUS 0158781 Aautomatic figure operating a sewing-machine using wound up clock-work
1878Hilarius Pattberg of Jersey City Heights, New JerseyUS 0199858 Amechanical toy which represents a lady rocking and fanning a baby in a cradle using clock-work
1882George H. Howard of Washington, DCUS 0268020 Aa 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.

YearInventorPatent Details
1877William A. Harwood of Brooklyn, NYUS 0189935 Atalking crying doll using a sound producing attachment that can be blown with the mouth
1878Walter La MontagneUS 0209274 Aspeaking device that attaches inside a doll that can say Mama or Papa
1882William A. Webber of Medford, MAUS 0257112 Aa mechanical doll or toy that one could manipulate to produce different tones or sounds such as singing a lullaby, crying, etc.
1882John L. Given of Cambridge, MAUS 0258743 Aa mechanical doll or toy that produces music being controlled from the outside of the doll
1884Duane RiceUS 0302523 Amusic producing mechanical doll
1886William J. Lynd or Yreka, CAUS 0351785 Aspeaking and singing doll
1888W. W. Jacques (Edison Phonograph Toy Mfg. Co.)US 0383299 Adoll and phonograph combined
1889W. W. Jacques (Edison Phonograph Toy Mfg. Co.)US 0400851 Aimproved doll and phonograph combined
1893John P. Kingautomatic crying doll

Bisque Dolls

The following chart includes trademark registrations related to the manufacture of dolls in Europe that have heads made of bisque.

YearInventorPatentDetails
1888Emile Jumeau of Paris FranceTrademark registrationBEBE JUMEAU – viewable at the Library of Congress
1890Heinrich Graeser of Gotha, GermanyUS 0440706 Adoll head with movable eyes
1916Hikozo Araki of Brooklyn, New York, a subject of JapanUS D048625 SAll 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.

YearInventor PatentDetails
1877Kimball C. AtwoodUS 0186919 Aprocess 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.

YearInventor PatentDetails
1872Charles Louis Parent of Havre, FranceUS 0130068 Aimprovement in ball and socket joints for puppets or dolls using elastic tendons
1873Joel A. H. Ellis of Springfield, VT (Cooperative Manufacturing Company)US 0139130 Aimprovement in doll-joints by securing the requisite friction to hold the body part in place when pivoted
1874William L. Hubbell of New YorkUS 0159325 Aimprovement 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
1879Frank D. MartinUS 0214830 Aa doll made of wood or any suitable material using sections of socket-and-ball joints in the elbows, knees, or any other joints necessary
1882Charles C. JohnsonUS 0267212 Adoll head constructed with a wooden core foundation where the outer is covered with any desirable surface formed in a mold
1884Stephen Schilling of GermanyUS 0295435 Ajointed doll arms made of porcelain, wood, or papier-mache (composition) for dolls with cloth or leather bodies
1890Matthew Alderson of Bozeman, MontanaUS 440986 Ajointed doll arms and hands that can pick up items using a button at the wrist

Miscellaneous

YearInventorPatentDetails
1885William AndersonUS 0328272 Adoll figure with flexible legs that can be turned and twisted any direction made of coiled wire
1886Edward S. Peck of Brooklyn, New YorkUS D017042 SSanta Claus doll holding a US flag and toys – no illustration, only a photographic impression provided
1890John Contrell of Newark, New JerseyUS 0426113 Amechanical toy / doll
1890Rudolf Steiner of Sonneberg, GermanyUS 0427927 Adoll 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.

YearInventorPatentDetails
1851Goodyearpatent refers to the material rather than the doll on which the patent is recorded
1854-1868Goodyearsome marked I. R. C. Co.
1874Ansil W. MonroeUS 0159437 Aimprovement 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
1875Wesley Miller of New YorkUS 0164582 Ausing 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.

YearInventorPatentDetails
1908Margaret Steiff of Brenz, Germany
1919Enrico Scavini (Lenci)US 1389905process 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.

YearInventorPatentDetails
1872John T. Brown of Albion, NYUS 0126622 Athe 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.
1875W. H. Hart, Jr.US 0163866 Aa 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
1880Marion L. H. Smith of Wiscasset, MaineUS 0229016 Anew improved way of illustrating books so that illustrations are printed separately so that they can illustrated figures can removed and set upright for amusement
1884Henry A. GoffeUS 0294868 Atoy 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.

YearInventorPatent Details
1868Emily S. Russell of Plymouth, MAUS 0079782 Aimproved 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
1881August Dorn of Newark, NJ and Charles M Crandall of Montrose, PA US 0243873 Aadjustable foldable dollhouse and attached furniture
1882Wesley W. Barnes of New YorkUS 0256191 Adollhouses, stables, and barnes that could be taken apart by pieces and packed into a box which served as the basement of the house
1888Cecelia B. DarleyUS 0390008 AToy bedstead
1890John Frank Shaw and Emerson L. Miller of Westfield, New YorkUS 0435656 Afolding 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.

YearInventor Patent Details
1874Charlotte L. Slade of New YorkUS 0156382 Aset 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
1877Charlotte L. Slade of New YorkUS 0193674 Aa doll’s hat

Doll Supporter or Doll Stands

YearInventorPatent Details
1876Emma McCutchinsUS 0180613 Adoll supporter / stand
1879Josephone S. Goye of Boston, MAUS 0220606 A
US RE09003 E
doll supporter / stand with wheels
1886Arthur Staples of Lowell, MAUS 0352161 Adoll supporter / stand
1889Albert White of Lowell, MAUS 0401398 Aspring hanger for dolls
1890Ferdinand Schilling of Sonneberg, GermanyUS 0425709 Adoll stand

Doll Carriages

YearInventorPatentDetails
1883William S. Reed of Leonminster, MAUS 0288662 Adoll carriage
1884George R. ClarkUS 0308467 Ababy doll carriage
1885Charles A. BaileyUS 0315380 Aa swinging doll carriage