Engel Puppen Dolls

The latest craze in the doll world seems to be collecting "ball-jointed" dolls.  These are dolls that generally have joints in all the regular places, along with extra joints in the places that most run-of-the-mill dolls don't have, such as the knees, elbows, wrists, ankles, etc.  These joints allow the dolls to be posed in more natural, human-type positions.  Well, I have multi-jointed dolls in my collection that were made long before these types of dolls became popular.  Let me introduce a couple of them, made by the Engel Puppen doll company of Germany:

 

The little Bavarian boy is named "Bernard", and he was a limited edition.  I'm not sure what the little girl was originally called, but she has the "Dorothea" face mold, so perhaps that is also her name.  These dolls stand about 17" tall and have full vinyl, articulated bodies.

 

Bernard has sleeping, brown eyes and a lovely, blond wig made of high-quality Kanekalon.

 

Dorothea has sleeping brown eyes, also, and a gorgeous wig styled in snail braids.  I am tempted to take her braids down sometime, but the style is just so cute that I haven't done it yet.

 

Bernard is dressed like a dapper little fellow.

 

Dorothea has a sweet, German style dress and lace trimmed bloomers.  These are nicely sewn outfits made from quality fabrics.  They have snap closures instead Velcro.

 

I undressed Bernard so you could see the body construction.  Both dolls have the same style body.  As you can see, he has hinged joints at both his elbows and knees.  His ankles and wrists have rotating joints, and he can swivel at two different places in his torso.  Amazing!

 

He can sit just like a little human, crossing his legs and ankles.

 

He looks a little funny from behind, since his legs are attached more at the front of his body.

 

Both dolls are marked "Engel-Puppe" in raised letters on the back of their necks.  These particular jointed dolls are a very small part of what the Engel Puppen Doll company currently offers.  Most of their dolls have soft, cloth bodies with vinyl limbs.  You can view the current Engel Puppen catalog here:  http://www.engelpuppen.com/pdf/Engel-2014-Katalog_20140220.pdf    The website has a detailed account of the company's history, if you want to know more.  They are not sold in the US, but I managed to get Bernard from Ebay and Dorothea at a local doll show for about a tenth of what they cost brand new!

 

An interesting fact about Engel Puppen is that it is the oldest doll factory still making dolls in Germany--over 100 years!  Another interesting side note:  Both Disneyland and Disneyworld used to sell Engel Puppen dolls in Geppetto's Toy shop.  You could even have a doll customized with the wig and outfit of your choice!  I remember seeing these dolls when I visited Disneyland as a little girl, but the price tag of over $100 may as well have been a million--there was no way I could have ever afforded one.  But, oh, did I love to go look at them!  I wish I could go back in time and tell my little 8-year-old self that someday I would own not only one, but TWO of these precious dolls.

 

I really like these two.  They fit in nicely with my other 18" type dolls, but their full-vinyl bodies and multi jointing make them a little different.  If you ever come across one for a decent price, I'd recommend buying it.  They are beautiful dolls, made with the high-quality standards for which German dolls are known.

 

And by the way, in case you're wondering, "Engel Puppen" translated from German means "Angel Dolls".    Appropriate, I think, since their faces strike me as very sweet and angelic.