Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

My aunt was given this doll by her sisters. She was the youngest of eight. She received the doll when she was four to five years old. Had she survived until now, she would be right at 100 years old. And we inherited it when she passed away. My aunt never married and never had children, so...

APPRAISER

And how long have you had her?

GUEST

We've had her for six years.

APPRAISER

Never been appraised?

GUEST

Never been appraised.

APPRAISER

I'm sure you looked at her and you could see that she's a little bit different-looking than most dolls.

GUEST

Yes.

APPRAISER

She's made about 1910, and it's called a googly-eyed doll. It's made by a German maker called Hertel and Schwab.

GUEST

Oh, all right.

APPRAISER

And they made a series of Googlies. They're sort of impish looking. If you notice that she has a watermelon mouth, and normally she would have side-glancing eyes. They're a little bit oversized. She has a bisque head, and she has a composition body. She's been re-dressed. If you look at this material, it's synthetic. At the turn of the century when your aunt got this doll, it would have been natural silk. The shoes are new.

GUEST

I notice that she's jointed. Is that normal for that age dolls?

APPRAISER

She's completed jointed. But she's not on a correct body.

GUEST

She's not?

APPRAISER

Yep, she's got a bisque head, and normally she would be on a jointed body like this, but she would probably be about six inches shorter.

GUEST

I'll be darned.

APPRAISER

And if you notice in the back of the head, just at the base of the neck, you can see some numbers. The 163 is a mold number. There is a series of different mold numbers that they made, which showed a slight variation in the face. And the 12 denotes the size of the head, which would tell you what size the body would come in. This doll would probably make about a 24-inch toddler or 18-inch baby doll. On the correct body, it would be worth, at auction, anywhere between $6,500 and $7,500.

GUEST

Oh, my.

APPRAISER

Unfortunately, being on the wrong body, I'll still give you some good news. At auction, it would go between $2,500 and $3,500.

GUEST

Fantastic, wow. That's a great surprise, thank you.