The Doll Site Special Feature The Art of Reborning - One Artist's Story Jackie Surtees is a talented reborn doll artist who gives us some insight into the reborning process and history. Her details and illustrations show just how painstakingly detailed reborn artistry is, and shares a couple of her creations. She is also the founder of the Exceptional Reborn Artist Guild.

Dolls: Fostering Imagination for Centuries

Young girls everywhere have been creating imaginary worlds through doll play, and these simple yet fascinating toys provide as much joy for children as ever. Even with the rise in electronic devices for kids, dolls still remain one of the most sought after toys out there.

Dolls have been used as toys as far back as we have records of them, which was during the Babylonian period. A part of a doll with movable arms and made of alabaster was found dating back to this period. Painted dolls made of wood, with hair made of wooden and clay beads, date back to 2000 B.C. in Egypt. Early Egyptian tombs of the wealthy also often contain dolls made of pottery. Ancient dolls were also found in the graves of Greek and Roman children.

It was around 600 B.C. that dolls started becoming more lifelike, having changeable clothes and movable limbs. The earliest known paper dolls were discovered soon after this in Japan. We have indications that paper figures wrapped in paper kimonos were used as early as A.D. 900 in Japanese ceremonies.

The next era of dolls was European dolls, these were primarily made of wood and most of the earliest of these dolls that survived date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. During the 17th and 18th centuries, wax dolls also became popular

Dolls were first mass-produced in the 1800s when Europeans discovered that pulped wood or paper mixtures like papier-mbchi could be used to make dolls on a large scale.

It was also in the 19th century when porcelain dolls became popular; these included bisque dolls (unglazed porcelain) as well as China dolls (glazed porcelain). Bisque became the porcelain of choice in 1860 for doll heads because they appeared more like real skin than China dolls.

Believe it or not, most dolls up to this time were adult dolls; it was in 1880 that dolls depicting young girls became famous due the French bebe, first made in the 1850s.

These French dolls were very high quality dolls, and as a result, a bit expensive. This is part of why German bisque dolls became more popular around 1900, because they were not as pricey.

Doll production began in the U.S. in the 1860s; these were made primarily in New England and made from materials like papier-mbchi, leather, cloth, and rubber. In the late 1860s celluloid was developed and New Jersey was the first to manufacture celluloid dolls. It soon became a popular material for doll producers everywhere until it was discovered that it was highly flammable and faded easily.

In the 1940s manufacturers made dolls of plastics, then later in the 50s and 60s, they created dolls with rubber and vinyl. Vinyl was somewhat soft and allowed for rooted hair so it soon became quite popular, and the most popular dolls today are still made of vinyl.

Mothers everywhere have made cloth dolls, or rag dolls, for centuries. And today, children still cherish these soft, cuddly dolls. These are perfect for sleeping with, making them ideal for young children, while China and bisque dolls delight older children and adults. And there is everything else in between available today  from fun paper dolls to popular vinyl dolls to intriguing Russian nesting dolls.