Collectible Dolls

For those who have grown up in the Barbie age, doll collecting can seem like a modern hobby. But collectible dolls actually represent a much, much older passion. As far as you may go back in history, you shall see that dolls have been adored by human beings almost always, almost everywhere. From the semi-prehistoric mists of the Xia dynasty in China to the earliest settlers of the Polynesians islands, from the Indus Valley civilization in India to the ancient tribes of unexplored Africa, from the forefathers of the Australian aborigines to the hidden mountain-recesses of the Inca, the remains of archaic dolls have been found by archaeologists on all inhabited continents.

Collectible dolls come in many shapes and sizes. The earliest, prehistoric specimens were mostly made of stone or burnt clay, and bore only a passing resemblance to human beings. Then as people developed greater skills to work with different types of material, slowly other kinds of dolls emerged – those made from wood, cloth, wax, metal, wool, resin and so forth. With the coming of newer technologies, still finer materials like porcelain, felt, celluloid and plastic began to be used for the making of collectible dolls. Nowadays plastic, latex and cloth are the principal materials for all collectible dolls that are available commercially.

Collectible dolls are mostly depictions of human beings, male female or child. It is difficult to say why exactly people collect dolls, but the fact that children are the biggest collectors may give us a clue. Since most collectible dolls have a human shape, it is possible that children create a world of the imagination with them, and give them human attributes. They invent relationships between their dolls, conjure up stories about them and in general practice their future real relationships through the dolls, by proxy. By playing with dolls, children develop certain essential social skills that stand them in good stead later in life.

As a case in point, consider the famously propagandized relationship between Ken and Barbie in the modern era, and the twists and turns in their imaginary story, as published by Mattel, Inc. Also consider how children lap this up. By allowing them to play with such famous dolls, are we raising children who shall grow up to follow the same patterns of relationship as laid down by large corporates?

Tradition has it that collectible dolls are almost the exclusive domain of little girls. Boys are supposed to play with model guns and other similar toys which conform more closely to the stereotyped idea of 'masculine' occupations in society. However, we often fail to notice that collectible dolls are a craze among boys, too, and they are no less a source of huge revenues from the sale of dolls than little girls. Of course, dolls for boys are of a slightly different kind, and cleverly disguised so as not to go against the accepted social ideas of masculinity. Collectible dolls for boys are known not as dolls, but as 'action figures'. Mostly made of plastic and usually smaller than proper 'dolls', these normally represent heroic figures like combat troopers, superheroes, cartoon characters and so forth.