40s Dolls: War Games, Resistant Childhood and Papier-Mâché Poetry
The dolls of the 40s are not simple toys of the past. They are silent witnesses of a difficult era, marked by war, hardship, pain and the need to find, even in the little, a refuge of beauty. Those who collect them today know well that behind those delicate faces hides a silent strength, capable of crossing bombs, rationing and shortages, remaining standing.
The dolls of this decade have a unique charm: they do not seek luxury or appearance, but carry within them the weight and dignity of a childhood that has been able to resist.
A fragile context: war, poverty and creativity
The 40s were marked, in Italy as in the rest of Europe, by tragic events: the Second World War, occupation, hunger, bombings. Industrial production slowed down, materials were scarce, but the need to play remained. Little girls wanted to play, even when everything around them was collapsing.
It is in this scenario that war dolls are born: made with poor materials, with clothes sewn by hand by mothers or sisters, often without mechanisms or movements, but with a strong emotional and symbolic charge. Each doll of the 40s is a small act of domestic resistance, a fragile and at the same time tenacious object.
The materials: papier-mâché, fabric, wood and recycled materials
Forget vinyl and plastic: in the 40s, most Italian dolls were made with poor but ingenious materials.
The most common were:
- Papier-mâché, modeled, hardened and painted by hand. Light, easy to work with, but extremely delicate. Papier-mâché heads are very rare today if well preserved.
- The stuffed fabric, used for the bodies and sometimes for the entire doll. The faces were sewn by hand, the eyes and mouth were embroidered, and it was stuffed with cotton or sawdust.
- Wood, used for limbs and structures, especially in the simpler models.
- The composite, a mixture of plaster, glue and wood flour, used for heads, hands and legs.
In many cases, they were recycled materials: old shirts transformed into dresses, scraps of upholstery, hair made from wool or cotton threads. Each doll was a unique piece, made with what was available.
The aesthetics of the essential
The dolls of the 40s are distinguished by the essentiality of their features. The faces are delicate, but not very elaborate: two painted eyes, a red heart-shaped mouth, a hint of rosy cheeks. Often they lack eyelashes, movements, accessories. Yet, in that simplicity, one perceives an authentic expressive depth.
Many dolls did not have real hair, but had headdresses sewn directly onto the skull or braided with thread. The bodies, often without joints, were built to withstand everyday play, rather than to amaze.
Companies active in Italy
Despite the difficulties, even in the 40s some Italian companies continued to produce dolls, often on a small scale, with artisanal production.
Among these, we recall:
- Furga, which already produced celluloid dolls before the war, although production was reduced during the war years.
- Sebino, active in the production of composite heads and fabric dolls.
- Lenci, famous for its felt dolls, which during the war decade fell back on simpler and more accessible models.
- Bonomi, active since the 30s, continues to offer dolls with papier-mâché heads and fabric bodies.
In many cases, however, the dolls were made at home, or by local craftsmen, often on commission. Each city, each village, had its own “doll maker”, who adapted the models to the available resources.
Regional Dolls: Identity and Folklore
During the 40s, the production of regional dolls also spread, dressed in traditional costumes from various Italian areas. These dolls, often made of stuffed fabric or papier-mâché, had a symbolic and cultural value, rather than a playful one.
Today they are highly sought after by collectors precisely because they represent a rural, authentic Italy, deeply tied to its roots. Each costume tells a piece of local history.
Collecting Today: Memory and Restoration
Finding a doll from the 40s in good condition is a real rarity. The fragility of the materials, combined with intensive use and poor photographic documentation, makes identification difficult. But precisely for this reason, each find is an emotion.
Collectors are looking for:
- Papier-mâché dolls with intact faces and original painting;
- Embroidered fabric models with sewn eyes;
- Regional dolls in period costumes;
- Original documentation (boxes, labels, advertising).
Restoring these dolls requires a specific knowledge of the materials of the period, and a lot of delicacy. But even when they are ruined, they retain an inestimable sentimental and historical value.
Why do they still talk to us?
Dolls from the 40s have a value other than the purely aesthetic or economic one. They are witnesses of a difficult time, in which making a doll meant affirming that, despite everything, childhood still had the right to dream.
Every sign of time, every hand-sewn stitching, every patched dress tells a story of resilience, of motherhood, of silent creativity. They are not dolls that shine. But they are the ones that remain.
The dolls of the 40s are a fragile but very powerful heritage. They do not have the bright colors or the sophisticated materials of the following decades, but they possess something that is rare today: truth, authenticity, memory.
Collecting them, studying them, restoring them is an act of respect towards those who, even in the hardest moments, have been able to build beauty with nothing. They are dolls made with little, but full of everything.
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DOLL IN COMPOSITION 40s SP (SONNENBERGER PORZELLANFABRIK) 80 CM
Old 40s doll
GREAT ANCIENT DOLL CM.60 YEARS 40/50
Marked 40s / 50s celluloid doll
Italian 40s / 50s doll
Italian 40s doll
40s / 50s doll
Ancient doll from the 40s / 50s with tilting eyes
Italian 40s / 50s doll
BONOMI doll
Vintage celluloid doll probably dating back to the 40s and 50s
Lenci Turin doll, Milan regional series, original 40s
Large Athena doll in bakelite and papier-mâché 40/50 years 90cm high.
Toys Antique dolls Vintage doll with pannolenci dress - 40s
40's Athena 60 vintage Damina doll
Toys - Antique dolls - Antique doll with satin dress - 40s
Toys - Ancient dolls - Vintage rag doll - 40s
vintage antique doll dress. dress, for 40s doll Rarity
VINTAGE DOLL BRAND RATTI MADE IN ITALY DOLL 40 YEARS
Ancient porcelain doll with pink dress and hat. 40s.
Rossi ANCIENT DOLL 26 cm SICILY in Celluloid Lenci cloth from the 40s?
Good condition doll marked 48 cm, 40/50 years.
•? ·? ? * Vintage BONOMI ITALY 40s doll 32 cm dressed Lenci? ? * •
40s doll in cloth Italian production ALMA FREE SHIPPING
ANTIQUE BLACK BAKELITE TYPE PLASTIC DOLL WITH CENTRAL RINGTONE 40 YEARS
vintage antique doll dress. Gorgeous dress, for a 40s doll. Rarity
MINI VINTAGE doll 40 YEAR OLD DOLL 50 YEARS BAKELITE CELLULOID
BABY BOY Bakelite Doll (40s) - Rats
Antique Vintage Doll Doll 2WW 40's Flirty Mama Eyes
CLOWN MAGIURIN DOLL CLOTH DOLL TURIN VINTAGE LENCI CLOTH 20 CM 40s
VINTAGE DOLL BRAND FURGA MADE IN ITALY IN BAKELITE 40 YEARS
Antique papier-mache 40s-50s doll
BIONDINO CHILD Bakelite Doll (40s) - Rats
SEBINO DOLL "THE ITALIAN DOLL" YEARS '40 LENCI CLOTH
DOLL FURGA DOLL IN COMPOSITION - 40/50 YEARS - 37 CM
Vintage ceramic dolls from the 40s and 50s Traditional Italian regional costumes
MINI VINTAGE doll 40 YEAR OLD DOLL 50 YEARS BAKELITE CELLULOID
papier-mache doll
Ancient doll FURGA ATHENA 40's 50's? vintage doll
LARGE VINTAGE DOLL IN PORCELAIN !!!!!!! (Kg. 2,500 !!!)
ANCIENT DOLL BRAND CS UNICA YEARS 40
LENCI DOLL - ALPINA -cm 17-40s -CLOTH DRESS-ORIGINAL WITH LABEL
MINI VINTAGE doll 40 YEAR OLD DOLL 50 YEARS BAKELITE CELLULOID
OLD DOLL IN VINTAGE CELLULOID 40s / 50s
Antique restored Bakelite doll Doll Poupee Puppen Vintage no Furga, bono
Cloth doll pannolenci Made in Italy 40 years FREE SHIPPING
ANCIENT DOLL CELLULOID BACHELITE LIALA YEARS 50 60 CM bb1
Brev Milano doll 40s-50s, height 85 cm, vintage.
OLD DOLL IN VERY VINTAGE CELLULOID 40s / 50s
Vintage SHIRLEY TEMPLE doll beautiful American doll ... to be collected
VINTAGE DOLL SCHOOL BAKELITE ATHENA FURGA STYLE '40 '50 VINTAGE DOLL
WONDERFUL DOLL CARES YEARS 40, MADE IN ITALY, CELLULOID, TILTING EYES
VINTAGE CARES DOLL MADE IN ITALY ALDO FOLLI 40s CELLULOID DOLL POUPEE
ANCIENT and OLD WOODEN DOLL - with peasant dress 40s PUPPET?
OLD DOLL IN RARE VINTAGE CELLULOID 40s / 50s
Vintage 3 faces doll
ANCIENT DOLL CELLULOID BAKELITE RED HAIR YEARS 50 65 CM bb9
MINI doll VINTAGE 40 YEARS OLD DOLL 50 YEARS BAKELITE CELLULOID V
Doll of color h..CM.55 YEARS "40
ANCIENT and OLD WOODEN DOLL - with peasant dress 40s PUPPET?
MINI VINTAGE doll 40 YEARS OLD DOLL 50 YEARS BAKELITE CELLULOID
ANCIENT OLD DOLL in CLOTH - with TYPICAL dress from the 40s / 50s PALLIO SIENA
MINI VINTAGE doll 40 YEAR OLD DOLL 50 YEARS BAKELITE CELLULOID
LOT 17 VINTAGE DOLLS DOLL BODIES PLASTER STRAW PAPER MACHE LOT N.3
Vintage doll H21cm ceramic biscuit vintage chinese vintage doll chinese-0UM
40s doll with real hair 36 cm original dress without elastic bands
Doll 40s / 50s Lenci side look, armchair (no legs)
SHIRLEY TEMPLE blue 40s color floral dress
SHIRLEY TEMPLE waterproof coat with hood, 40s raincoat
Antique Doll Vintage Doll Poupee Puppen soft rubber
doll from the 40s / 50s ALDO FOLLI & SON
VINTAGE DOLL 32 DOLL COLLECTION ATHENA PIACENZA PLASTIC COMPOSITION 30cm-2L
Dutch doll 40/50 rag doll with wooden clogs
ANCIENT DOLL PLASTIC DRESS
40's gege doll, original tout, superb blue organza dress
Vintage Nancy Ann Story Doll Book USA Storybook Hush a Bye Baby Bisque
CART FOR DOLLS FOR DOLLS 40 -50 YEARS IN THE CAN VERY RARE TOY
VINTAGE OLD ORIENTAL DOLL IN COMPOSITION OF THE MUNICIAN POUPEE
ANCIENT DOLL DURED FIRST SIGNATURE 50 YEARS INDIGENOUS BAKELITE PAPER MACHE
Rare Santa Claus Doll - Vintage Doll Santa Claus 50s Christmas - Furga?
Original 1950s black doll
Do not travel VINTAGE POSTCARDS 40s PMCE KIDS 176 COMPLETE Series Excellent
Do not travel VINTAGE POSTCARDS 40s PMCE KIDS 176 COMPLETE Series Excellent
Vintage 1940s / 50s Musical Knickerbocker Bear Works 14 "Jointed Chocolate
DOLL YEAR 1956 COMPLETE Q. SERIES 3-4-5-6-7 ED.DIANA ORIG. MB / OCT + SALE IN BULK
Group night shirts-sheets-covers for dolls bed 40s / 50s
Do not travel VINTAGE POSTCARDS 40s PMCE KIDS 176 COMPLETE Series Excellent
Do not travel VINTAGE POSTCARDS 40s PMCE KIDS 176 COMPLETE Series Excellent
Rare UNAVOUNTABLE Born Book Reserved General Command Air Defense Procedures
MC SONG LOVE MY 40/3 Years IRENE FARGO RIVALE GIOVANNA no cd lp dvd vhs
Do not travel VINTAGE POSTCARDS 40s PMCE KIDS 176 COMPLETE Series Excellent
Do not travel VINTAGE POSTCARDS 40s PMCE KIDS 176 COMPLETE Series Excellent
Do not travel VINTAGE POSTCARDS 40s PMCE KIDS 176 COMPLETE Series Excellent
NECKLACE 2000 BLACK YELLOW meat doll No. 2 ED. CASTLES 1967 ALMOST NEWS
Vintage Jorji Doll Priscilla Mullins Puritans Plymouth John Alden Standish
La Canzone Italiana - We Don't Think About War (1980) LP 33 LAPS 12 "Fabbri
78 GIBI Tenori ROMBOLINO YOU ARE FOR ME A DOLL BRUNO GARBI WHAT DO YOU DO WITH ME?
33 LAP DISC - THE ITALIAN SONG - WE DON'T THINK ABOUT WAR
40 / 50s Abat-Jour UK Standing Bedside Lamp Puppenlampe Rarity
1940s Workbasket Embroidery Moving # 62 Uncut Topsy Eva Potholders e
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