Antique Dolls, Range of Services

We specialize in the conservation of antique dolls, generally having ceramic heads, ('bisque', 'parian' or 'china') ceramic or composition arms and either cloth or composition bodies. Generally these are from early American, German or French sources, dating from before 1850 to circa 1930.

Names associated with some of these dolls include Bru, Jumeau, Steiner, Simon and Halbig, K*R, Kestner, A&M, and many others.

Our usual range of services includes the dismantling of old repairs, cleaning and re-assembling the object. There are usually chips and missing parts; we can fill chips and replace missing parts. Adhesive joints (bond lines) and replaced missing pieces are generally rendered essentially invisible by careful application of conservation-quality colors by hand brush and airbrush.

We also re-string antique composition bodies and attach heads.

We set 'sleep eyes' so that they are functional providing the client provides original eyes that fit correctly and little or no damage to the eye assembly has occurred. Obviously, we can and do set eyes 'stationary'.

We occasionally do some work on more contemporary dolls, but this is limited to re-attaching parts and other straightforward procedures.

At present, we do not:

• replace or refurbish or replace wigs or missing eyes or applied eyelashes
• work on fabrics, fabric or leather bodies. We do not have in our possession any replacement parts for bodies, nor do we have a source.
• refinish modern composition bodies.

Please note - if you are a graduate of one of our restoration courses or an institutional equivalent and have experience in providing some of the services we do not offer, we would like to hear from you.

Please click on the links under 'Examples' in the left pane to view some of the projects we have completed.

*In case you arrived here through an Internet search (possibly by using our name mis-spelled McDowell), please click the following link to start at:

MacDowell Restorations Home Page