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 providing they are not large or complex. Adhesive joints (bond lines) and replaced missing pieces are generally rendered essentially invisible by careful use of hand brush and airbrush. We also routinely 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.

Please note that we will no longer accept doll heads where prior damage and/or repair has resulted in missing parts of eyelids or other complicated features or parts. We will not re-paint eyebrows or eyelashes if these have been sanded or otherwise damaged. 

If your doll head appears to have been over-painted, we suggest you remove the paint obscuring eye and eyebrow details to make this determination before sending the head. If we need to remove such over-paint for examination purposes we will not re-paint the affected areas unless we determine we can accept the project for restoration and you agree to have the work done.

We do not provide some of the services that are typical of a Doll Hospital, as we do not replace or refurbish or replace wigs or missing eyes or applied eyelashes. Nor do we 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. We do not strip off crazed paint and refinish composition bodies.

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