Florodora

So, most of my doll friends collect BJDs and modern fashion dolls. I mostly do also. However, I have recently started a small collection of antique bisque dolls (many of whom are also BJDs!). As long as you don't have to have perfect French dolls, antique dolls can be quite affordable.

My favorite antique doll is a German mold called Florodora. I bought this beauty for less than $40 shipped on ebay, and she is probably at least 100 years old.

Florodora purchased April 2016 by TrueFan, on Flickr

Her dress is handmade; I added sleeves to cover her leather arms and gave her a petticoat, bloomers, socks, and shoes, which cost me about another $10. And she's lovely!

Florodora purchased April 2016 by TrueFan, on Flickr


Florodora purchased April 2016 by TrueFan, on Flickr

Oh my... there are a couple of very old dolls in chests around here.  I would love to find a good home for them, as they're not really my style, and I couldn't just toss them.  Some day I will look up an antique dealer.  
It's cool that you have given some new life to such an old doll

The antique doll market is very depressed right now, because so many collectors are downsizing or dying. I'd love to see more modern doll collectors see the beauty of the old dolls too.

What's popular in antiques seems to go in fazes. It sounds like a buying opportunity to me, provided you don't need to sell them any time soon. Although I pretty much buy what I like and the heck with the resale market.

CornflowerBlue wrote:Although I pretty much buy what I like and the heck with the resale market.

Me too!

She's lovely--there is something about stuff with history...there's a 'powerful' aura coming through from your photos. It's similar to the feeling I get when I set foot in a museum and I'm looking at artifacts.

I love the second picture of Floradora standing in the flowers. So cute. Does she have teeth?

I wish I knew the stories old dolls can tell! The latest Doll Castle News had a story about a girl sent to a Nazi concentration camp who was somehow allowed to keep her doll, and how the doll gave her so much hope and joy in the camp, and she still had the doll as an adult. One single doll used to be so precious.

She does have teeth - all my antique dolls do except for one who was a gift. I really like dolls with teeth.

Wauw she is beautiful, I love howe you have given her all new clothing items! I have never really looked at 'old' dolls before...Are there certain brands you prefer? I see a lot of them around the 2nd hand stores here!

Chyntia wrote:Wauw she is beautiful, I love howe you have given her all new clothing items! I have never really looked at 'old' dolls before...Are there certain brands you prefer?
I see a lot of them around the 2nd hand stores here!

Ah, you're killing me! Florodora is a particular mold made by Armand & Marseilles. She comes in many sizes, from under 10 inches to over 30 inches! Generally speaking German dolls are much more affordable than French dolls. I don't own any antique French dolls. I don't know as much about antique dolls as I would like to know.

I buy antique dolls I can afford with faces I like. And they do have to have perfect teeth. Some of them have small cracks or repairs, and many of them have issues with their fingers.