Marion Kaulitz Munich Art Dolls
Marion Bertha Kaulitz originated the Puppen Reform movement in Munich, Bavaria. The Puppen Reform movement reacted to
the idealized bisque dolls popular at the time by designing dolls of composition based upon the likenesses of actual children.
From 1901 through the 1920s, Kaulitz was instrumental in the Munich Art Doll reform movement. The heads were designed by
Marie Marc-Schnur, Paul Vogelsanger and Josef Wackerle. Most were composition but a few were cloth. Heads were usually
handpainted by Marion Kaulitz. There were only seven types of heads and they were never mass produced.
Bodies were often composition ball jointed type by Cuno, Otto and Dressel but others are found. Marion Kaulitz, Lilian
Frobenius and Alice Hagemann dressed the dolls. They were usually dressed in colorful costumes of the time. Dolls were
distributed in Munich by Hermann Tietz.
Girl dolls always had wigs while boy dolls had various types of hair treatment. Clothes reflected all classes and included silks,
cottons and wools. Each doll was uniquely dressed, often accurately depicting provincial costumes. Germany's Empress
Auguste Victoria gave the dolls to children of the royal family.
According to a 1910 article by M. P. Vernuil in Art et Decoration July 1910, Kaulitz specifically designed the dolls as play dolls
and avoided costly materials which would price the dolls into the collector's realm. (While they may have started as toys, they
are definitely collector's items now.) The article notes the "it is rediculous (sic) for a child to have its doll only on Sunday. The
Kaulitz dolls are made sufficiently robust so that they will last a long time and they are priced so that they can easily be replaced
when they are finally broken."
Marion Kaulitz exhibited her dolls at the Munich Exhibit in 1908 and the Leipzig Fair. In 1911, they were exhibited in Berlin,
Paris and Vienna. In 1912, she wond first prize at the Breslau Fair. In 1915, doll heads were used on beverage warmers. By
1923, dolls were made representing different races.
Coleman, Dorothy, Elizabeth and Evelyn. The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls Vol 1 and Vol 2. New York: Crown Publishers
1986.
the idealized bisque dolls popular at the time by designing dolls of composition based upon the likenesses of actual children.
From 1901 through the 1920s, Kaulitz was instrumental in the Munich Art Doll reform movement. The heads were designed by
Marie Marc-Schnur, Paul Vogelsanger and Josef Wackerle. Most were composition but a few were cloth. Heads were usually
handpainted by Marion Kaulitz. There were only seven types of heads and they were never mass produced.
Bodies were often composition ball jointed type by Cuno, Otto and Dressel but others are found. Marion Kaulitz, Lilian
Frobenius and Alice Hagemann dressed the dolls. They were usually dressed in colorful costumes of the time. Dolls were
distributed in Munich by Hermann Tietz.
Girl dolls always had wigs while boy dolls had various types of hair treatment. Clothes reflected all classes and included silks,
cottons and wools. Each doll was uniquely dressed, often accurately depicting provincial costumes. Germany's Empress
Auguste Victoria gave the dolls to children of the royal family.
According to a 1910 article by M. P. Vernuil in Art et Decoration July 1910, Kaulitz specifically designed the dolls as play dolls
and avoided costly materials which would price the dolls into the collector's realm. (While they may have started as toys, they
are definitely collector's items now.) The article notes the "it is rediculous (sic) for a child to have its doll only on Sunday. The
Kaulitz dolls are made sufficiently robust so that they will last a long time and they are priced so that they can easily be replaced
when they are finally broken."
Marion Kaulitz exhibited her dolls at the Munich Exhibit in 1908 and the Leipzig Fair. In 1911, they were exhibited in Berlin,
Paris and Vienna. In 1912, she wond first prize at the Breslau Fair. In 1915, doll heads were used on beverage warmers. By
1923, dolls were made representing different races.
Coleman, Dorothy, Elizabeth and Evelyn. The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls Vol 1 and Vol 2. New York: Crown Publishers
1986.
Courtesy collection of G. St. Rain
Courtesy collection of G. St. Rain