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Prior to the 1900s, the materials used for making dolls were mostly paper mache, wax, wood and clay. But these were not ideal materials to make dolls with, so some canny manufacturers started making their dolls with porcelain. Shortly after, people started collecting porcelain dolls, and so a new hobby was born.

Why it took manufacturers so long to switch over over to making porcelain dolls is unknown. After all, porcelain was invented in the 600s by the Chinese and used mainly for making plates, pots and cups. Because it can easily be molded and formed, porcelain dolls were easily made in different sizes, shapes and colors. And everywhere, little girls loved them.

A manufacturer of a porcelain doll would first make the face with special clay and carefully mold the features of the face. Then the face is either glazed using a special paint or left plain. This produces two kinds of doll, the glazed one is called a china doll while the unglazed one is called a bisque doll.

Next, the manufacturer fires up his kiln (which is a sort of oven) and heats the doll head at around 2000 degrees. After the first firing, the doll head is painted a skin color and popped back into the kiln for more heat. Many more manufacturers produced bisque dolls than china dolls simply because bisque looks similar to real skin.

After the firing, the head is attached to the rest of the doll's body. Just like the head, the torso, legs and arms of the doll have been through the kiln process as well. Once made-up, the doll is dressed in fashionable clothing for the type of doll that it is.

Some of the most well-known porcelain doll makers are in Germany. France follows closly behind as a quality manufacturer of dolls. Manufacturers in both these countries have earned their good reputation due to the intricate detail of their dolls. The craftmanship and quality these manufacturers put into their dolls has earned them an excellent world-wide reputation and made German and French dolls very popular among collectors.

Now, if you are thinking of starting to collect dolls, you might believe that it will be expensive. Not so - some porcelain dolls can be bought for around $10, while others may go for up to $500. But antique bisque dolls do occassionally go for $1,000 plus. Obviously, prices depend on rarity, quality and condition.

So, if collecting porcelain dolls sounds like something you are interested in doing, the best advice I can give you is do a little research reading before you start buying. This way you will easily become familiar with porcelain dolls and are more likely to get more bang for your buck when you buy.

Some of the most fruitful places to find porcelain dolls worth collecting is at flea markets and garage sales. Often, if you have a rummage around in boxes of old toys, you will find a porcelain doll buried within. Usually because the owner has no idea of the value - to her it is just an old doll to be disposed.