Doll:Harry Schoenhut Composition Child

Toy maker A. Schoenhut of Philadelphia first introduced its line of dolls in 1911, claiming that "The 'Schoenhut' Doll is unbreakable-no more broken heads, loose joints or restringing." The Schoenhut family stories suggest that Gustav Schoenhut's children, Norman and Dorothy, grandchildren of the company's founder Albert, inspired the durable qualities that this advertisement celebrated. According to one story, the young and rambunctious Norman broke several of his sister Dorothy's beloved bisque-headed dolls. One day, Gustav brought Dorothy a wooden Schoenhut doll that he said Norman could not break. When Norman demanded proof of his father's claim, Gustav replied that he had dropped the doll from the factory's fifth-floor window without damaging it. Norman, eager to test his father's assertion, rushed to the second floor of the family's home and threw the doll out the window. Though most dolls probably did not have to withstand such abuse, the company's promise of durability seems justified, as many of the dolls, now approximately one hundred years old, remain in excellent condition.