Bartenstein Two Face Wax Doll
Bartenstein Double Face Wax Head Doll
The 1880′s was time of change and innovation in doll making where sleep eyes, teeth, ball joints, voice boxes and mechanics were but a few of the new inventions added to the making of dolls. Fritz Bartenstein was no exception as he vied for his part of the doll market with his patented double faced doll head filed on July 5, 1881.
Wax had been used previously in doll making and admired for its skin-like qualities. Many paper mache doll heads had been covered with wax as well as all wax heads to attain the desired soft image qualities of the material. The downside was that it is not as stable as other materials and tends to crack and, of course, can melt, which is what happened to this doll head. The original family kept the doll stored away for some 100 years hoping to restore it one day. Because the antique doll had been stored so carefully, her body was prime and in like-new condition.
| As Found |
 BEFORE |
 BEFORE |
 BEFORE |
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Paper mache shoulder plate & bonnet. * Heads were to rotate in bonnet.
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The dome had been covered with a bonnet made of two layers of fabric and lace. The metal most through the middle of the head supported the faces as a pivot inside the head. With the faces melting, one face melted into the other, with one melted to the inside of the dome. |
 BEFORE |
 BACK |
| Mechanics |
 Mechanical Access |
Pull strings extended out 2 holes in the hip area. One string for cry box. Two strings for rotating the faces. |
 INSIDE Body - Baffle with pull string to allow for cry sounds.  Mechanism to rotate head constructed at the base of the shoulder plate. Pull strings extended into body to hip area. |
| Apart |  Body tube removed |
The cylinder was to house the cry box assembly. A string attached to the cry box, exited out a hole in the bottom of the tube. The two strings to rotate the head were from the shoulder plate, through the tube and out the other hold at the bottom of the cylinder. The top of the tube was glued to the paper mache shoulder plate, with the tube sliding into the body. plate seated on top of the cylinder.
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Detached – melted faces |
 FACE 1 (Crying) Removed from bonnet dome. Note features present, but smashed. (love original eyebrows!) |
 DOME after heads removed. (heated with blow dryer to remove) |
 FACE 2 (Smile) The eyes for the face were found in the melted mass. |
| Reconstruction |  MOLD |
To construct another smile face, a like- size paper mache head was used. The head was covered with a dental epoxy which hardened to a rubber state. Themelted heads were separated, saving the original cry face, which was melted flat to the inside of the bonnet dome. All excess wax was melted and poured into the mold (took 3 tries to get the right shape.
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| 2 Faces |  Cry Face attached to post |
Two faces Again!! The heads are joined and attached to the post The cry face has been cleaned but still needs detail work. The smile face has had no work yet to smooth and add features. |
 New Smile Face |
| Completed |  CRY Face AFTER |
the bonnet dome is attached, stabilized by the metal post through the head. A strip of human hair is attached at the edge of the bonnet under the fabric bonnet cover. The head rotates easily by pulling the strings out the holes at the hip. |
 SMILE Face AFTER |
| Restored! |  |
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Today73°F / 54°F -
Sun81°F / 57°F -
Mon86°F / 52°F