Plaster Mould for Casting a Shoulder Head for a Doll, Simon & Halbig, German, 1890-1910

a used plaster mould for casting a shoulder head for a doll
front half and part of the right side of the face visible

This particular mould was found by the donor, Evelyn Jane Coleman, on a building site immediately behind the Simon & Halbig factory at Gräfenhain where out buildings had been pulled down (April/May 1992). The main building is still standing. It is probable that the mould was one from the factory.

Historical significance: The opportunity of having a mould is rare. If not actually destroyed they were used as building rubble. Most of the doll producers were in the German Democratic Republic and the buildings with the moulds did survive up to 1990. With reunification, many of the buildings were 'modernised' and even the rubble destroyed.

These types of moulds were used for about 50 castings then replaced; old moulds were destroyed. However, in the pottery towns such as Ohrdruf and Gräfenhain, the old moulds became building rubble and infill. It is still possible to see the moulds in the upper storeys of houses in the towns. Not only doll moulds were used but you could see jugs, cups and other ceramic shapes.

MISC.567-1992