|
|
|
A lovely Sophia's Heritage Engel-Puppe in a today
outfit
Robin's Older Engel-Puppe ("Made in West Germany")
|
Doll Lines |
 Sophia's
Heritage Collection, Cherished Children, Dream Doll and others
|
|
Manufacturer/
Distributer |
 Engel-Puppen,
GmbH
|
|
Artist |
Not acknowledged |
|
Production Years |
1976 - present (Sophia's began distributing
them in 1994). |
|
Size |
17"-20" |
|
Body Type |
Soft standing, non-articulated |
|
Eyes |
Sleep |
|
Hair |
Rooted or Kanekalon wig |
|
Identifying Markings |
Engel-Puppen
logo in raised letters on back of neck, or sometime just a mold number
and "Made in China" in a raised bar. Some dolls also say Engel-Kinder
(Angel-Children) on their body tag. Clothes sometimes have plastic
Engel-Puppe tag. |
|
Retail Price |
$70 and up (much less expensive on the
secondary market, ~$15) |
|
Clothing/Accessories |
Available separately from both Engel and Sophia's. |
|
Clothing Fit |
This type of Engel doll fits American Girl clothes fairly
well even though the most commonly found ones are shorter and smaller
than AG. Their hands and feet are smaller and they fit better into Magic
Attic shoes. |
|
Dolls in Series |
The Sophia's Heritage dolls are named Elizabeth,
Johanna and Kathleen and then variations of that name for different
times (Betty, Hannah, Caitlin, etc.). The Cherished Children and other
dolls sold directly by Engel are also named (though sometime just by
their face mold). |
|
Books? |
None |
|
Sources |
 ShopSophias.com
(currently unavailable)
Doll stores
The
Engel-Puppen website supports on-line ordering. Shipping is $19.95
to the USA. |
|
For More Information |
See the
Engel
and Sophia's Heritage company websites. |
|
Notes Engel-Puppen is a well-established, German doll company
that has been in business since 1976 when Helmut Engel purchased the
Edmund Knoch doll factory which had been in business since 1896. You can
read a very
detailed company history at the Engel-Puppen website and you can
even purchase a 12-minute DVD or Video about the company. Engel-Puppe means Angel Doll and
their logo is an angel wearing a crown in an oval.
LisaR's
Sophia's Heritage dolls Kathleen, Hannah and Beth
In the U.S., the most commonly found Engel dolls are the ones
distributed by Sophia's Heritage of PA, such as LisaR's trio of girls
shown above. The face mold used on the Sophia's dolls, called Dorothea,
is a commonly-used one for Engel and can be found on other body types,
including their all-vinyl, multi-jointed dolls. Engel-Puppen sells dolls
with this same body type (17"-20" soft standing with vinyl limbs and
head) at their company website with a variety of faces and as both girl
dolls and boys. Engel is also famous for selling dolls at the German
pavilion at Disney's Epcot Center. A neat way
to buy one of these dolls is with the "Create Your Dream Doll" program
from Engel Dolls USA in Florida. You can do this at the German pavilion
at Epcot (where you might get to meet Herr Engel himself) or through the
mail (e-mail gst@engelpuppen.com
for an order form). They cost $139 plus shipping. You can choose from
eight face molds, eight hair colors, eight wig styles and three eye
colors. Then you get to pick from eighteen outfits with black or white
plastic shoes. Very fun! The dolls all come with the soft body like the
one shown in the comparison photos below. Another commonly-found
collection of Engel dolls of this type is the Cherished Children series.
I have seen these in nice toy stores.
Some of the dolls are made in Germany and some in China -- the tag or
markings will indicate which. Note that there are many, many different
types of Engel dolls, though these soft-standing ones are the most
common and have been produced in smaller sizes in the past. This profile
is concerned with the soft standing ones that are close to American Girl
size. The ones with other body types will be discussed in another
profile.
The picture below shows how an soft standing Engel-Puppe (Jessica,
from the Cherished Children collection), on the left, compares to American Girl Kirsten, on the right.
|
 |
 |
As you can see from the pictures, the Engel doll is
smaller than the AG, though their clothing is almost always
interchangeable. They make great "little sisters" for the American Girl
dolls. (I would not be surprised if Engel and Götz,
the original makers of the American Girl doll, had the same supplier for
wigs. Jessica's and Kirsten's are indistinguishable.) The main
difference between the dolls is the soft shoulders and upper thighs of
the Engel dolls. They cannot stand on their own and are non-poseable.
Some dolls even have 3/4 cloth arms with only hands and wrists made of
vinyl. The quality of
these dolls is very high. Most of them have wigs of Kanekalon fiber.
Even the rooted-hair ones are done well. Their vinyl is softer than
American Girl and very nicely colored and painted. Their sleep eyes are
good quality. The Sophia's Heritage dolls all have the same face as my
Cherished Children Jessica, shown below on the left (the Dorothea mold).
Other face molds are similar, like my Helma-mold Engel shown below on
the right.
 |
 |
 The
Sophia's Heritage company has been in business since 1994 and was named
for the founder Cynthia Sherbin's daughter Sophia. Sophia's heritage
includes English, German and Irish ancestors so the doll collection
originally included historical costumes for these three immigrant groups
from many different time periods, including today. The Sophia's Heritage
dolls are Engel's Dorothea-mold, 17" soft standing dolls. They also sold
unique accessories, such as a wooden harp and a knitting basket for the
Irish-American doll Kathleen (who is shown on the right). Recently, the
company has switched to selling just "today" clothes. The company
website only sells wholesale and is currently off-line. I hope that
Sophia's Heritage is still in business because it sells some adorable
and unique clothing and accessories and their "family friendly" business
practices are to be commended. I own several Sophia's outfits,
both historical and modern, and they are very nicely made.
These are very cute, high
quality dolls with lots of excellent clothing options. If you do not
mind that your dolls need a doll stand and cannot wave hello, they are
worth tracking down. |
|
