1957 William Goebel Irish Dolls Designed by Charlot Byj from Germany

Description

These delightful Irish children dolls are from the Goebel factory, are 11" tall and were made in 1957. The boy is numbered 2901 and the girl 2902. Both dolls have the 1957 year, the Goebel name and symbol, and the name of the designer, Charlot Byj [1920-1983]. She began working at Goebel in 1957 and designed many figurines with master sculptor Arthur Moeller. For more information, see her Wikipedia entry. The girl doll also has a heart on her upper right arm, and a charm bracelet that says "Good Luck" on one side and "A Charlot Byj Doll" on the other. The doll stands are included. The heads and arms of these vinyl dolls are moveable.
The crown inside a V symbol above the text on the back of each doll is a William Goebel doll mark in use for many decades. Goebel and his father Franz founded their porcelain factory in Oeslau, Germany in 1876. By 1893 the company was owned by William and began production of bisque dolls of all types. In 1935 the firm obtained rights to drawings by Sister Maria Hummel and continues to make the porcelain figurines  today. These vinyl dolls must have been a side product at least in the late 1950's. For more information, see the Doll Reference web site for Goebel and the Hummel figurines entry in Wikipedia.