Sasha Studio doll. Head
is made of hard plastic,
body is made of cloth
and is fully jointed. The
head and arms are
strung for great
posability. Sasha used
hand knotted human
hair wigs on her
handmade dolls. This
girl is wearing a very
familiar dress style to
Sasha collectors that
was duplicated in many
variations in the
production dolls (see
doll to the left also); a
simple high yoke dress
in corduroy. Although
much more common in
Europe than in the US,
the studio dolls were
also sold at Marshall
Fields in Chicago and
cost a small fortune at
the time.
creator, Sasha Morgenthaler, a
Swiss artist. Sasha's dream
was to create a universal play
doll for children -- a doll whose
expression and personality
could be interpreted by a
child. Sasha's skin color is a
blending of the colors of the
world's children. The
expression is blank - they
convey a variety of moods and
expressions depending on how
they are posed and on the
viewer’s own interpretation.
True to life, Sasha created her
dolls to be poseable and
asymmetrical - their arms and
legs are different lengths, and
even their eyebrows differ on
the left and right. Sashas are
simple and interpretive, yet not
really realistic. To look at a
Sasha is like viewing a pencil
sketch of a child.
the amazing eye
detail used by
Sasha. Long,
shaggy bangs
add to her
waiflike
appearance
(click to enlarge)
inspiration for their pensive faces were the Jewish refugee children she worked in relocating after
WWII. It has also been said that Sasha felt that the dolls of her time - cute, smiling, rosy cheeked
toys, were not quite what a child always wanted. Childhood is not always happy and carefree and
can sometimes be a lonely time. Sasha wished to create a doll that could carry an expression and
personality that could reflect that of its owner. But, because her dolls were handmade little works
of art created in her studio, they could only be purchased by wealthy parents and collectors.
Sasha made portrait dolls of children for parents until late in her career, but also portraits of
children she had observed in her travels around the world. These dolls are museum pieces and
auction for thousands of dollars. There is a lovely museum in Switzerland entirely devoted to
Sasha Morgenthaler's studio dolls.
In 1965, Sasha contracted with the Gotz company of Germany in attempt to fulfill her lifelong
dream-to create a universal play doll of high quality that could be affordable to most parents.
During the 1960’s, vinyl as a medium for making dolls was really coming into full swing. Hard
plastic was out, and composition was thing of the past. Vinyl opened up whole new possibilities for
Sasha - she could create her dolls to have rooted hair that would be durable even after trips to the
bathtub! Vinyl, unlike composition and hard plastic, was warm and more realistic.
Sasha "studio doll" made of all gypsum (a heavy
composition like material). Circa 1940's in
original clothing. She is believed to be a
prototype for one of the four headmolds
eventually used because of her markings and
the fact that her face is not one of the four basic
face types. She is marked with a Sasha foot
stamp (instead of a signature) and her torso is
numbered in pencil.
studio doll made by Sasha in
1962. She has a sun streaked
human hair wig and a Sasha
tagged cord dress that was
probably added to her. Sasha
painted her dolls' eyes only
after they had been dressed
and wigged, so that the face
colors matched the outfit. This
girl probably wore pink or
blue or even white. The rusty
orange would have much
more complimented a
brunette doll. Sasha was
getting closer to using a more
durable medium in creating
her dolls, however, early
synthetics were still imperfect
(this doll has the typical milky
streaks seen on the synthetic
studio dolls -click on her photo
to see. The doll to the left has
legs that have developed a
slightly greenish tinge as they
have oxidized. Studio dolls
should have limited exposure
to sunlight.) But more
importantly, the dolls were still
extremely expensive to
produce - averaging 60 hours
per doll! Within three years
she would be able to fulfill her
dream of creating an
affordable play Sasha!
colored hair.
Studio Sasha dolls are 20" tall and the hard
bodied ones are identifiable by a signature on
the foot, along with the date. They usually
have labeled clothing, unlike the production
dolls. This girl has long thin hands, different
from earlier studio dolls (see doll on the right).
She is a facetype 1 with an all
synthetic body. There is a
big difference in the
eyestyles of each doll on this
page!
also produce her dolls. Her relationship with this small, family-type company was far
better than her relationship with Gotz, as they were willing to work closely with Sasha,
listening carefully to her "dream". It has been said that Sasha was not an easy
person to work with - having very exact standards as to how her doll needed to be
made. Special techniques had to be developed which had never been used before in
order to create the doll's asymmetrical structure and realistic poses. These posed
difficulty in manufacturing, but the company succeeded in working with Sasha and
making sure that she was always satisfied with the final product.
The dolls were always to be kept very simple - no fancy lace or frills or loud and
elaborate clothing. Sasha is most often seen in a simple blue and white short
gingham dress - this universal yoke dress was used from the 1960's until the 1980's.
Around 1970, the relationship with Gotz and Sasha was dissolved, due to differences
in opinion as to how the dolls should be made and what they should look like. Frido
(later Trendon) of England, however, continued to enjoy a long and happy
relationship with Sasha, and continued to make her dolls until 1986 - several years
after her death.
In 1995, Gotz began manufacturing Sasha again-this time using the molds from the
English production of dolls. They did so until 2001, when disagreements with the
Morgenthaler family caused them to once again dissolve their relationship. They
made many interesting dolls, some based on Sasha studio originals. But they also
issued a line of Sasha called "Moderns", which had light skin to differentiate them,
and were dressed in more contemporary, but still simple, clothing. These dolls were
priced lower and were intended more as a "play" doll.
The license to manufacture Sasha has not been granted to anyone else since the
Gotz company ceased production, and there are no plans for future productions of
Sasha.
Today, the Sasha doll is still loved by a countless number of children and adult doll
and art collectors alike. It seems that many people of all ages and backgrounds find
something in Sasha's dolls that touches their hearts!
Sasha doll made in
Germany. The
vinyl consistency,
hair texture,
overall
construction and
facial painting is
completely
different than the
Frido dolls.
quality control measures, occasionally an "oops"
happened! This is a blue eyed Brunette Red
Dress! Never officially manufactured, a handful of
these have turned up over the years, where
brunette hair was rooted into a blue eyed doll.
They are usually found in the large puddle eyed
dolls and most often have falling hair. This one is
a little later - from the mid 1970's and her hair is
perfect! Other factory mistakes, such as boys
with eyelashes, and brunette baby girl heads on a
baby boy body have also been found. They only
add to the fun of collecting!
Trendon (previously Frido) company in
England. By the mid 1970's, the dolls had
lost much of the handpainting in their
features (out of necessity to streamline
the production), but still retained their
high quality construction and special
Sasha "look".
Frido
Sasha
doll
made in
England
.
to appeal to art loving and creative parents, and Sasha beautifully fit into the "free spirit" decade
of the 1960's. In an era of Chatty Cathy, Saucy Walker and Patti Playpal, she did not fit into the
traditional idea of a doll. But many who were artists, educators and otherwise "creative" parents
seem to have liked the idea of a "art doll" for their child. Sasha was imported into the US through
Creative Playthings, which distributed unique educational toys. With the civil rights movements
in the 1960's, Sasha's dark skin also appealed to open-minded parents who wanted to teach their
children acceptance of others.
Originally, the company
began with a few girl
Sasha dolls. Then
"Gregor", a boy, was
added. Later, other
variations came including
babies.