Gotz Puppenmanufaktur, a German company, offers detailed dolls of high quality material made with a lot of love.  Each comes with little personalities.  Gotz creates artist collectible dolls as well as play dolls which are well-loved and appealling across the generations. Some collectors consider Gotz the first company to produce a manufactured artist doll. Five Gotz family members created the first dolls of paper mache and were sold directly to the public by Franz Gotz.

Marianna and Franz Gotz founded Gotz Puppenmanufaktur in Rodental, Germany in 1950.  In 1957, they started the vinyl rotations process of producing dolls which is still used today.  Sasha Morganthaler created the first artist doll in 1964. In 1989, artists Sylvia Natterer, Carin Lossnitzer and others began designing collectible dolls for Gotz. Their dolls come in four categories:

1.  Hand-crafted dolls.  Made for loving, playing, and collecting and are of the highest quality. Created in cooperation with renowned doll artists results in dolls with lively expressions and high quality clothing individually designed to withstand intensive playing.

2. Artist dolls. Collected worldwide. Reproductions of originals created by renowned doll artist. Made with loving care for detail and with exquisite materials.  Each is a real work of art in highest quality. Artist dolls are only available in limited editions or yearly productions.  Artists include Sissel Skille, Joke Groben, Hildegard Gunzel, Didy Jacobsen and Els Oostema.

3.  Steiff and Gotz are both long-established brands.  Together they present an exclusive collection of hand-crafted dolls.  Made by Gotz for Steiff , they are miniature works of art of the highest quality.  Intended for all children, they make friends for everyday, all through life. A certificate, a Gotz-Steiff bracelet, and the gold-plated button in the ear guarantee the genuineness of each doll.

4.  Children’s play dolls. The award-winning Pampolina doll was born in 1997. Their Precious Day and Kinderland by Hildegard Gunzel dolls are favorites. Their 18 inch Precious Day doll is comparable to the Pleasant Company American Girl dolls, My Twinn and Little Sisters. Playing with their dolls, children develop fantasies and create new characters. Gotz dolls retain their value and can be loved for a lifetime. Dolls are available in 8, 13, 15-16, 18, 19, 21 and 23 inches. Their play dolls are comparable to the French produced Corolle dolls, Lee Middleton and Zapf Creations dolls.

Production came state-side in 1987 to Baldwinsville, NY. This factory closed in 2004 and the site in Germany closed shortly thereafter. The Baldwinsville location used to aid in the assembly of what is know as Pleasant Company American Girl dolls during the 1990’s. So, whether you seek a doll for a precious gal to cherish for years or to join the ranks of the collector, Gotz tops the list on most desirable dolls across the nations.

FACTOIDS -

Are they called Gotz or Goetz? Both are correct - Gotz is more commonly used in Germany (the official name of the company was Gotz Puppenmanufaktur GmbH) and Goetz in the USA (the official name of the US company was Goetz Dolls, Inc.).

What are Sasha Dolls? Created by Swiss Artist Sasha Morgenthaler, 1893 - 1975. She started with toys and dolls in the 20s,  progressing further and further into dollmaking, and then developed the Sasha doll.  She was thrilled with Sasha because of its life-like qualities and expression.  However, production cost were very high in her own studio.  So, in 1965 she teamed up with Gotz to mass produce the Sasha dolls. In1966, Frido/Trendon started producingthe Sasha in England.  Gotz made Sasha dolls until 1970 but Frido/Trendon continued until 1986. Gotz agaon made the Sasha dolls from 1995 and until 2001, when the heirs of artist Sasha Morgenthaler ended the license contract. 

Who Collects Gotz Dolls? The average Gotz doll collectors are women in their late 40’s or early 50’s.  They have more disposable income than their mothers had. They decorate tiher homes with these dolls.  They buy with an appreciation for durability. They also buy for their grandchildren or her friend's children.  They were early adapters to computers and are willing to research, buy, and collect from home or office and sometimes limit their access to the dolls through by shopping in person.