History of Sasha Morgenthaler

Sasha Morgenthaler was born in the early 1890s, in Switzerland. Her family was well off and cultured, but Sasha was not giving credence to her own talent, and this wonderful artist claimed that her life as a young girl was extremely lonely. The renowned Paul Klee had a tremendous influence in Sasha's life, not only recognizing her artistic talents, but suggesting to her parents to send Sasha to Geneva to study art. Sasha then married well-renowned painter Ernest Morgenthaler, and chose to give up her art for his. When Sasha's children were growing she felt the need to create a doll that would inflate their imagination. The first dolls made by Sasha Morgenthaler were made out of cloth. Soon, she was encouraged to make more life like dolls. Similarly to E. Scavini (Lenci), Sasha's dolls became works of art, and were therefore extraordinarily expensive. Sasha wanted to make dolls that could be affordable.

Trendon Sasha

The Doggarts went in search of a beautiful doll. They discovered the Sasha doll in a Graphis magazine. It took them some time to convince Sasha to let them reproduce her doll. Once they did the Doggarts and Sasha Morgenthaler became very dear friends, and Sasha is known to have gone to the factory in England to chat with workers and help paint the faces of the dolls.

The Creation of the Sasha Doll by the Doggarts

The creation of the Sasha doll was not an easy process, the Doggarts did not want to make changes to the original doll. The doll is asymmetrical as human beings are. Sasha was quoted to say: "I am completely occupied with making realistic dolls which children love because they have real, living expressions."

What is a Sasha doll?

A beautiful, expressive and loveable doll made to let your imagination run ... The doll is very simple at first impression, but suddenly it becomes a very alive person to the beholder. The Trendon (England) dolls were the second production of the Sasha dolls, and you can find them on ebay readily. Ask the seller if the Sasha is a Serie doll. The Trendon dolls are not signed, the German (Gotz) dolls done in the early 60s and then later licensed in the 80s  until 2001, when their contract expired, come with Sasha marked on their back.

My guess  is that the Gotz dolls are of greater value because the Gotz company teamed up with Sasha in 1964 to create the first Sasha dolls. But whether you purchase an English version with a tagged wrist, or a German version, you are simply getting the product of Sasha's art, and she was an unbelievable artist.

Remember to ask the seller these questions:

1. Does your Sasha have all her hair?

2. Is this Sasha sexed (mostly for the babies)?

3. Does this Sasha come with a wrist band or is she signed?

4. Does she/he come with her/his original clothes?

Most Sasha dolls are in great shape because they are "only" 30 years old, most of them come with their original clothes, some even with their boxes. But do ask questions of the sellers, some sellers are not aware that they have a lovely Sasha in their hands, if they don't, please tell them, they would certainly appreciate it, wouldn't you? Sasha's are charming, alluring and simple, don't forget though they were created by an artist...and if you are lucky and you have the chance to go to Zurich, you can visit the Sasha Morgenthaler Museum, where her original lifesize dolls are housed.

Happy Sasha hunting everyone!