What Is the "Artist's Mark"?

Original Publish Date: Dec. 29, 2019
Research and information copyright of author

This familiar marking is found
near the center of the neck and
behind the right ear of dolls.

If you've ever collected American Girl dolls, you've no doubt, seen this mysterious marking. The marking itself, and what it represents, has puzzled many collectors for quite some time. Some claim this mark means absolutely nothing, while others speculate this marking represents the manufacturer's "mark" or "signature." Others suggest this marking is the initials or "signature" of the designing doll's facial mold sculptor (which is why it is oftentimes commonly referred amongst collectors as "the artist's mark"). So what exactly is this marking and what does it mean? For the first time ever, we now have concrete answers!

Awhile back, while studying Götz dolls in order to write articles for the Wiki, I purchased a really old Götz doll to study. I was surprised when it arrived and it had this same "marking" on the back of its neck; I remember thinking to myself, "hmmmm...I thought only American Girl dolls had these...?!"

Intrigued (and one who is a oftentimes a sucker for solving a good hard puzzle), I set out on a mission to learn more about this marking and what it represents, and so the search to put the puzzle pieces behind this marking together began. The conclusion and information contained within this blog is confirmed correct via an excellent, incredibly reliable source(1).

1. What Does This Marking Say?

If you were to take a poll as to how this mark reads (i.e. what it is spelled out), you will get a variety of interesting answers. Some describe this mark as reading "#e" or "tHe." even "tHc.", "#e.", "llc" and "hhc." However, all of these are incorrect.

This photo most clearly shows the marking. Notice the two capital "H"s share one common line.

This mark actually reads like this: H.He. (written diagonally, downwards, and to the right; it most frequently appears either in the center of the back of older doll's necks or in varying distances behind the right ear of the doll)(1).

I have personally found this engraved marking is most pronounced (i.e. the "deepest" and most legible) on the older, hard, all-vinyl Götz dolls and baby dolls. If you look closely at the engraved marking itself in this photo, you will notice the two "H"s share one line between them; which is why the first period appears after the second "H" and the lowercase cursive "e" (which is not a "c"). On newer-produced dolls, such as American Girl dolls, the first period is sometimes incredibly faint or even absent entirely. So what does this "mark" signify?

2. What This Mark DOESN'T Mean

Theory #1: This mark means absolutely nothing.

As mentioned, some dismiss this mark has any significance whatsoever; however, in my personal opinion, a doll manufacturer does not intentionally marr the surface of a doll, especially so close to its face, unless the marking itself has some important significance, even if the significance of it is only known to the manufacturer. So for argument's sake, let's just flat out dismiss this theory.

Theory #2: This marking is a manufacturer's mark.

If you've ever personally created or designed something, you know how important it is to have your product be both recognizable as belonging to, and being made by you. Additionally, after you've designed something, you will also want to protect your design/product from competitors or others who would seek to copy it or flat out steal it. For these reasons, copyright, trademark, patents, and intellectual design protections exist, and this is why manufacturers will oftentimes "brand" their dolls with some identifying manufacturer's marking (please note: not every doll manufacturer, historically speaking, will "brand" the dolls they produce; some dolls do not have identifying manufacturer markings located anywhere on them, which makes identifying their producer difficult).

The meaning of a manufacturer's marking and what it represents varies from manufacturer to manufacturer: some markings identify the doll brand; some may contain copyright information; other marks may represent the doll's head and/or size, while others still may contain mold number markings that help manufacturers keep track of the different mold they use internally(8).

However, in this case, this marking is not a manufacture's marking.

The evidence for why this is not a manufacturer's marking is twofold: 

This specific mark appears across six different German doll "brands," (all produced between 1960 to 2000s), with some dolls being produced by different doll manufacturers other than Götz.

This marking appears on the following doll brands/doll manufacturers: Götz; American Girl; Engel-Puppen; Edmund Knoch; Hans Volk, and Emil Schwenk.

1. Götz Dolls
This mark appears on numerous Götz Dolls and Baby Dolls, but not every Götz Doll has this marking, which is additional evidence that this mark is not a manufacturer's marking. 

Götz-Puppe doll with marking located mid-way behind the right ear of doll.

2. American Girl Dolls (produced by Götz for Pleasant Company)
You will find this mark appears on early historical American Girl dolls - Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly, (amongst others, such as Addy and Kit, thanks to collector friends who pulled out their dolls after this article was written and published, to see which dolls bear this mark). If you did not already know, the American Girl Collection was originally produced by Götz for Pleasant Rowland's "Pleasant Company" from 1986 until 1997, which is when the American Girl doll line was sold to Mattel, who from that point forward, took over its complete production(7). 

Notice the subtle facial feature similarities between the all-vinyl ROMINA (left), who is considered by many to be the American Girl prototype, and a 1986 American Girl "Samantha" doll (right). To learn more about the similarities/differences between ROMINA, SOMINA (a soft-bodied ROMINA) and Pleasant Company, American Girls, please check out this article on Götz Doll Wiki.

IMPORTANT and INTERESTING NOTE: This marking does not appear on the earliest American Girl dolls produced as previously thought(6); according to Jennifer Gorka, an American Girl doll expert, several of her American Girl "Samantha" dolls produced from 1986 into early 1987 do not have this marking behind their ear (or located anywhere on their necks) at all. The reason behind why this marking is absent on the earliest-produced dolls is as of yet, unknown.

This 1986 "Samantha" Pleasant Company American Girl doll does not have this marking behind her right ear. Contrary to popular thought(6) then, the earliest American Girl dolls do not have this marking behind their ears.

3. Engel-Puppen Dolls 
This marking appears on several, but not all, Engel-Puppen dolls. 

This 1984 Engel-Puppen named "CORNELIA" has this marking behind her right ear.

Interestingly, some Engel-Puppen dolls with this mark do not bear an Engel-Puppen neckstamp marking; some are simply marked with the neckstamp marking ONLY.

4. Edmund Knoch Dolls
Per Engel-Puppen's website, Edmund Knoch began producing dolls in 1896; he continued to produce dolls until 1976, which is when his doll manufacturing business was rented (and ultimately purchased by) Mr. Helmut Engel in 1979(4). 

This Edmund Knöch doll (identifiable by the "EK" neckstamp) has this marking on the back, near the center, of the doll's neck vs. behind the doll's right ear.

5. Hans Völk Dolls
According to Wikipedia, Hans Völk, a German puppeteer, began producing dolls in 1922; his manufacturing business was ultimately sold to Engel-Puppen in 2002(6).

This Hans Völk doll (identifiable by the combined "HV" trademark) has the neckstamp marking which this astute Ebay seller identified within their listing photo. Notice it is placed mid-way between the center of the neck and the right ear of the doll.

6. Emil Schwenk Dolls
Emil Schwenk is a German doll and doll clothing manufacturing business which has been in production since 1922; it is still producing dolls and doll clothing today(3).

This Emil Schwenk doll (identifiable by the "E.S" neckstamp; some dolls will be marked "Schwenk" on their necks and/or their upper backs) has this marking grouped closely to its other neckstamp markings.

Shameless Self-Plug: If you'd like to learn more on the topic of neckstamp markings, please feel free to visit this article on Götz Doll Wiki.

3. Drumroll Please: This Mark Actually Represents the "Signature" of the Doll's Designing Facial Mold Doll Artist

As discussed earlier, when someone creates something, they oftentimes want to make it known that the product that has been designed, was designed by them (and only them). This is true not only for manufacturers, who typically "brand" the dolls they produce (either for themselves or for someone else, oftentimes through the appearance of a company "name" on the back of the doll's head/body); it is also true for some doll artists, who choose to "sign" the dolls they design/sculpt via a unique head/neck "marking/signature."

This doll is designed by Sylvia Natterer
and produced by Götz 

• For example, Sylvia Natterer's Götz FANOUCHE AND HER FRIENDS dolls, which are designer dolls sculpted and designed by Sylvia Natterer and produced by Götz, have engraved neckstamp markings that contain both the manufacturer's branded name (i.e. "Götz") and its designing doll artist's unique, identifying signature (the intertwined, initial-signature, "SN", for "Sylvia Natterer").

Additional Evidence it is the Artist's Signature:

Okay, I couldn't point this out too loudly earlier in the article  because it would have spoiled the surprise, but here is more evidence why this is a doll artist's signature: this mark does not appear on every doll produced by the above-mentioned doll manufacturers. Instead, this mark only appears on SOME of the dolls produced by the above-mentioned doll manufacturers. And in some cases, such as with the Engel-Puppen shown below, the only identifying marking on the doll is the artist's mark!

Notice this Engel-Puppen doll does not bear any other identifying mark apart from this mark, located behind the right ear of the doll.

SUMMARY: 

This mark then, is truly what it's commonly been referred to: it is the designing doll artist's "mark." and the initialized signature of that doll's designing facial mold designer: H.He. And all dolls that were designed by this doll artist "H.He." will have this signature.

4. THE BIGGEST ANSWER YET: Who the Facial Mold Designer "H.He." Is:

One of the biggest questions in the American Girl and Götz Doll world is who has designed these facial molds! For the first time ever, this question has been answered and announced here publicly (just like doll manufacturer's want to protect their products, I also want to protect my research).

This designing doll artist who designed the facial molds for many Götz dolls, in addition to other dolls produced by other German doll manufacturers, is:

Horst Heerlein(1) 

That's right, Mr. Heerlein, a German doll artist and doll sculptor, designed all of the numerous doll facial molds not only for Götz, but also for other, different doll manufacturers during the late 1960s-2000s!

As a freelance German doll artist, Mr. Heerlein would oftentimes be approached by doll manufacturers to design a specific facial mold for them; he was also oftentimes asked to re-design specific facial molds, to fit dolls in other sizes(1). There's also a chance that Mr. Heerlein himself would approach a specific German doll manufacturer with a facial mold he wished to sell(1) - INCREDIBLE!

The ROMINA facial mold,
produced for Götz in the late 1970s/early-mid 1980s
by Götz.

In addition to numerous Götz doll and baby doll facial molds (which range from vintage to modern), some of the most popular Götz doll facial molds Mr. Heerlein designed are the ROMINA and the STARSHINE facial molds:

The STARSHINE facial mold. This Götz Native American Starshine Doll shares the same highly desirable facial mold of other Götz Dolls. It has been redesigned numerous times and released under different doll lines/brands, but the vintage Götz dolls with this facial molds and the actual Starshine Dolls, are the most collectible. To learn the difference between the two, please check out this article on Götz Doll Wiki.

Did You Know? 

Horst Heerlein was not only a talented facial mold designer; he also designed doll bodies and different articulation types for Götz (and other German doll manufacturers).

• The Walking/Talking doll body was designed by Mr. Heerlein for Götz in 1974. To learn more about Götz Walking/Talking dolls, please check out this article on Götz Doll Wiki.
• Mr. Heerlein also designed the articulation type below for Götz, all-vinyl dolls. To learn more about the different Götz articulation types indexed to date, please check out this article on Götz Doll Wiki.

There You Go! PUZZLE OFFICIALLY SOLVED! 

Don't forget: you've heard it only here and here first. I would like to give a shout out and two thank you's to both Jennifer Gorka and Maude Leach, who provided input and photos for the American Girl portions of this article. I would also like to thank my source, who wishes to remain anonymous, for confirming a personal (but hard-to-prove suspicion) and helping to solve this puzzle for us!

Article References:

Please note, the photos shown in this article are copyright of their respective owners.

1. Official, reliable source (who wishes to remain anonmyous) provided and/or confirmed this information.
2. Please visit Götz Doll Wiki on Fandom.com to learn more information about Götz. I am the co-founder and creator of, Götz Doll Wiki.
3. This information comes from the official Emil Schwenk website (this is the translated, English link): https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://www.schwenk-puppenbekleidung.de/shop/puppen/&prev=search
4. This information can be found on the official Engel-Puppen website: https://www.engelpuppen.com/en/history.html
5. This information comes from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Völk_Dolls
6. American Girl Wiki on Fandom.com states in their article on body markings that this mark is "assumed to be [on dolls] from early in production."
7. Anton, Carrie, and Erin Falligant. American Girl: Character Encyclopedia. DK, Penguin Random House, 2017.

8. This information comes from Götz Doll Wiki's article on the importance of neckstamp and facial mold markings.6. Emil Schwenk Dolls

Emil Schwenk is a German doll manufacturing business which has been in production since 1922; it is still in production today (3).

This Emil Schwenk doll (identifiable by the "E.S" neckstamp; some dolls are marked "Schwenk" on their necks and/or upper backs) has this marking grouped closely to its other neckstamp markings.

If you'd like to learn more on the topic of neckstamp markings, please feel free to visit this article on Götz Doll Wiki.

3. This Marking Represents the "Signature" of the Doll's Designing Facial Mold Doll Artist

As discussed earlier, when a doll artist designs something, they oftentimes want to make it known that what has been designed was designed by them. This is oftentimes done via neckstamp marking, whether through branding (as manufacturers oftentimes do) and/or "marking/signing" a doll.

• For example, Sylvia Natterer's FANOUCHE AND HER FRIENDS doll line, which are designer dolls sculpted and designed by Sylvia Natterer but produced by Götz, have neckstamp markings with both the doll's manufacturer and its designing doll artist's information: dolls are branded "Götz" and each doll is physically signed (in engraving form) the initials of Sylvia Natterer (identifiable by the intertwined, engraved "SN" neckstamp marking).

This mark then, is truly what it's commonly been referred to: it is designing doll's "artist's mark." This marking then, is the initialized signature of that doll's designing facial mold designer: H.He.

Essentially, this means that each doll designed by doll artist "H.He." will have this marking.

4. Drumroll Please: Who is the Facial Mold Designer "H.He."?

For the first time ever, the answer to this question has been answered and announced here publicly:

This designing doll artist who designed the facial molds for many Götz Dolls, in addition to other dolls produced by other German doll manufacturer's is:

Horst Heerlein(1) 

That's right, Mr. Heerlein, a German Doll Artist and Doll Sculptor, designed numerous doll facial molds not only for Götz but also for other different manufacturers during the late 1960s-1990s! As a freelance German doll artist, Mr. Heerlein would oftentimes be approached by doll manufacturers to design a specific facial molds; he may also have been asked to redesign a specific facial mold in a specific size(1). There's also a chance Mr. Heerlein himself would approach a specific German doll manufacturer with a specific doll facial mold he wished to sell(1).

The ROMINA facial mold,
produced for Götz in the late 1970s/early-mid 1980s
by Götz,

In addition to numerous Götz Doll facial molds (which range from vintage to modern), some of the most popular Götz doll facial molds Mr. Heerlein designed are the ROMINA and STARSHINE facial molds:

This Götz Native American Starshine Doll shares the same highly desirable facial mold of other Götz Dolls. It has been redesigned numerous times and released under different doll lines, but the vintage Götz Dolls and these actual Starshine Dolls, are the most collectible. To learn the difference between the two, please click the blue hyperlink.

Did You Know? 

Horst Heerlein also designed doll bodies and different articulation types for Götz. 

• The Walking/Talking doll body was designed by Mr. Heerlein for Götz in 1974. To learn more about Götz Walking/Talking dolls, please check out this article on Götz Doll Wiki.
• Mr. Heerlein also designed the articulation type below for Götz, all-vinyl dolls. To learn more about the different articulation types indexed to date, please check out this article on Götz Doll Wiki.

Puzzle Officially Solved! 

Don't forget: you've heard it only here and here first. I would like to give a shout out and two thank you's to Jennifer Gorka and Maude Leach, who provided input and photos for the American Girl portions of this article. I would also like to thank my source, who wishes to remain anonymous, for confirming a suspicion and helping to solve this puzzle!

Article References:

Please note, the photos shown in this article are copyright of their respective owners.

1. Official, reliable source who wishes to remain anonmyous provided or confirmed this information.
2. Please visit Götz Doll Wiki on Fandom.com to learn more information about Götz. I am the co-founder and creator of Götz Doll Wiki.
3. Information comes from the official Emil Schwenk website (this is the translated, English link): https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=https://www.schwenk-puppenbekleidung.de/shop/puppen/&prev=search
4. This information can be found on the official Engel-Puppen website: https://www.engelpuppen.com/en/history.html
5. This information comes from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Völk_Dolls
6. American Girl Wiki on Fandom.com states this mark is "assumed to be [on dolls] from early in production."